PROFILE TWELVE IN THIS SERIES: BOSTON CHEFS AND THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC 

Portraits by Mindy Tucker / Flour Bakery photos provided by Bethany Van Delft

It was one of the first Moth storytelling events I’d ever attended. I heard laughter at the impromptu humor being delivered so effortlessly by the emcee, Bethany Van Delft. She relaxed  the audience as she bantered with them, playing off their responses, sharing personal stories that eased the newcomer’s jitters. 

It was easy to understand why Van Delft was voted Best Comic in 2019 by Boston Magazine. Her bio page states that her debut comedy album, “I’m Not a Llama,” garnered “an impressive number of minutes at #2 on the iTunes charts.” Her popular virtual Artisanal Comedy show can be seen on Instagram Wednesdays from 9 to 10 p.m. 

Yet despite being an award-winning comedian, Van Delft almost left the stage for good to pursue a career as a pastry chef in the kitchen of Joanne Chang. Fortunately, she found her way back and reminds us that she can do it all: baker, comedian, mother of two, wife of one. 

True, it’s been a few years since Van Delft hung up her apron to pick up the microphone, yet the pandemic has sent her back to her roots as a baker and much-praised pastry chef.

Edible Boston: You’ve been a model, a comedian, the host of the Moth StorySlams and GrandSlams  … and you’ve even worked as a baker with Joanne Chang. How did you land there? Are you trained in this field?

Bethany Van Delft: I was at the point where I really needed to be in New York City to pursue what I wanted in comedy. I was trying to have us move to NYC when my husband took a Boston-based job. That evening we had dinner at Myers & Chang and a friend who was Joanne’s second-in-charge walked into the restaurant. She and I used to joke that if I ever quit comedy I’d come to Flour. That night she said, “If you still want to bake, we are looking for people right now.” In that fortuitous moment I became a professional baker.

I’d known Christopher [Myers] from years of working in the biz. We were always at Wine Festival in Nantucket. I hosted some bingo nights at Via Matta, but I never worked at a restaurant with him. I’d met Joanne in passing before interviewing at Flour.

How long did you work as a baker? Did you have any intention of becoming a professional baker?

I’ve loved baking since I was a kid. I remember looking at ingredients on Betty Crocker boxes and trying to figure out how to make brownies and cakes from scratch. I worked in the restaurant business for most of my life, usually at the running door or managing. I did not love either position. I was always in the kitchen hanging out, doing any little thing they’d let me do. The opportunity came to work in the kitchen, I jumped at it. I wanted a pastry apprenticeship and would take jobs managing and cooking in hopes of landing one, but it didn’t happen. There was the time I did quit comedy for years and was researching mail-order baking businesses. I worked at Flour for a couple of years until I was quite pregnant and able to do less and less. Baking is a really physical, tiring job, and my pregnancy, though healthy, was high risk so I couldn’t lift anything, which was unfair to everyone else. And I was getting spacier by the month, forgetting ingredients, having to remake things. Finally I locked myself in the freezer—a co-worker sprung me and I very sadly gave my notice for the good of everyone. I still have a little dream of one day “retiring” and having a bakery in a quaint little town by the beach.

When you worked for Joanne Chang, what was your favorite pastry or other baked good? 

Apple snacking cake and banana bread. There was a full sheet pan in the back that had all the scraps that were trimmed off of those two items, as well as any broken cookies, pieces of cake, slightly overcooked things. It was a nightmare. A very tasty, irresistible nightmare. If there was anything left on that tray I’d fill a box to bring home, but there usually wasn’t.

Did you make them laugh? Did you use that experience for some of your onstage humor? If so, can you share a few stories?

I took that job so seriously. I was so quiet and worried about messing up. I wasn’t too goofy there, believe it or not. During that time I did do a character a couple of times. I was a baker who always wanted to try stand-up. Onstage I was very quiet and introverted and told really corny baking puns. I thought it was hilarious; I was the only one. 

I was there for your first Artisanal Comedy shows. You talked about how excited your daughter was when she saw fresh veggies and fruit [during the stay-at-home order]. 

Ha! Ha! Ha! Yes, that was one of the first Artisanal Comedy shows on IG! We were not having luck getting grocery deliveries the first couple of weeks of lockdown. There were many carb-heavy days. The kids and I eat lots and lots of fruits and vegetables. When they came back it was like a Christmas miracle. 

What are your family’s favorite meals that come from your kitchen? Who makes them?

My husband and I both cook. I do all the baking but we both make dinners.

The kids love anything on tortillas, spaghetti and meatballs and homemade pizza. They are in a super fussy eating period and are staunch about not trying anything new right now. We talk about how they would never know about pizza if they never tried a new food. They say, “Well we did and now we have pizza so we don’t need anything else.” So they have to make everything from scratch with me, that’s the tradeoff.

How about favorite desserts or baked goods?

Jayme [my husband] loves cookies and morning pastries, and any other treat that’s left on the counter. Over the winter and spring the kids were loving a butter pound cake we made. For the summer they’re loving strawberry shortcake. 

Growing up, did your family appreciate your humor?

My whole family is very funny. My dad is very dry and corny, his faves are Mae West and Groucho Marx. My brother and I used to love animation and the weird and absurd stuff on “SNL.” My sister had a very creative silly sense of humor and my mom was the storyteller. At family gatherings in NYC everyone hung around her knowing a big crazy story about someone, some event was inevitable. She’d act them out with her voice, her body language. She’d do imitations of the people in the stories.

Has comedy changed since the pandemic shut down the state? 

It’s virtual now. Stand-up changed, shows were canceled along with all live shows. The first few days it certainly felt like that was that, stand-up is gone and I’ll go back to baking. But pretty quickly an IG [Instagram] live stand-up show popped up, then a Zoom show, then another and another. We started Artisanal Comedy March 25. There are a bunch of shows now and while it’s not live stand-up, it has its own vibe. Some comics are crushing the new format. It’s cool to watch it evolve.

Are you doing social distancing? How are you and your family handling the safety guidelines? 

Social distancing 110 percent, I get so enraged when I see someone not wearing a mask.

We are also 110 percent locked down. We have a very high-risk family member. I have so much rage and fear about people not wearing masks because my daughter isn’t safe anywhere unless people are wearing masks. Anyone high risk isn’t safe if others aren’t wearing masks. I go insane trying to figure out if it’s that people cannot wrap their brain around the science of how it works, or just truly don’t give a shit about anything that doesn’t affect them. Either way, because of them we are generally in the house 23/7.

Has your home become your new stage? Aside from the Artisanal Comedy, what creative and funny moments have manifested from this time? 

We craft a hell of a lot. Painting, collaging, coloring. We have a maker corner filled with boxes from every product we’ve scrubbed down with Lysol since this started. We’re building a city with it. It’s all funny. It has to be or I’d have consecutive panic attacks all day.

As a friend of Joanne and her husband, Chris Myers—do they come to your comedy gigs or MothSlams?

They have been super supportive and come to shows whenever they can. They came to  [my daughter] Lulu’s first birthday. We try to get together when we can but everyone is so busy. They shoot me a sweet congrats text if they see me in something. I send them pics of me and the kids eating at Flour [Bakeries] around the city. 

Do you have a recommendation for summer reading?

All the Piggy and Elephant books, Highlights Magazine, assembly instructions.

Growing up, who was your favorite comedian, actor, and who was your favorite singer/music? 

Rita Moreno, Bruce Lee, then Prince for the rest of forever.

Do you want to tell us about your hit album “I’m Not a Llama”?

You can stream it on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon… Have a listen and tell your friends about it!

Can you describe your show Artisanal Comedy, which airs on Instagram Wednesday nights? 

In the “Before Times” it was monthly. When it started it was just a way to guarantee I’d leave the house to do comedy at least once a month. We booked pros and new comics. And to always book people with unique voices and points of view that you weren’t seeing in other comedy venues. They could be comics, performance artists, character actors, storytellers, as long as they were FUNNY, unique, smart and true to themselves, I put them on.  

What are some of your other virtual comedy nights? 

I don’t have any others! I’ve done several shows on Zoom and IG produced by other people, and I’m very excited to be hosting The Moth StorySlams again!

Can you talk about some of the funniest moments from your virtual events that have spontaneously occurred?

It’s always funny when tech doesn’t want to cooperate with your vision. I’ve flipped the camera before I wanted to so many times; gotten disconnected right before shows end; kept talking when people freeze. Tech is funny. Except for when it’s infuriating.

Can you describe a typical week before the pandemic hit?

School drop-off in the morning, either [one or] both kids, and then I try to get as much work, errands, school, medical etc. things done before pick-up. Or drop off one child andother one and I go have adventures around the city. We were at the zoo, aquarium, museums, parks, different neighborhoods a few days a week.

Can you describe what your week is like now?

Distance learning with one child while fending the other off until we’re finished. When Dad stops working, fun in the yard! We have a weekly meal schedule for the first time ever! Just the standard Taco Tuesday, Pizza Friday, Pasta and Meatballs Sunday. But we make tortillas, pizza dough, sauce together from scratch. The rest of the week is creative leftovers, or “give-up” dinners like cereal or a bowl of ice cream (not too often, don’t worry, LOL!). I’m becoming resourceful at getting things done in the little moments between things.

With social distancing, what are you and your family planning for the rest of the summer?

Make the back yard the best place on earth. Be present and enjoy the time with them. We will be back to a different active life again and this time will be gone. Treasure it.