Get Your Matcha Fix at White Wolf Patisserie, a New Japanese Bakery In Clawson

Chef Doran Brooks started cooking with his Italian mother when he was a kid.

When he was ready for college, she suggested that he attend culinary school, so he headed to Australia and learned the art of classic French fine dining cooking. This foundation prepared him to cook all over the world, but it was his job at the lauded Morimoto restaurant in New York City that set the stage for what would become his life’s passion: Japanese baking.

“Japanese palette is as much about texture and mouth feel as it is about flavor profile.” – Chef Doran Brooks, White Wolf

After visiting Detroit a number of times, Chef Brooks decided to move to Detroit and open a patisserie that is unlike any other bakery found in the Motor City.

Click on the player above to meet Chef Doran Brooks.

White Wolf

“I was blown away by the quality of food, and by the under appreciation outside of Detroit for the quality of food that is existing here.” 

With traditional Japanese ingredients, sourced from Japan, he creates stunningly beautiful and delectable pastries and cakes typically found in high-end restaurants, but are served in the welcoming atmosphere of White Wolf Patisserie. 

Ingredients he calls upon include matcha, the green tea powder, azuki, a cooked red bean, yuzu, a lemon-like citrus plant, and whipped cream. 

“Cream is one of those things that I like using a lot and just letting it speak for itself,” says Brooks. “It’s “more about texture than anything else. Japanese palette is as much about texture and mouth feel as it is about flavor profile.”

If you go, Brooks recommends the yuzu Japanese soufflé cheesecake. White Wolf Patisserie is located in Clawson next to the famous Japanese sushi restaurant and market, Noble Fish.