Rise Up! The Baker Podcast with Mark Dyck

After many months away from the mic, Mark is finally publishing a 'lost episode' where he talks with his old buddy Nate Houge of Brake Bread in St. Paul, Minnesota. Nate wanted to hear the entire 'Mark the Baker' story in one go, and share that story in one place. Ever the contrarian, Mark got Nate talking about his life in Minnesota too. In this episode, two old friends catch up, discuss aging, f...

After more than seven years and 220 episodes, it's time to draw a line under the Rise Up! Podcast.   In this episode, Mark shares his reasons for stopping the show, discusses what is next for the podcast, Bakers4Bakers and his other baking passions, and reflects on the high points of over 200 hours worth of whole-hearted conversations.   Helpful Links Support the Podcast Here! Rise Up! The Baker P...

There are times when family is bigger than career and you need to figure things out.  And often, bread and baking becomes the way forward.  That's what happened to Mark Gavigan and Kristin Ryall, who gave up careers in the wine trade to relocate to Palm Springs to be closer to their family, and Mark fell into baking in a big way. In this episode, Mark, Kristin and your host Mark talk about the exp...

Arlo Brandl returns to Rise Up! after seven years, still in Tecumseh, Michigan but in a new location on the main street and with a brand new book!  In this episode, Mark and Arlo talk about the big move to the main street, why baking alone still works best for him and his family, and they dig into Early Riser , Arlo's new memoir and recipe book.  Just like his bakery, Arlo's book is a labour of lo...

Laura Fessenden dreamed of being a record executive, but food nosed ahead of music at Moxie Bread Co. in Boulder, Colorado.  Starting as a barista, Laura took on more and more responsibility until her mentor and bakery founder Andy Clark died in 2022.  Now the overall Director of Operations, Laura and her team are continuing Andy's legacy while building a business that works for everyone, well int...

Kevin Masse started a small bakery in a small state, but he didn't stay small for long.  These days, Small State Provisions has two locations in the Greater Hartford, CT area, is open seven days per week and is continuing to expand hours and flavours. In this episode, Kevin shares his journey from food writing to food making, the value of having a vision and a plan, and how it's impossible to shak...

Scott France travelled extensively before settling down in Seattle, starting in the food business and joining Macrina in 2016.  Now he spends his days leading a team of over 200 employees and serving customers via six cafes and multiple wholesale accounts. In this episode, Mark and Scott talk about the value of world travel, especially for North Americans, how Macrina navigated the Covid pandemic...

Travis Gerjets is back on the podcast and holy dinah, he's got a five year old bakery now! A coffee shop, cafe and airstream trailer full of awesomeness too.   On this episode, Mark and Travis dig deep into the prairie baking mythos, talk about Prairie Sky Breads and the Minot food scene, about building a bakery that doesn't kill the baker, and embrace their shared love of amazing baking teams. Th...

Lisa and Nic Romano had careers in food and hospitality, and got into market baking so Nic could stay home with his young family.  But when business took off and they had a chance for a Big Leap, they both dove in, taking over The Breadery in 2023.  Now they are delivering wholesale bread around the state, running a full retail bakery (complete with olive oil tasting!) and are still attending four...

Tim Kastner loves bread and he loves the solitude of bread baking.  He also loves working at the Bread Lab, a wholesale bread bakery in St. Paul, Minnesota.   In this episode, Tim shares the origins of the Bread Lab, springing up as part of Patisserie46, a fine pastry shop founded by master patissier John Kraus, and how his passion for baking makes the night shift a feature of the job, rather than...

When Chris DiPiazza needed a break from his IT business, he took a cooking class with a bread baker.  That class opened up a portal that changed his life and career.  From small beginnings, Chris slowly built up his wholesale business until opening Mighty Bread Co. in a small corner of a larger building in 2017.  These days, his bakery is the main player in the building, as Chris and his team go f...

Erica Leahy was working in an office job when she realized she had missed her calling.  So she gave up her stock options and health plan, left the office and set off for the life of a pastry chef.  After unpaid internships, several stints baking for fine restaurants, finding her feet in a commissary kitchen and starting a family, she opened Three Daughters Baking Co. in 2018. In this episode, Mark...

Gillian Lundgren was lured to the Bay Area by her favourite aunt and has never left.  Through a long and varied career as a baker in San Francisco, from bakeries to pop ups, she founded Black Jet Baking Co. right down the block from where she got her start.  She's putting down deep roots and making sure the people in her neighbourhood are well fed. In this episode, Mark and Gillian talk about both...

Carly Rossmeissl wants to experience everything baking has to offer.  Since graduating from baking school she's travelled from New York to Austin to Wisconsin, working with bread, cakes, desserts and even stuffed pretzels.  But her work keeps coming back to two things: solving problems and building strong, happy teams.  In this episode we talk about Carly's long and winding journey in baking, with...

There's something special about small town bakeries.  And when your bakery is on the main street of a small town in the heart of Sonoma, California and you're baking stellar bread from a massive brick oven, well, now you really have something special. Jessie Frost has all that and more.  A native of the Sonoma area, she baked around the Bay Area before eventually taking over Nightingale Breads.  I...

When Mark Hart decided to go out on his own, he built a commercial baking space, but not for his own production baking.  Instead, he and his partner Luis Cabral started Rise Baking Lab, a teaching and event space where they can share their love of baking with professional and amatuer bakers alike. In this episode, Mark and Luis share their vision for their new bread lab, the joys to teaching, and...

Jonathan Stevens new book, The Hungry Ghost Bread Book, is a throwback to the first wave of books on artisan baking in the 1990's.  And for good reason, because Jonathan has been part of the North American bread scene from the very beginning. In this episode, Mark and Jonathan take a trip back to the early days in Northern California, figuring it out with Alan Scott, opening an opinionated bakery...

Holly Showalter was a pastry chef in Virginia when the big skies of Montana came calling to her.  After several years working different jobs and settling into the local community, Holly opened Wild Oats Baking.  Now she's feeding the people and the people are fully embracing her and her food. In this episode, Mark and Holly talk a little about tiny houses, more about hiring from within a small tow...

Today Mark is joined by Karen Bornarth of the Bread Bakers Guild of America and Martin Barnett of the Baking Association of Canada to talk about the state of the baking industry in North America.  They reflect on the success of two recent national meetings, discuss the range of benefits that nationwide education and advocacy can provide, ponder the implications of a $10 loaf of bread, and more.  H...

Once Lyndsey Bell realized that the corporate life was not for her, she and her partner Jay Valeri dove into the world of donuts and coffee.  Since they found their sweet spot and opened Bigfoot Donuts seven years ago they have gone from strength to strength. In this episode, Mark, Lyndsey and Jay talk all things donuts and coffee, being able to take advantage of opportunities when they are presen...

When we get tired and frustrated as bakery owners, we often fall into the trap of thinking of our employees as expenses and not assets and partners.  Luckily, there are resources like the Good Jobs Strategy to help us reset our thinking and put our employees at the forefront of our business success. In this episode, Mark talks with Sandhya Mahadevan of Good Jobs Institute about their work with lar...

Ian Herrington turned the turmoil of Covid into the catalyst to make the leap into bakery ownership.  Now Leavened, his elegant bakery / cafe in Cleveland is making a name for itself within the neighbourhood and for miles around. In this episode, Mark and Ian talk about the quiet rhythms of a bake team working around the bench, the joy of working with great partners and the thrill of welcoming Ian...

Tom Moore loves starting new projects.  And the best thing is, they work.  His new bakery cafe, Tombo Eats on Yates Street in Victoria launched to huge buzz this year and is already one of the must visit spots downtown. In this episode, Mark and Tom discuss the wild and crazy food journey Tom's been on since dropping out of school to apprentice as a chef, opening restaurants in his native Australi...

Carlos Ruiz was a litigation lawyer and quickly found that the daily grind of destroying the opposition was killing him inside.  Baking and especially feeding his community was the antidote. In this episode, Mark and Carlos talk about making the switch from law to the bakery life, making connections with teachers and mentors, the stresses of supporting your family through baking and what El Horno...

Jessica Rivers is co-owner and connection engine of the amazing bakery Working Culture Bread in Victoria BC.  In the three years since Mark talked to her husband Adam in Episode #128, the bakery has grown and their family has too.  Through it all, Jess and the Working Culture team have built even stronger ties within the community, through fundraising, advocacy and lots of listening. In this episo...