How do you like your soufflé? There’s a new option for folks in Alexandria searching for those savory or sweet egg-based delicacies.
Alena Ignatysh and Cameron Hatam launched Oh La La Soufflé last month, and can be found selling their creations at the Carlyle Farmers Market on Fridays and at the Four Mile Run Farmers and Aristans Market on Sundays. They sell three varieties for $6 apiece — chocolate, orange liqueur, and cheese and spinach.
Ignatysh is an accountant, and she’s also vegan, so she seldom tries her soufflés, and leaves the tasting to Hatam. She says he’s her inspiration.
“I happen to have inspiration in my life, and he sits right here,” Ignatysh told ALXnow. “He was the person who told me, ‘I love soufflés. Can you make one for me, please?’ And that was the first time I made a soufflé in my life.”
Hatam, who owns four Virginia Family Chiropractic and Physical Medicine offices in the area, couldn’t believe the result. He ate all 12 of the chocolate deserts she made for him in less than 20 minutes.
Soon the couple were trying out new recipes and giving away the creations so that Hatam wouldn’t eat them all. Now that their kitchen has cleared health department hurdles to cook and sell their products, the arrangement is simple: She cooks, he packs the boxes, and they both go to the farmers’ markets.
“That first batch she made was amazing,” Hatam said. “I couldn’t believe it. Normally a soufflé from a restaurant deflates as soon as you put your fork in it. Not these.”
Ignatysh hopes to own a soufflé shop someday.
“Our goal was to make soufflés more popular and affordable for everybody,” she said. “That was our goal, and it has this reputation of being very hard to make. You need to use particular measurements for the ingredients and follow some steps, but it’s doable. So, we just decided to make it easier for people to bake at home.”
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Image via Oh La La Souffle/Facebook
