{"id":33309,"date":"2024-04-04T08:52:19","date_gmt":"2024-04-04T12:52:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/?p=33309"},"modified":"2025-07-31T13:07:02","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T17:07:02","slug":"gershon-brown-butter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/gershon-brown-butter\/","title":{"rendered":"Hotelie Aims to Bring Brown Butter to a Dairy Case Near You"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Entrepreneur and ardent foodie Jonah Gershon \u201924 launched \u2018spekld\u2019 to give home cooks a time-saving flavor boost<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Beth Saulnier<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Savvy chefs know that brown butter adds an extra punch of flavor to a wide array of foods, from butternut squash ravioli to chocolate chip cookies. But making it requires time\u2014and close attention at the stove.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very similar to caramel, where it can be golden brown one second\u2014and then 20 seconds later, it\u2019s burned,\u201d observes Jonah Gershon \u201924<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you walk away for a moment or forget to stir, it can heat up unevenly, so some parts burn and other parts aren\u2019t browned. So people definitely have a challenge with it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Jonah
Making his pitch at the 2023 Northeastern Dairy Product Innovation Competition. (Provided)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

But the Hotelie has an answer: a line of premade sticks of brown butter he\u2019s been developing\u2014with support from the dairy industry and Cornell entrepreneurship programs\u2014and hopes to someday see on supermarket shelves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dubbed \u201cspekld<\/a>\u201d (a hip, all-lowercase take on its speckled appearance), the product would give cooks a handy shortcut in whipping up, say, sole bathed in a sauce of brown butter and lemon, or an elevated version of Rice Krispie treats with brown butter and sea salt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Says Gershon: \u201cIt adds a really rich, nutty-and-toffee flavor to a lot of dishes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Contestant
Competing on “Christmas Cookie Challenge.” (Food Network)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

An avid baker since childhood, Gershon was just 20 when (after gaining notice on Instagram<\/a>) he was tapped to be the youngest-ever contestant on the Food Network\u2019s \u201cChristmas Cookie Challenge\u201d in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI grew up Jewish and didn\u2019t celebrate Christmas\u2014so it was an interesting experience to be decorating Christmas cookies on national television,\u201d he recalls with a laugh. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe other competitors were all professionals with their own bakeries and businesses. It was definitely a challenge, but a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It adds a really rich, nutty-and-toffee flavor to a lot of dishes.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

During the one-episode competition, Gershon pondered using brown butter in his recipe for Mexican hot chocolate sugar cookies, but couldn\u2019t spare the time to make it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That sparked the idea for spekld, which he began developing in an entrepreneurship class as a junior on the Hill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Jonah
Gershon and his mom host a pop-up sale outside a bakery in his native Connecticut in August 2023. (Provided)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>
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That year, he placed second in Cornell\u2019s Hospitality Pitch Deck Competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He went on to be named a finalist (one of 10, but the only student<\/a>) in the 2023 Northeastern Dairy Product Innovation Competition, which awarded him a $20,000 development grant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gershon spent the summer fine-tuning spekld, culminating with a pop-up where he sold out his entire inventory.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople just really love the product,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senior year, he re-entered the Pitch Deck Competition\u2014and won the $3,000 first prize. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As one judge, business consultant Mark Maynard \u201990, noted at the time: \u201cThe quality of the product and the quality of the presentation were aligned: they were equally excellent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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