The Story of Cynthia: Our Sourdough Starter

If you've dined with us at Bernadette or Settler, your meal probably began with a few slices of sourdough.

It's served simply, freshly baked each day, sliced, and brought to the table at room temperature. Never hot. That's intentional. We want you to taste the bread itself, not just warm butter melting into it.

What most guests don't realize is that every loaf begins with someone named Cynthia.

Cynthia is our sourdough starter. She was gifted to Chef Aaron Chambers in 2010 by one of Aaron's mentors, Chef Daniel Boulud. At the time, the starter was already more than 40 years old. Today, she's over half a century old and still baking bread every single day.

A sourdough starter is a living culture of wild yeast and beneficial bacteria. It's what gives sourdough its flavor, texture, and rise. The longer a starter is cared for, the more character it develops. That's why no two sourdough starters taste exactly alike.

Like any living thing, Cynthia requires daily care. She's fed, monitored, and maintained throughout the week so she's healthy and active when it's time to bake. Every loaf served at Bernadette and Settler traces its roots back to that same starter. In fact, Chef Aaron has been known to bring Cynthia along on vacations rather than leave her behind. Caring for a decades-old starter isn't something you can put on pause - it travels with the family when it needs to.

She's become part of our daily rhythm in the kitchen. Before the first guests arrive, the bread is mixed, shaped, proofed, baked and ready for service. By the time your first course reaches the table, Cynthia has already done her job.

And if you're wondering whether Chef Aaron has ever shared a piece of Cynthia with another baker...the answer is yes. Every now and then, a small portion leaves the kitchen to begin a new chapter somewhere else. Some stories are simply too good not to share.