Nagornykh brings love of pastry, cooking from Russia to Marble Hill

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Marble Hill has become a sweeter place since Valeriia Nagornykh opened her store, Marble Hill Cakes, at 205 First St.

Nagornykh offers elaborately decorated cakes for any occasion, along with fine pastries and sourdough bread and rolls. The artistic cakes she makes are more than plain, white cakes inside. Beneath the exterior are layers of different flavors of cake held together by various fillings she makes.

"People say they like them," she said.

Nagornykh was raised in Siberia, Russia. Both of her parents were scientists who encouraged her to follow in their footsteps, but they wanted her to earn her degree in whatever she was interested in. She chose mathematics and economics. When she was in high school, she was an exchange student in Las Vegas.

She grew up loving to cook for her family, but also pursued other interests such as music and sports. She came to understand that cooking is linked to other sciences -- architecture, engineering, chemistry. Still, she "never thought of cooking as a career," Nagornykh said.

Valeriiia Nagornykh and her husband, Dale Colclasure, at the counter of Marble Hill Cakes.Courtesy of Valeriia Nagornykh

Valeriiia Nagornykh and her husband, Dale Colclasure, at the counter of Marble Hill Cakes.Courtesy of Valeriia Nagornykh

Entering the business world in Russia after completing her degrees, she found a way to incorporate cooking into her job.

"I worked for a language school," Nagornykh said. "I taught culinary classes in English."

In conjunction with some local restaurants, she taught her students English and cooking, together, and said her students enjoyed it.

Nagornykh settled in America two years ago, thinking about new opportunities. There was no need for English classes, but there was always cooking. So she enrolled in culinary and cake decorating classes. Later, she added bread baking because she found she couldn't eat processed packaged bread.

"People need good bread," she said. "I found my mission helping people get good bread. It makes me happy."

Valeriia Nagornykh kneads dough for making bread at her business, Marble Hill Cakes.LINDA REDEFFER ~ Banner Press

Valeriia Nagornykh kneads dough for making bread at her business, Marble Hill Cakes.LINDA REDEFFER ~ Banner Press

Before Nagornykh came to America, she met Dale Colclasure from Houston. They met in Israel and were married in Cypress. He waited for her during the two years it took her to transition from a Russian citizen to an American resident. Once in America, they settled in Bollinger County so he could be closer to his children from another marriage in Poplar Bluff. She has a teenage son from another marriage.

"We're farmers now," she said. They raise longhorn breeding stock and other animals, and enjoy farm life. Her son helps out on the farm and occasionally at Marble Hill Cakes.

Nagornykh said she finds her science background blends nicely with her culinary skills. She mentioned a hexagon-shaped cake she made that she had to engineer carefully so it would stand straight and solid. She finds her knowledge of chemistry useful in making her favorite dessert, macarons.

While she was an exchange student, she said, her teacher gave an assignment to "cook something sophisticated, pay attention and make it right through good chemistry."

She said her plans for the future are not yet formed.

"I'm quite busy where I am," said Nagornykh, who has considered the possibility of selling her products to area restaurants. "I would also like to teach people to cook."

European women, she said, know how, but added that American women are so hard-working they don't always know how to cook.

"Women don't have the privilege of staying home," she said.

Prepackaged food may be convenient, Nagornykh said, but she knows how "to prepare fresh food easy and fast and feed their family. It's important to put fresh food on the table."

And exquisite desserts, as well.