Keith Jaret, Nutley cupcake store owner and 'rock and roll' chef, dies

A man who brought treats to his fellow Nutley residents for a decade died Thursday.

Keith Jaret, 62, died at his home. The co-owner of Jarets Stuffed Cupcakes for the past 10 years with his wife, Maureen, Jaret had been in need of a liver transplant. The Nutley Health Department held a blood drive in his honor only weeks before his death.

Jaret was born on Long Island, New York and lived in Belleville before moving to Nutley 17 years ago, according to his obituary. Cooking and food had been his passion, as he studied at Culinary Institute of America in New York and graduated in 1980.

The cupcake shop on Franklin Avenue was not Jaret's first culinary venture in Nutley, as it opened at the same location as his former restaurant Petite Café. They also had locations for Jarets Stuffed Cupcakes in Hoboken and Endicott, New York.

Jaret praised the importance of variety in cupcakes.

"The cupcake fad may have quieted down a bit," he said during a 2015 interview with The Record, "but it's still huge. People want them as favors for weddings. They want them for parties. They want them as a pick-me-up on their way home from work."

A tall man at 6 feet 4 inches, he was married to Maureen for 30 years. He had four children and two grandchildren.

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He was a man who faced tragedy during his life.

In February 1990, Keith and Maureen lost their first daughter, Megan. Tragically, Megan died at age 19 months and 27 days, six weeks after she received a heart transplant for cardiomyopathy, a condition with which she was born.

"We walked around like zombies," Maureen said in 2015 of the harrowing time in their lives.

Three weeks after the death, Maureen discovered she was pregnant. "I didn't know if I wanted to keep this baby. I was so scared."

Their daughter, Kellie, was born in August 1992. "She brought joy back into our lives," Maureen said.

The couple went on from there with plenty of cupcakes along the way. Keith Jaret was always a creative chef, according to former colleague Marc Mangano.

Mangano met Jaret in 1993 during his internship under the Nutley cupcake chef.

"Keith was an incredible man," Mangano said. "He was the first chef I ever worked for. I used him as sort of my grand mentor. He’s the one who gave me the passion for cooking."

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Mangano described Jaret — a Grateful Dead-loving former "hippie" with tattoos on his arms — as the "rock and roll chef." He was also sometimes called the "Cupcake Dude." Mangano said it broke his heart to hear of Jaret's death.

Services for Jaret will be held at Biondi Funeral Home, with visitation Monday from 4 to 8 p.m. Cremation will be held privately.

Email: jongsma@northjersey.com