Rohnert Park baker’s sweet and savory pies

You might say that baking is in Cheryl Johnson’s blood. Turning that passion into a business is a recent development, but so far she calls it a dream come true.

For just over a year, Johnson has owned and operated CJ’s Sweet and Savory Cobblers in Rohnert Park, producing a line of pies now sold at eight Sonoma County locations as well as farmers markets. Flavors range from apple and sweet potato to beef stew, chicken and mushroom with cheese.

“Baking has always been in my soul,” said Johnson, 39. “But I always thought it would be something I did in my retirement.”

Johnson has been baking professionally for just over a year, but her education began in her mother’s Southern style kitchen, where everything was made from scratch.

“She was from Houma, Louisiana, and it showed in how she cooked,” said Johnson. “I always tell people this. When my mom would make a banana pudding, even the custard was made from scratch.”

Johnson’s father was a professional chef who graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in New York and worked primarily as a pastry chef when he wasn’t involved in other endeavors. From him she learned the importance of technique.

Johnson is a self-taught cook, but in 2004 she took advantage of a Sur La Table program that teamed amateur volunteers with professionals. While learning their techniques, her thought was always, “When I retire I will get into the baking business.”

A chance meeting with famed French chef Jacques Pepin in 2006 gave her another nudge. He made an appearance at a private meet-and-greet event for KQED supporters at the Culinary Arts Center in San Francisco.

“When I talked to him about my idea for a cobbler business and my concerns and fears, he told me that I was worrying for nothing,” Johnson said. “He said I had been doing this so long that I should go for it.

“That was a real turning point for me. He confirmed that I was on the right path.”

A freak accident sped up her timetable in 2009, however.

“I was chasing my son, who was 3 at the time, when I ended up putting my wrist through a side panel of glass in a utility room,” Johnson said.

The accident caused permanent damage that affected her ability to type and put an end to her career in publication . She spent more than two years pursuing a career in nursing before realizing that it was too time-consuming for a single mother.

So Johnson returned to her baking idea, with plenty of encouragement from friends and family. Armed with business skills learned at the now defunct Women’s Institute in San Francisco, she created a business plan and officially launched the business in August 2013.

Johnson gives the Institute a lot of credit, saying, “They built that extra confidence I needed.”

Why cobblers? Johnson grew up loving her mother’s homemade peach cobbler, she said, adding that, “My idea has always been selling cobblers because you just don’t see them anywhere.”

Along with technique and passion, Johnson considers local products a key to her success. “You have everything you need here,” she said. “There is a range of seasonal items. You know where it is coming from and what you are getting.”

Her current product line is a mix of seasonal sweet pies such as apple, pear, pumpkin and sweet potato, and savory dishes that include rosemary chicken and a grass fed beef tenderloin stew. Her four-mushroom pies combine local aged white cheddar and the best local mushrooms she can find.

The fresh cobblers are available in a small 5.2-ounce size for $8, a 32-ounce pie for $15-$25 and the hefty 64-ounce cobbler that provides 8 to 10 servings for $25-$45, depending on flavor.

Johnson also enjoys the benefits of living in a small community.

“I couldn’t have gotten where I am without a lot of help,” she said. Jessica Schieberl, who at the time ran the Senior Center in Rohnert Park, let Johnson bake once a month in the center’s kitchen.

Cotati-based Oliver’s Markets and Andy’s Produce in Sebastopol provided her with ideas for packaging, as well as allowing her to do in-store demonstrations.

Next up for is a new business plan, expanding into neighboring counties and looking at catering options. Her goal, she said, is becoming the “Northern California Cobbler Queen.”

“Or Cobbler Lady if queen sounds like it is too much,” she added with a smile.

CJ’s cobblers are sold at Oliver’s, Andy’s Produce Market and Petaluma Market. For more information, visit CJsCobblers.com.

Contact Rohnert Park Towns Correspondent Nick Walden at RParkTowns@gmail.com.