Pastry Chef Pleads for Thief to Return Stolen Recipes

Rebekka Baltzell did not think her work bag would be an appealing target for a thief.

But on Wednesday afternoon, she learned the hard way that crime can strike at any time, and take up seemingly unimportant tokens in its wake.

"Lesson learned. I just figured it was my work bag that no one would care about," Baltzell said.

Baltzell is a pastry chef at Maketto in Northeast D.C., and she said she popped out of her car for what she thought was a brief moment.

But that was more than enough time for a thief to smash her window and steal her work back pack.

"I was here for maybe an hour and a half tops and then I went back and saw that my window was broken and my backpack was gone," she said.

There wasn't much of monetary value, she said, but her bag carried more than a thousand recipes to her sweet creations, she said.

"I have a problem with finding a new recipe and not being able to follow it," she said. "I always have to change it even the first time."

Baltzell has been a pastry chef for more than a decade, but she said she never realized how much she relied on her recipe books, including a sentimental reminder of her dad, who passed away, until now.

"It sucks. I think some of my favorite recipes are probably lost forever," she said.

She hopes someone sees her pleas, since time is running out.

"I don’t want to get you in trouble I just want my things back if at all possible," she said.