Transcript

• How did you come to work in the industry or your current role?
• It was never my dream to open a bakery. I always enjoyed baking and being around food and interested in cooking and baking, but It was actually a midlife career change that happened unexpectedly in 2008 with the economy downturn which was usually good for what I was doing and uh my business would be busy, but it was different back in 2008. So when the economic downturn happened, my business pretty much went completely dark and dry. And I decided to go to pastry school and I had taken recreational classes at the Institute of Culinary Education and signed up for their professional pastry program and then loved it more than I even thought I would love it and decided that I needed to share my joy and passion of baking and then I worked to find a spot and I knew where I wanted to be because I knew I wanted to retire eventually in Osterville and had a home here part time. So I figured I would open here and bring a bakery, a neighborhood bakery to Osterville, which I thought was missing, and the rest is history.
• What's crucial for baking pros' success in 2025 and beyond?
• To be successful, it doesn't matter what profession you're in. You need to dedicate yourself to whatever it is you're doing 110%, maybe even 200%. There is a great deal of focus that's required, a great deal of discipline. It's hard mentally, it's hard physically, and those realities, I don't think are apparent until you're actually in it. Someone can tell you how hard it is, but you're not going to really understand how hard it is until you get into it. That said, if you're passionate about it and you truly do what you love, then it doesn't feel like work, but it is a lot of discipline. It's a lot of discipline financially and work wise in terms of hours, and you need to be extremely detail oriented to stay on top of a million details and a lot of moving parts at the same time.
• What's your favorite IBIE memory?
• My favorite IBIE memory is too hard to come up with because I have loved this show. I believe this is my 5th one. I went to IBIE before I even opened a bakery. And I had learned about it, I think by Googling it and finding out that there was the largest baking industry expo in the Western Hemisphere. And I ended up opening my bakery in 2014, but I believe my first IBIE was in 2013, and I was just blown away by the size and scope of what there was to see and the networking opportunities that existed and talking to organizations like the Retail Bakers of America and understanding the kinds of resources that are out there to help you get through. Whatever it is you're trying to do in the industry. This year it's an honor to be attending IBIE as the president of the Retail Bakers of America and having things come full circle. See you there.