When you find a good waffle mix, stick with it!

Recommended for weekend brunch on the menus of two popular restaurants in Asheville, N.C., are waffles that come “all the way from Buchanan, Michigan, and are worth the trip.”

Chef Joe Scully enjoys telling the story about the frantic telephone call that he took from one of the restaurant managers “asking why we prepare waffles from so far away, especially with how ‘locally focused’ our menus are?”

“I calmly explained why we like the Fred S. Carbon Golden Malted Waffle” mix that was invented in 1937.

Scully said he first encountered the Golden Malted product while he was a trainee in the kitchen at Houlihan’s Old Place in Hackensack, N.J., in 1977.

“Every weekend, there was a ritual – setting up the waffle irons for Saturday and Sunday brunch. Problem was they drew an inordinate amount of amps and weighed in at around 30 pounds and were, to say the least, unwieldy.”

“We would try plugging in these wrought iron behemoths at various spots, trying our best not to blow a fuse, both literally and figuratively. Once we sorted out the electrical issues, there was the mess.”

“The batter went everywhere. It was goopy, eggy and buttery, coating everything and hardening nicely. This made the “Waffle Ritual” an onerous one. Perfect for the least experienced cook; me.”

Scully said: “My first question was, ‘Why, for the love of all that is holy, are we using these archaic, messy and electrically dubious contraptions?’”

“Chef Mike Hurley, answered, ‘Try one.’ And I did. And it was truly amazing. The taste was exquisite; malt, balancing the sweetness and buttery richness of the crispy yet light crust. Topped with blueberry compote and lots of butter, it just about brought tears to my eyes.”

“Compelled, I asked how this came to be. I needed to know the back story to something so wonderful. Mike filled me in, explaining that we only paid for the waffle mix; the waffle irons came free.”

“Turns out, it is an old-fashioned idea, based on the principle that if you make it easy for someone to buy your product, they will,” Scully said.

“In 1937, Fred S. Carbon got a patent for his Malted Waffle flour,” which was mixed in a large wooden barrel. “He delivered it himself to his ever-growing clientele. In the 1960s, he developed his own waffle iron, thus creating a paradigm for rapid growth and customer loyalty.”

 

“Everywhere I have worked from Denver, Atlanta and Lincoln (Neb.) to New York City, the F. S. Carbon waffle followed me,” Scully said. “It still does, delivered by a single distributor whenever we need it. He’s pretty good at repairing the waffle irons, too. They still cause problems with the electrical, but now it is circuit breakers, not fuses….”

Joe Scully is co-owner of Asheville’s Corner Kitchen and Chestnut restaurants. (Occasionally, he lets it slip out that his father was the late Vin Scully, the famous American sportscaster who did play-by-play commentary for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1950 through 2016. Vin Scully is considered by many to have been the greatest sports broadcaster of all time.)

Similarly, Fred S. Carbon is one of the greatest entrepreneurs of all time. He and his wife, Madalyn, did it quietly without much fanfare, but quite effectively. The Golden Malted brand still exists, and the company branched out from restaurants to the travel hotel industry in 2001.

Now you get the picture. Golden Malted waffle irons are the centerpiece of hotel continental breakfast bars the world over. We’ll make you one soon.