Biography

I want to travel the world on a sailboat with the love of my life and test recipes. That’s my crazy idea. Maybe not the best one? To put things into perspective for you, I’m a small mom-and-pop bakery owner. Most days, my husband and I arise at 2 am and drag our sorry selves to the bakery to make the good food for the people. It’s a great job. It’s fulfilling in so many ways. The only problem is that I’m naturally nomadic and prone to wanderlust. My husband is right behind me. Every crazy idea I’ve thrown at him over the last couple of decades, he’s game. So, we’ve come up with this plan: minimize our things, save up for THE boat, and learn to sail (?!?). 

What does any of this have to do with this food blog? Well, when you see my recipe testing go from my lovely 1950’s kitchen in sunny Florida to a teeny-weenie little galley on a sailboat, it’ll make more sense if I warn you about it first! It might be fun for you to follow the boat journey as well.

We’ve been here in Gainesville, Florida running BakerBaker since 2010. She’s a great little bakery. Mostly wholesale to local coffee shops with a few retail hours to take away the drudgery. We have a lovely set of regulars that make the long hours worth it. Our two boys grew up here in the bakery. Both have a love of good food done well, the ocean, and travel. 

Before then, we were both in the US Navy here, there, and everywhere. The most exciting being La Maddalena, Sardinia and the most nostalgic being Seattle, Washington (that’s where we married and our first son was born). It was over there on that island in the Med though, that I learned to really bake. I cooked and baked my way through The Gourmet Magazine Cookbook. I love those huge collections of recipes by big publishers for their treasure troves of information. I made recipe after recipe and forced my results on local Italians and Navy boys alike. My only request was some honest feedback – which I received in droves. By the time we returned to the US, I was in love with a career in food. A couple of years working for big corporations and small independent bakeries and I was ready for our own. 

Over the years, I've realized that it's that recipe testing and sleuthing that I love so much. It's fun to see what people have come up with. It’s such a great way to travel and see the world when you aren’t able to leave home. My happiest days are spent pouring over someone’s cookbook that they have obviously put their whole selves into. I then take those recipes for a ride in my environment and with my temperament. This blog is that journey. A resting place for all the testing, pictures, videos, and commentary. And in any case, my journals are too full and won’t fit on the sailboat!