Craftsman and Wolves Valencia
Patisserie · Mission Dolores
746 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94110
Highlights
Pastries, coffee, and inventive savory items like the Rebel Within
Pastries, coffee, and inventive savory items like the Rebel Within
"Opened on Valencia Street in 2012 by Lawrence Lai and Ann Lee after a tea‑importing venture inspired by Lee’s Taiwanese grandfather, the bakery was described by Lee as “a collaboration based on a shared vision for a different patisserie cafe experience and pastry aesthetics.” William Werner, co‑founder and head chef, departed in June 2019, but his recipes — combined with Lai’s aesthetic and design — persisted. The shop became widely known for inventive items such as the Rebel Within muffin—an egg‑stuffed treasure—and cashew curry cookies, and it expanded into a now‑closed Russian Hill location, a farmers‑market outpost in Palo Alto, a second San Francisco spot dubbed the Den on Bayview’s Yosemite Avenue, and an upcoming Mountain View location. Colleagues emphasize Lai’s collaborative, generous spirit in both kitchen and community: executive chef Sam Ceccotti says they would talk “aimlessly about everything for hours and it would feel as if only minutes had passed,” and that “Lawrence is that once‑in‑a‑lifetime person. My heart will forever bear a scar knowing that I can never have those conversations or experiences with him again in this life.” Ceccotti adds, “My hope is that I can keep Lawrence’s vision for [the bakery] alive and well by honoring what he built and continue to add to his legacy.” Community partners recall frequent acts of support: Lai sent free pastries to organizations including the Women’s Building, 826 Valencia, Foodwise, and Lyon Martin Community Services, and he opened his space to 826 Valencia students — whose dream‑cake writings were turned into paperback books and then into custom cakes for the students to eat; for National Poetry Month student poems were printed on custom coffee sleeves; and, for 826 Valencia’s 20th birthday party, Lai had a blueberry cake made for the block party. “I remember him being so open and supportive of our students,” says Maya Makker of 826 Valencia. “He was energized by the idea of sharing their work. He was a champion for us.” Lulu Meyer of Foodwise called him “thoughtful and innovative,” noting that he was “a supportive presence for our work, the local farmers, and was a regular face at the Ferry Plaza market. He was a class act through and through, and a loss for us all in San Francisco.” Neighbors and peers also attest to his local impact: Bernal Cutlery co‑owner Kelly Kozak said, “Lawrence was a huge part of my pandemic and post‑pandemic landscape in the Mission and really helped me feel less alone as a small business owner... He was such a treasure to the block, and he will be greatly missed.” Other Bay Area bakers point to the bakery’s visual and technical influence—Max Blachman‑Gentile says it influenced creativity and “what might go between sheets of laminated dough,” while pastry chef Ellie Estrada‑Londo recalls being “[I was] awestruck at what beautiful, creative and thoughtful pasties were being made there,” adding, “How every layer of lamination, glistened yet had such gritty only‑in‑sf character. They definitely helped activate the ‘aha moment’ of what beautiful savory pastries could be.” Lai’s own emphasis on presentation and teamwork is captured in his line, “We eat with our eyes first,” and in his remark, “I chose [the bakery] because craftsman represents the individual pursuit of perfection, and wolves means the team spirit we need to have achieve a common goal.”" - Paolo Bicchieri
"On her first visit Samantha Ceccotti remembers that the smells "took her in" and that the architecture of the space was unlike anything she’d seen back in her hometown of Philadelphia; she wanted to create thoughtful, edible pieces of art like everything in this temple to sweetness. She took over as owner Lawrence Lai’s head baker in 2021 and has since overseen a number of bakes, including countless examples of the ever-popular, egg-studded Rebel Within. Even after dozens of holiday specials, Ceccotti outdid herself with this year’s Easter offerings: her splashy Not Your Grandma’s Carrot Cake is topped with a bouquet of macarons (Lai’s idea) to invoke an Easter egg hunt and "went on sale on Friday, April 4, through to Easter on Sunday, April 20," alongside another seasonal item, the Peep Show, a set of four takes on toothsomely sweet Peeps elevated with equally nostalgic flavors including Fruity Pebbles and Frosted Flakes. The carrot cake is baked in batches by night at an off-site facility in the Bayview and includes canola oil, vanilla, nutmeg, and cinnamon combined with carrots from Northern California — but Ceccotti also uses cayenne "to wake up diners’ taste buds and get them going for another bite," and Northwestern huckleberries to offer "a sweet, complex balance to cayenne’s one-note heat and cut against the ginger creme fraiche ganache." "I wanted to add these secret pops," Ceccotti says. The piece also touches on broader context: bakers added carrots to cakes as early as the 15th century, and the carrot cake’s mainstay status was cemented during World War II when the British Ministry of Food encouraged baking with homegrown carrots as part of "victory garden" staples and wartime rationing (ads even suggested carrots would help citizens "see in the dark" during blackout conditions). The write-up notes current economic tensions — an "obscene trade war," rising prices and the uneasy prospect that ingredient costs could spike ("some days it feel like it could be a cool $400 to buy a carton of eggs by June") — while pointing out that the United States is the fifth-largest sugar producer and the second-largest carrot producer after China. Undeterred, Ceccotti is still "socketing macarons into place atop a little spark of seasonal, historic pleasure" and sees the cake as a symbol of resilience: "I don’t want to put too much pressure on carrot cake," Ceccotti says with a laugh, "but I could see the carrot cake as a kind of symbol, of what we’ve been through in the past, what we’ve experienced, and what we’ve overcome." For a bakery on Valencia Street, the release feels like a fitting celebration and a sign that Ceccotti can still capture customers’ attention the way the shop first did with her." - Paolo Bicchieri
"Featuring four special Lunar New Year treats from chef Sam Ceccotti, including a trompe l’oeil 'xiao long bao' dessert called the Sweet Dumpling Roll — a kumquat-vanilla sponge cake with mandarin jam and kumquat whipped cream topped with 'XLB'-looking dumplings made with red bean paste and cream cheese ganache — and the One-Lai Propensity Satellite, a guava sponge cake with pineapple guava confiture and pineapple chunks encased in a pineapple mascarpone mousse and topped in a glossy yellow-pink glaze." - Dianne de Guzman
"When everyone zigs, maybe it’s time to zag — which is to say that, sure, you would be beloved for bringing any one of the beautiful cakes and desserts from Craftsman and Wolves. But the bakery is also offering brioche buns perfect for being the wingman to the main dinner. The shop is offering both a classic buttery brioche with Maldon salt ($14 for eight), as well as a truffle and chive version ($18 for eight). For more details, head to the Craftsman and Wolves website to pre-order, and pickup is available at the Valencia Street shop, as well as the Den, and the Cailfornia Avenue farmers market in Palo Alto." - Dianne de Guzman
"The Rebel Within is one of the most photographed baked goods in SF that’s also worth crossing town for. It’s flat-out delicious. The savory sausage and cheese muffin has a soft-cooked egg baked inside, and the yolk oozes out when you cut it in half. Craftsman and Wolves has other great pastries too, like the buttery kouign amann and chocolate croissants. And if you end up here for lunch, they have turkey clubs and burrata croissant sandwiches filled with onion-tomato-bacon jam." - julia chen 1
