Bake it 'til You Make It

Four Central Coast bakers share entrepreneurial wisdom

INTRODUCTION Ninette Paloma

Food has always served as a vessel for connection; strangers and loved ones gathered around a table for nourishment and comfort in its most fundamental form.

When the pandemic first forced our restaurants to shutter and catching up with friends over an elaborate meal seemed like a ritual from another era, Central Coast artisans rose to the occasion, pulling on aprons and obtaining cottage kitchen licenses in the hopes of bringing a community together through the humble act of cooking. With community support and a renegade spirit, the independent artisan has single-handedly changed the face of the American Riviera foodscape, injecting ancestral recipes filled with passion and perseverance into the area’s culinary narrative. Their seasonal fare and unrelenting dedication is the dessert of inspiration.

During the grayest of days, these four bakers whipped up head-turning delights for a hungry town, taking online orders and dropping sweets off on doorsteps to brighten our days. Here, they share entrepreneurial wisdom on thriving during strange and historical times.

01 I Define Your Vision

Justine Redding

Food has always been at the center of bringing me together with friends and family: picnics, dinners at home, or lunches at a favorite restaurant. My best memories are surrounded by food and I wanted to help create great memories for the Central Coast community by connecting people together through delicious pastries on their table.

I like to make what I love to eat! I think the best way to enjoy what you are doing is to make something you like. I try to use as many organic and local-to-California vendors as possible for all of my ingredients as a way to reflect this incredibly abundant area and showcase where I am from. Chocolate made in Berkeley, flour milled in Petaluma, free range eggs and fresh fruit from Santa Barbara are some of my favorite ingredients.

I absolutely love the freedom of being able to make whatever I want while also having the flexibility to change my business so as to reflect my lifestyle.

03 I Take the Plunge

Samantha Eve

My baking is very much a part of me; the culmination of everything I am, everywhere I have traveled, and everything I have ever eaten. I have cupcake flavors inspired by a tart I ate on a park bench in Paris, pastry shops in New York City, or simple childhood memories.

For me, baking is a creative outlet that allows me to share joy with others. I love seeing people's faces light up every time I show up for a delivery with cupcake boxes in hand.

One of the most rewarding aspects of what I do is being a part of successive, celebratory moments in people’s lives: graduation cupcakes followed by cupcakes for their wedding, and then a smash cake for their child’s first birthday. It is really lovely that people choose to include me and my desserts in these milestone moments.

Roxanne Rosensteel

In the space of the pandemic and while on hiatus from my work as a personal chef, I was able to work through some burnout and find a place for creativity. I gained more clarity on what I wanted to offer to others. The pandemic gave me an opportunity to put my work out there and see if it resonated. I realized layer cakes are an excellent format to showcase the techniques and ingredients I was most interested in working with.

The through-line for me in all my baking is to consider each ingredient individually and preserve its integrity as much as possible. Having the opportunity to work with Santa Barbara produce, some of the best in the country, is truly such a privilege. I strive to have the finished products feel like an extension of my aesthetic and approach. I don’t want anything to feel gimmicky or overworked. To me the perfect pastry is beguiling and subtle at the same time. And I think a lot of that intrigue lies in the imperfections. The finished product should look thoughtful, like a human made it.

02 I Make it Your Own

Skylar Bryce

I had been wanting to sell my baked goods for a while, but when I began working in coffee many years ago I lost track of that dream. I loved being a barista and a manager but it took so much of my energy, everything else had to be put on hold.

When I was laid off like so many others in 2020 I was living in Portland, where I had begun to develop a particular interest in pies. After much encouragement, I realized I could really do something with my newfound love of pie baking, and started selling pies casually in May of that year to keep busy. When I moved back to Santa Barbara in July, I couldn’t stop thinking about how the city needed a pie shop. That’s when I really dove in.

When I was younger, one of my dads explained to me that if I didn’t like working for someone else, I had better be my own boss, and that has always stuck with me. Since high school I have always worked supporting someone else's dream, and it feels really empowering to make my own dreams come to life instead.