Local love in every loaf.

Monday, March 5, 2012

Meet the bakers!

So the first week of the spring share is in the bag, and you may wonder - who are the people baking this bread?

F&D was founded by two people, Matt and Maura, who have moved onwards and upwards.  The people running the show at present are Allison and Tori.  For the spring share and perhaps beyond, they've brought Ben and Emily on board.  Meet the bakers:

L-R: Tori, Marty, Ben, Allison, and Emily

Tori was a late bloomer in the baking world, as she grew up in the 90s when society feared carbs.  By her early 20s she lovingly rekindled her relationship with complex carbohydrates, and while living in Manhattan, she discovered the magical world of challah, bagels, and sourdough rye, and began experimenting in the kitchen.  Several years ago, Tori began spending summers working at a farm camp, teaching youth to live closer to the land by raising animals, growing food, and cooking wholesome meals from scratch.  Upon moving to Buffalo in 2009, Tori learned more about urban farming, natural building, and the local foods movement, which inevitably led her to a Fancy and Delicious Baking Workshop in the summer of 2010. Tori immediately apprenticed as a baker and by autumn of 2011, she and Allison inherited Fancy and Delicious from its founders, Maura and Matt. Tori believes everyone deserves access to healthy, wholesome food. She loves teaching the art of baking bread, a craft which allows us all to discover an active, dynamic relationship with our food supply.  Baking bread is an ancient everyday ritual which spans many cultures. When baking, Tori feels connected to that history and to the earth.

Allison grew up baking cookies and cakes in Atlanta, GA with her mother.  When her mom took up bread baking she urged Allison, now in Buffalo, to try a simple recipe.  Allison failed on an epic scale that first time but kept trying.  She and her partner began maintaining a sourdough starter shortly before she discovered F&D through their workshops, and that was that.  Whenever she worries that she thinks too much about food and related societal questions, she reminds herself that food is one of the most basic requirements to sustain life and so its importance can't really be overstated.  Introduced to a "learn to teach, teach to learn" mindset in an Outdoor Education setting, she believes that F&D's workshops are a fantastic way to both enable people to create and access good food and to hone her own knowledge and craft.

Ben and Emily wrote each other's bios and took the assignment quite seriously.  Enjoy:

Cultivated by loins from behind the iron curtain, B. Madoff's genes have been germinating like a fine yeast within only the best sourdough starters. While native to the land of Ohio, B. Madoff has migrated north to take over the once sovereign nation of Western New York. His monarchy is only in its initial stages, but his plans are great as they begin with Fancy and Delicious. Fear not, my friends, for B. Madoff is a fair king only taking what is his, and leaving the gleanings to his followers. But be warned, bread will only be for the worthy!

Emily came from Nashville Tennessee riding a rainbow of dreams.  She spends her days forging communities from the greatest people this land has to offer.  This same spirit drives her bread baking - gathering great ingredients, seeing what each has to offer, and kneading them passionately into little loaves of southern charm.  It is not an act of creation, but transmutation, with every element reaching its full potential!

And finally, Marty was a professional baker for years before taking a bread hiatus.  He's joining us on a more casual scale during this share to rekindle his enjoyment of baking and share both breadbaking know-how and an impeccable taste in baking soundtracks (aka Thriller.)

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