Connie McDonald
"Being really active makes eating the cookie all the more fun!"
Connie McDonald is the co-owner of New York City’s Levain Bakery, an accomplished
athlete, and a master of the oven. Born in upstate New York, in a suburb
outside of the state’s capital of Albany, Connie grew up loving snow skiing, tennis,
swimming and cooking. At an early age, she practiced her culinary skills at home
preparing special Italian meals for her parents. She lived in a cookie-jar free
home—though she did get her hands on the occasional Oreo—and that may have led to
her later life obsession with creating one of the world’s greatest cookies
During her twenties, Connie gained experience as a caterer, bartender, and waitress
and discovered that she liked working with food. When she left a job at an investment
banking firm in the early nineties, she decided it was time for a change and enrolled
in Peter Kump’s New York Cooking School in 1993. There, she discovered her true
passion for baking. Right around the time she began mastering her skills in the
kitchen, she met Pam Weekes at a pool where they were both training for an Ironman.
The two worked out together and learned that they both wanted to open a business.
When Pam and Connie brainstormed ideas, baking naturally came up. Using the experience
she’d gained in culinary school and as an apprentice at Amy’s Breads, Connie and
Pam began making breads to sell to restaurants in Manhattan. In 1995, they opened
Levain. After more than a decade as a professional baker, Connie still enjoys baking
bread that is as beautiful to look at as it is to taste.
Interview with Connie McDonald
What separates a good cookie from a great cookie?
A good cookie is a good cookie. A great cookie is a tourist attraction, an entire
night's dinner party conversation, a substitute for a wedding cake!
What’s your favorite item from Levain Bakery?
My favorite is the chocolate chocolate chip cookie. I try not to make a daily component
of my diet but sometimes I swear it speaks to me!
What’s the best thing about owning a bakery?
Making people happy and always having great bread and a great coffee machine.
What advice would you offer women who want to start their own businesses?
Be patient and be prepared for a very long haul. Many, many times we just put our
heads down and keep going after 15 hours on your feet, day after day every year.
But it is finally paying off! It really helps to have a great business partner who
you trust no matter what.
As a competitive athlete, what role does dessert have in your diet?
Dessert, especially cookies may not be in my diet as much if I were not an athlete.
Being really active makes eating the cookie all the more fun!