Country Catering started out as a mother and daughter custom catering business that was established in 2002. After many months of planning and working with Knowlton Township and the Warren Country Board of Health we received approval to construct a commercial kitchen located in the lower level of our home. My husband Tom, who’s a cabinet maker by trade, worked day and night to create our wonderful working space. In October of 2002 we received our first official Satisfactory certificate from the Board of Health and we were on our way. It was a learning process for everyone involved, and we credit a big part of our education on the book titled How to Start a Home-Based Catering Business by Denise Vivaldo which is published by The Globe Pequot Press, www.globe-peqote.com

This book not only discussed the in’s and out’s of running a catering business, it also discussed the legalities and the need for approval from state and township authorities. High on the list was also the importance of being properly insured.

Over the years we’ve catered all types of events, from weddings to intimate dinners and have enjoyed cooking foods from all over the globe. We’ve continued to experiment with all types of menus with our deepest passion being to offer our customers fresh, wholesome food, made with our own hands. In the end I have narrowed down the area of foodservice that I enjoy the most, which is baking.

After studying the art Gum Paste Flowers and cake decorating - my custom cakes caught the eye of some very creative customers and word spread. With the added interest of a local florist shop in our baked goods, we started supplying fresh baked cookies, bundt cakes and tea cakes for their gourmet food baskets.

It was on a trip to Vermont, at a farmer’s market, that my interest in Artisan Bread Baking was born. There was a line of people in front of a little booth waiting to buy a loaf of bread from a local Artisan Baker. What amazed me about this bread was it’s texture, it was beautiful to look at. After we purchased our bread, along with some locally made sheep’s milk cheese and a bottle of local wine, we sat down to enjoy our meal. The first taste of that bread was amazing - and from that point on I set out to discover how I too could create this wonderful bread. Little did I know that this quest would turn into a journey, and that there would be sacrifices along the way - but in the end, they have all been worth it.

Being in business for yourself, especially the food industry, is not a challenge for the weak at heart. It’s a roller coaster ride with twists and turns that sometimes make you feel as if you’re going to be thrown into the galaxies! But if you hold on tight to your dreams and believe in the gifts that you’ve been given, you can survive - you just have to be willing to bend and be very creative. Eventually you will find your niche.

I started my bread journey with another book! The Bread Builders by Daniel Wing and Alan Scott published by Chelsea Green Publishing Company www.chleseagreen.com. This book is a wonderful resource for anyone wanting to know about Artisan Bread and masonry wood fired ovens. Once I discovered how this wonderful bread was created and found other Artisan Bakers to talk to - I decided that I wanted to take on the challenge of becoming an Artisan Bread Baker.

The first leg of my journey was to again contact the Warren County Board of Health and Knowlton Twp to find out from them if they would be comfortable with us adding a masonry wood fired oven to my business description. After going through the proper processes, and receiving the blessing of both authorities, we proceeded to purchase our oven plans from Alan Scott.

Since we were fortunate to find a lovely couple to purchase our horses, the barn was now empty and had to be gutted, cleaned and prepared for the oven! The first project was that the dirt floor had to be dug out so we could pour a cement slab and foundation for the oven. All the masonry supplies were delivered, and now the pressure was on my husband, Tom, who quickly got to the task of building the oven. Alan Scott has been tremendously helpful in guiding Tom along the way and we’ve enjoyed sharing this journey with him.

Before our oven was built, I was baking bread in clay ovens, also known as cloches, www.kingarthurflour.com which were placed in my commerical gas oven. I was able to bake three loaves at a time - a very slow, tedious process, but the outcome is a very close cousin to what will come out of our wood fired oven. Now that our wood fired oven is completed, the cloches will be retired. They have taken a beating, with cracked lids, broken bottoms and blackened sides. I am going to keep the one that is battered and broken the most to place in our barn by the wood fired oven to remind me where it all started!

The oven is completed and the curing process just about complete. My company has now changed it's name to the BakeHouse. My bread is finding more and more customers and I've had the privilage to be a guest speaker for the Rotary and the Women's Club. It continues to amaze me how excited everyone gets about the bread, just like I did in Vermont. You can check out Where to Buy our Bread and watch for new locations being added as more and more customers discover the bread.

Thank you for your interest in my company and I hope you enjoy our journey through pictures. As always, it’s a pleasure to bake for you, my guest.