Acclaimed pastry chef volunteers at café in the Tenderloin

SAN FRANCISCO - On the eve of Thanksgiving, most people prepare for their family dinner, but an acclaimed San Francisco pastry chef is committed to serving the most vulnerable.

Michelle Polzine closed her restaurant, 20th Century Café, during the pandemic, but she is back serving her unique pastries in the Tenderloin.

Polzine can be found at City Hope Café every Wednesday, filling the kitchen with aromas of some of her most famous pastries. 

"What I’m doing here is priceless," she said.

Polzine began volunteering at City Hope a few months ago, after a difficult few years.

She’s been through a lot, recovering from ovarian cancer and seeking out something meaningful to do after the pandemic closure of her European-style bakery.

At her shop on Hayes Valley, she served unique desserts on antique china matching her vintage look. She was honored as a semifinalist for a James Beard Award in 2019 and published a cookbook in 2020.

The café was set up as an experience, where she encouraged customers to sit and eat, rather than take food to-go. The pandemic made that difficult.

"I tried pottery, I tried a lot of different things, I even was a barista at Dynamo Donuts," she said about the years that followed. 

Finally, fate brought her to City Hope. 

"This is a honey cake that I used to make at 20th Century Café, so for Thanksgiving I wanted to do something a little bit more special," she said.

"When I first met Michelle, I was blown away that somebody so talented would like to give their professional skills to this work that we’re doing," said Rev. Paul Trudeau, Founder of City Hope SF.

City Hope Café provides free breakfast three days a week to anyone and everyone in a special table-service ministry for people who may otherwise feel isolated. 

"This place gives me a sense of community. It helps me to interact with people that I normally wouldn’t interact with," said Marquis, a guest who recently became housed.

It’s no soup kitchen and there’s no takeout. The eatery is focused on relationships and hospitality, with servers knowing guests by name as they take orders.

A crew of volunteers make fresh coffee to go along with Polzine’s sweet treats.

Drew Kincaid, who lives in a shelter now after spending more than 25 years on the streets, said City Hope gives him his dignity back.

"City Hope has helped me immensely, not just to eat, but to feel good inside because they don’t preach about God, but you feel it, you know that God is here," said Kincaid.

Founded in 2015, City Hope has a number of other programs, including dinner and game nights as well as housing support and services.

When Polzine first started, the baked goods were outsourced, but with her help, the café is trying to make them from scratch, with only the freshest organic ingredients.

"You can’t get her pastries anywhere else so that’s what makes us unique," said Paige MacLaren, program manager and finance coordinator at City Hope SF. 

MacLaren, who also manages the café as a barista, said, "The pastries are different each week and Michelle just gets to express her creativity to our guests."

It’s a community effort. Polzine gets donations on a weekly basis.

"Somebody dropped these quinces off at my house for City Hope from her garden in Sebastopol, and so I’m poaching them, and then I can figure out what to do with them later," Polzine said as she sliced fresh fruit.

When asked why she decided to volunteer instead of reopening a new shop where she can make money for her skills, she said giving feels good.

"I like nice things and I want to share nice things with people and I want people to be able to experience something maybe they haven’t before," she said.

Finding fulfillment in the gift of giving, Michelle invited people to donate to the mission of City Hope SF.

This story was reported from Oakland, Calif.