Nestled across the street from The Charles Hotel on 114 Mt. Auburn Street, Flour Bakery + Cafe is a favorite among Harvard students, tourists, and Cambridge residents alike. The menu is varied yet simple. From pastries to sandwiches to bowls, it is clear that every item is crafted with detail and thoughtfulness.
A cozy spot for coffee dates and studying, the Harvard Square location of Flour Bakery + Cafe is never empty. Most of the time, there is a long line, and it is difficult to find an empty table. With 10 locations across Cambridge and Boston, Flour has established itself as an iconic bakery in the area. While many may frequently enjoy Flour’s “sticky sticky bun” or “achiote chicken sandwich,” most might not know the compelling story behind this well-loved bakery. In an interview with Joanne Chang ’91, founder and owner of Flour Bakery and renowned restaurant Myers + Chang, the Independent gained special insight into her journey and success in the culinary space.
A past resident of Leverett House and an Applied Math and Economics concentrator at Harvard College, Chang never imagined that she would one day be owning and operating a bakery chain and restaurant. “I wasn’t planning on getting into [the] culinary [world],” she said. “[I was] not really sure what I’d do, which is why I ended up getting a job in consulting because most people either go to law school or business school or med school…and then a lot of people go into finance or consulting.” Today, these career pathways continue to be some of the most popular options for Harvard College graduates.
Cooking had always been a big part of Chang’s life. “I was always, always very into food,” Chang said. But “it was just a hobby…just something that I liked to do,” she added. For most individuals, cooking as a hobby is quite different from cooking as a profession.
Chang decided to make the transition to the culinary world after consulting at Monitor Group (now merged with Deloitte). “At the end of the second year, when all of my peers were applying to business school, I just decided that I didn’t want to go to business school, and I didn’t want to stay at Monitor,” Chang stated. Describing her rationale for venturing into a completely new industry, Chang asked herself, “What do I really like doing? I love being in the kitchen. So I applied to a bunch of restaurants in the Boston area and then I got my first job at a restaurant in Boston.”
This was a bold step. Acquiring a job at a prestigious consulting firm like Monitor is not an easy feat, requiring years of building a competitive and impressive resume. Furthermore, Chang did not have any prior exposure to the culinary world. When asked about her concerns of dropping everything she had worked for, Chang responded casually. Since she was 23 at the time, Chang said, “You’re still young enough that you don’t have a lot of obligations.” In Chang’s mind, “the idea of leaving to spend a year cooking was, I mean, now kids do gap years.”
At a competitive school like Harvard where students face lots of pressure to be successful in their careers, Chang’s willingness to try something out of her comfort zone is admirable. Powered by her love for food and cooking, her path in the culinary world was far from glamorous. “I started off as the person for bar food, which was probably the lowest non-dishwasher position there was.” Describing her daily life at work, Chang said, “It was hard. It was long hours and really hot and [a] pretty crappy schedule.” Her first year was tough and filled with learning the ropes of the culinary industry. At the same time, however, “I learned that I really enjoyed it. I felt like I was learning a lot, and I looked forward to going to work every day,” Chang shared.
This was what fueled her to continue her journey in the culinary space. After working at her first restaurant job in Boston for two years, Chang became a pastry chef in 1995. She opened Flour in 2000, and in 2007, she opened the Asian-fusion restaurant Myers + Chang with her husband and business partner Christopher Myers. When talking about her work life, Chang commented that “it’s very physical. You are on your feet all day long.” The work is just as taxing as it is rewarding, she explained, because you are “always moving as you’re creating and producing things.”
Although Chang almost never has any time off, her work never feels like the work one might expect from a traditional job. “It’s like being a parent…the bakeries and the restaurant are always something that needs attention.” Chang has high standards. Referring to her bakery and restaurant, she said, “We’re trying to create that perfect experience for everybody.” Through her attention to detail, Chang has established a pristine reputation of owning arguably one of the most popular bakery chains in the Boston area, with Flour amassing over 73.5 thousand followers on Instagram.
Chang views her time at Harvard as a separate experience from her current profession. Nonetheless, she partially credits her experiences at Harvard with setting her up for success. “One thing that I feel I learned at Harvard was an ability to take something that you don’t know a lot about and try to formulate an assessment or conclusion or an understanding of whatever it is that’s being discussed. And then try to defend that.” Reflecting on her time in college, Chang said, “Harvard tries to teach you to take the information, and it might not be complete, but take it, then do your best to come up with an answer or a plan.”
Chang’s advice to current Harvard students is “to figure out what makes you excited every day.” A testament to the idea of following one’s passion, Chang has achieved inspiring success. “I think you need to learn and focus on what it is that makes you happy,” Chang added. Talking about career paths, Chang explained how “there’s not just lawyers, doctors, or business people…There’s a million things.”
As Harvard students continue to face the pressure to figure out their lives after college. Chang’s success in the culinary world is a testament to taking risks and venturing out of the tunnel vision that is often centered on certain careers. When describing the college experience, Chang explained how “it is a time when the only thing you’re expected to do is to take advantage of all these opportunities.” Chang encouraged the pursuit of exploration. “Just do them because they sound interesting. And if you fail, now’s the time to fail. Now’s the time to try something and suck at it.”
Chang’s open-mindedness and work ethic have empowered her to succeed in one of the most cutthroat work environments. But perhaps even more importantly, Chang’s pure passion for food serves as an uplifting reminder that it is never too late to follow a dream, no matter how crazy it might sound.
Kaitlyn Hou ’27 (kaitlynhou@college.harvard.edu) would like to be a private chef in an alternate universe.