Tale of the plate: Meyer lemon croissants by Leressa Rucker
by Asha Ellison | photographs by Justin Driscoll
The scent of rich, yeasty dough mingles with the spring air as Leressa Rucker coaxes magic from flour and butter. Rucker wears the vibrant, almost-electric fragrance of Meyer lemons like a second skin — a heady perfume that tells the story of her past, her present and the future she is writing for herself as executive pastry chef at Charlotte’s Carolina Farm Trust (CFT). The nonprofit organization supports local agriculture and provides fresh food to area neighbors who may not otherwise have access.
Rucker carries within her the heart of Amherst, Virginia, where she grew up chasing fireflies on her grandfather’s 130-acre farm. It’s where, at 8 years old, she learned the rhythm of the kitchen and the dance of the planting and harvesting seasons, and it’s where her love for the culinary arts began. Cooking is in her DNA; it’s her heritage.
“Everybody in my family is a caterer or chef,” says Rucker, recalling the depth of her family’s culinary ties. “My great-grandfather was an executive pastry chef, so I sort of took the reins from him.”
For Rucker, the journey to becoming a pastry chef herself was ripe with trial and error. At one point, she found herself stuck at a fork in the road.
“I actually thought I wanted to go to law school,” Rucker says, laughing heartily at the memory. “I took a law class and failed it, and my mom was like, ‘Leressa, just do what you’re good at.’ And that was baking.”
Support for Rucker’s culinary endeavors came early. High school classmates would salivate over her confections, hoping to find their names on the thoughtfully cultivated list of friends she treated to something sweet on Valentine’s Day or at Christmas. And members of her own family waited hungrily for Rucker to make rounds about town with her desserts in tow.
“My mom and her friends would always buy me kid-themed cookbooks,” Rucker says, recalling the $20 weekly allowance her mother gave her to shop for baking supplies. “I would buy what I wanted, test-batch [a recipe], make it, and then I could sell it — usually to my uncles — or take it to church.”
Through education, Rucker mastered the elegance and precision of French pastry-making. She earned degrees in baking and pastry and food service management at Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte. And while she’d grown fluent in the language of French pastry, Rucker’s soul remained rooted in the rich, comforting flavors of the South.
“I’ve been in French restaurants and brasseries for years,” explains Rucker, “but I also have Southern influence, having grown up on the farm. Because of that, I try to incorporate a lot of my grandparents’ recipes into all that I do.”
This fusion of French finesse and Southern soul remains the essence of her cooking today — along with a bit of divine inspiration, according to Rucker.
“I attribute all of my creativity to the Lord. The Holy Spirit tells me what I need to make.”
Previously with Mother Earth Group (Something Classic, Coquette, Mariposa), Rucker’s decision to join CFT in July 2024 was a natural progression. Intrigued by the organization’s sustainable food mission and being a farm girl herself, Rucker says she is impressed with the Trust’s network of local farmers. She’s also discovered a new appreciation for the nuances of working with seasonal ingredients.
“It’s been a challenge, but a good one — just like making croissants,” she says. “They are my favorite to make because they require a bit of work, but when you do it right, it’s good.”
Chef Leressa Rucker
Her recipe, which she says tastes “literally like lemon meringue pie,” is a tribute to her heritage and her skill. The meticulous steps of the recipe, from the warm milk and yeast mixture to the delicate lamination of butter, are a reflection of Rucker’s dedication to her craft — something she challenges the home baker to also approach with the same Michelin-star mindset she encourages from her team at CFT.
“It’s important to have fun with it,” Rucker says. “You probably won’t get it right in the beginning. You’ll likely overproof the dough, the butter will run out or you may burn them. But your skills will come with time and practice.”
“You like to bake, right?” she asks you, the reader. “[Getting technical] is what’s going to help you hone your craft and master it.” SP
Ready for a baking challenge? Chef Rucker’s recipe for Meyer lemon croissants.
Chef Leressa Rucker can be found with the Carolina Farm Trust team at local festivals throughout the year,. Supporters can also find CFT’s food truck at local farmers markets or keep up with their happenings online
