Elizabeth Lowe, above, shows off some of Queen of Tart’s delicious creations.
A rich, velvety chocolate torte chock full of crunchy almonds and topped with rich ganache.
A luscious fruit tart brimming with juicy strawberries and blueberries atop a buttery crust.
Drooling yet?
How about a chewy, gooey rum pecan pie tartlette baked to absolute perfection? Or a fresh orange almond biscotti, just the perfect amount of crunchy?
The only thing difficult about stopping by the Queen of Tarts display case is choosing which decadent dessert to enjoy.
Parisian-trained pastry chef Elizabeth Lowe has been operating her homemade desserts company Queen of Tarts out of the Fish Trap since last November. Her wares are displayed in the pastry case at the fish store and she is available for private chef services, classes, provisioning and more.
With an emphasis on natural, fresh ingredients, Lowe whips up picture perfect desserts that harken back to her student days at ecole de cuisine La Varenne.
“I have always loved to cook,” said Lowe. “My mother was a great cook and I used to watch her in the kitchen and I picked stuff up from her and my father, who also loved to cook.”
“I always wanted to cook, since I was little kid,” she said.
Despite her passion for cuisine, Vermont-native Lowe bowed to parental pressure entered college in the northeast, earning a degree in animal behavior and anthropology.
“After college, I spent two years trying to find a job unsuccessfully,” she said.
Paris beckoned and Lowe spent a year at La Varenne and a second year doing Stage, or apprenticeships, in several Parisian establishments.
“I started in a restaurant and also worked for a commissary that provided desserts for restaurants which was a huge production,” said Lowe. “The last place I worked was a chocolate shop where I learned a lot. Paris was amazing.”
Returning stateside, Lowe worked as a pastry chef in New York City at Maxine’s and then moved on to Boston where she toiled at several restaurants and caterers before breaking out on her own.
“I was back in Vermont working for Eating Well Magazine in the test kitchen and I opened my own shop in Burlington,” said Lowe. “That was the original Queen of Tarts, which I opened in 1992.”
After putting in six years of long hours and developing “really bad carpal tunnel syndrome” Lowe closed up shop in 1998 and took a break from the kitchen. She started visiting St. John shortly after and started making desserts for several restaurants.
In addition to running Queen of Tarts out of Fish Trap, Lowe still makes sweets for Driftwood David’s and operates Queen of Tarts as a catering business in Vermont in the summers. She heads up to the northeast in June and is always back by October in order to be ready to supply sweets for Thanksgiving dinners.
All those years after finally heeding her calling to the kitchen, Lowe still has that same passion for her craft.
“I really love what I do,” she said. “I love feeding people. People get excited when they have pastries and they are always in a good mood when they are buying treats; I never have an unhappy customer.”
“I can’t not do this,” said Lowe. “Everyone says that I work too hard, but I love it. It’s really fulfilling.”
On St. John her biggest sellers include her tart and creamy key lime cheesecake, that rum pecan tartlette and her famous chocolate almond torte. Lowe whips up individual tartlettes for between $4 and $8 and six-inch cakes start at $20. Biscotti is $22 a pound, which is about 50 pieces.
Queen of Tart’s pastry case is at Fish Trap’s fish store, which is open Tuesday through Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. and Lowe is always available by email or phone. Lowe is planning to stock up on plenty of flourless chocolate tortes and macaroons for Passover, so be sure to stop by or call (340) 513-7058 or email liz@queenoftartsvi.com.
