A favorite childhood sandwich inspired a St. Louis pastry chef to create the winning entry for a national culinary competition
Twenty-five-year-old Abby Benz, the owner of Spoil Me Sweetly Handcrafted Cakes, won the top prize in Kolache Factory’s “Create a New Kolache” contest.
Benz’s grand-prize entry, the “Kolache Kristo,” was inspired by her mother’s take on the classic Monte Cristo, a version of the French croque-monsieur, a fried sandwich usually filled with ham and cheese. Benz said she entered the contest on a whim, pairing her love of kolaches with one of her sweetest childhood memories.
“I grew up on it. She would stuff crescent rolls with meats and jams, and it was always one of my favorites,” Benz explained. “I like the balance of sweet and savory; it covers all the bases flavor-wise.”
For her winning kolache, Benz concocted a pastry stuffed with ham, turkey and Swiss cheese, dusted with powdered sugar, and served with raspberry preserves on the side.
The Kolache Kristo will be available at Kolache Factory locations nationwide throughout the month of August. Beginning Thursday, Aug. 1, Kolache Kristo will appear on the Kolache Factory menu alongside last year’s winner, the “Mac-n-Cheese, Please.”
Benz beat out more than 1,700 customer entries from 23 states to win the grand prize of a kolache and coffee every day for a year. Four finalists each won a free kolache every day for six months, and include entries such as “Steak Break,” “Un-fig-gettable,” “Holy Cannoli” and “Piggly Wiggly.”
The so-called “Kolache Olympics” is an annual competition held by the national bakery-café chain that is open to company employees, as well as five customer finalists. Kolache entries are scored on visual appeal, quality of taste, stability of filling, simplicity of recipe, and name appeal.
