Packs of Billy Macs macarons for sale at a pop up event hosted at Grassy Creek Vineyard.
Kitsey Burns Harrison | The Tribune
Elkin native Bill Colvard has had a storied career from the fashion industry to journalism and now bringing a delectable French cookie, the macaron, to the Yadkin Valley. Colvard, former editor of The Tribune, retired in 2020 and like many during the pandemic took to baking to pass the time.
“I had been doing a lot of baking since the pandemic began. I’ve always enjoyed it,” Colvard said.
After four or five months of reading recipes for macarons and watching videos on how they were made, Colvard said he attempted his first batch in January of 2021.
“It took that long to gather up the basic equipment I needed and to have the chutzpah to give it a shot,” he said.
So just what is a macaron?
“It’s a small pastry that is made from ground almonds, sugar and meringue sandwiched with some type of fruit or cream filling,” Colvard explained.
“My first batch turned out, which is not usual,” Colvard continued. Crafting the merengue-based cookie shell is a particularly challenging part of making macarons. The delicacies could fail if the merengue is either under whipped or over whipped and combining the almond flour into the mix takes precision as well, a process called macaronage. If not cooked for just the right amount of time the merengue shell can either burn or crack, ruining the smooth lovely appearance of the cookie’s outer shells.
Though his first batch came out perfectly, Colvard said he’s had many batches that didn’t turn out along the way. The challenge of crafting perfect macarons every time is part of why he said he enjoys baking them so much.
“I tend to get tired of something once I master it,” he said. “Once I’m good at something I don’t really find any pleasure in doing it anymore, but with these finicky little beasts, you just never ever know. You’re always working without a net and I love that.”
At first Colvard made batches of macarons for friends. After receiving rave reviews he began selling the macarons under the label of Billy Macs at pop up events such as the holiday market hosted by Foothills Arts Council. He now does pop up events at local wineries such as Grassy Creek.
Selling the macs, Colvard said, is just his way of feeding his own habit to creating these “little finicky beasts.” The versatility of the macaron is another thing that keeps Colvard in the kitchen baking.
“The filling flavors are pretty much infinite. There’s always room to try new things,” he said.
Colvard gets inspiration for flavors from pastry chefs around the world. At pop up events at Grassy Creek Winery, Colvard has used some of the wines to flavor the macaron filings. Floral flavors are also something Colvard said he loves to feature.
“I’m fascinated that something also taste good as well as being beautiful,” he said of using flowers. He has used violets, lavender and rose to flavor macarons.
Salted caramel and pecan praline were popular flavors he created during the colder months. Lemon and raspberry, while basic, are always popular, he said. One of this more exotic creations was a strawberry basil. He said he at first he thought he’d gone to far out in left field with that one but customers said they loved it. His most outrageous flavor thus far was a passion fruit Matcha hazelnut praliné.
Colvard’s personal favorite are his Marie Antionette macarons for which he uses an infusion of tea, Marie Antionette’s favorite, that comes from Nina’s of Paris.
“The company has access to the Potager de roi (King’s Garden) at Versailles where they get their botanicals and I import the tea just to make these,” he said.
Though fashion and baking might seem worlds away, Colvard said his career in couture fashion from when he lived in New York City from 1980 to 2003 closely reflects what he loves about baking macarons. Like the one-of-a-kind garments he once created, these aren’t any ordinary cookie.
“They’re pretty in an unusual kind of way, they’re almost other worldly, the colors and the smooth tops. They just don’t look like anything else. They are a special occasion,” he said.
“A friend of mine bought a dozen to take with her to West Virginia to visit her family at Christmas and her Dad ate one, he’d never had one before, and he said ‘that’s the fanciest thing I’ve ever had in my mouth,’” Colvard shared. “I just loved that, so I decided my mission in life is to bring fancy to people who need it and that’s what I did in fashion too.”
Find Billy Macs for orders or pop up event schedule on Facebook at Billy Macs Macarons.
