Augusta chef passionate about doughnuts

Connecting with people over food has always been Jeremy Miller’s passion.

 “I’ve cooked from Georgia to California, and I cooked a summer in Alaska. If you would’ve talked to me 13 or 14 years ago, I never would’ve envisioned being back in Augusta doing doughnuts,” said Miller, owner of Haute Doughnuts.

The business was born during the pandemic, which took its toll on the restaurant industry.

Miller saw his paycheck as a chef slashed and needed to come up with a way to earn extra income. He’d been following a couple online and read a suggestion in one of their books about making doughnuts and partnering with coffee shops to sell them.

That idea resonated with Miller who approached Phillip Weisner at Ubora Coffee about the concept, and Weisner decided to take a chance.

 “He was so accommodating and so awesome,” Miller said.

From there, he reached out to other coffee shops such as Rooted Coffeehouse and Goat Kick Coffee Co. He’s done pop-up events, markets, food truck gatherings and wherever else he could connect his doughnuts with people. And the response he’s received from people in Augusta has been overwhelmingly positive.

“Everybody loves doughnuts,” he said.

Read More: Coffee and frozen custard go together at Cafe Dulce

Standard flavors are apple fritters, vanilla glazed, blueberry old-fashioned (a cakelike doughnut) and cinnamon rolls.  He also plays with in-season fruit to create new flavors, and during the holidays, he created specially themed doughnuts.

At other times of the year, he comes up with new varieties.  When Girl Scout cookies are available, he makes doughnuts based on those flavors.

Miller said he’s always experimenting with flavors and decorations because not only does he want his doughnuts to taste good, he wants them to look good.

Something that sets Haute Doughnuts apart is that the doughnuts are vegan treats made entirely from plant-based products.

“There are people who order three or four times and say ‘We didn’t even know you guys were vegan,’” he said. “I think stigma comes at the beginning, and people say ‘no thanks.’”

Miller and his wife, Cara, adopted a vegan lifestyle several years ago. The former steakhouse chef practically lived on beef at one point. He’d go into work and have a steak for breakfast.

“I lived, breathed and worked steaks,” he said.

He met another chef who was part of the same restaurant group.  He was vegan, the father of six and a marathoner.  That impressed Miller.

“I would love to try out all different forms of eating,” he said. “My life is food. It really connected with me. It grew into something I decided I wanted to fully embrace.”

Miller still takes his doughnuts to area coffee shops and other businesses. He takes orders online and delivers them to area businesses for pick-up as well as offering walk-up sales. Doughnuts are typically available somewhere in town Thursday through Sunday. See the website for details on times and locations.

While Miller would like to have his own storefront one day, he wants to continue to build up his business and possibly have a food truck before a brick and mortar.

“We’re growing organically and slowly,” he said.  

And Miller doesn’t see himself going back into restaurants as a chef.

 “I don’t know what I’d be doing if I wasn’t doing doughnuts. This is it for me. I’ve decided that make or break this is my decision. I’m probably going to do this the rest of my life,” he said.

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