Rise Up! The Baker Podcast with Mark Dyck

Teisha Huff is back!  She and Mark catch up on her new project as head pastry chef at the new, chic, contemporary Latin-fusion restaurant Fortuna's Row in downtown Calgary, Alberta.  After ten years honing her craft as a bread and pastry baker around Saskatchewan, what's it like to create composed desserts?  How do Mom and Dad like having their daughter back?  What's it like working the evening sh...

Nels Leader is the second-generation CEO of the iconic Bread Alone Bakery in Boiceville, New York and is continuing to move their vision to Feed The World forward. In this episode, Mark and Nels talk about how you're never "done", even as the business expands, how Bread Alone shifted to being a carbon-neutral bakery and what the future holds for the bakery and the bakers at Bread Alone. Helpful Li...

Asking why a communion wafer might make her friend sick started Elizabeth DeRuff on twenty year journey of farming, baking and teaching.  As the President of Honore Farm and Mill in Marin County, California, Elizabeth both teaches city folk where their bread comes from and how to bake with flavour and health in the forefront.   Recently, the farm has begun growing out Hourani wheat, a heritage gra...

Let's end this summer season of Second Rise episodes with a bang.   It's time for the OG, my friend and mentor, Tracey Muzzolini, from the very first conversation on Rise Up! in 2018. ( Rise Up! #2 ) Tracey is the co-owner of Christies Mayfair Bakery in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.  It's a full on artisan bread and pastry shop, with classic italian specialties and awesome sandwiches too.  And they als...

Randy George was one of my mentors when we had Orange Boot Bakery, although we never spoke 1:1 until this talk in September 2018.  ( Rise Up! #24 ) When I was planning the podcast, Randy was one of the people at the top of my list of folks to talk to, because he was really focussed on putting his employees front and centre in the bakery.  He was the guy you turned to when attracting and retaining...

Cindy and I are travelling in England and Scotland this summer.  I expect to be heading to a lot of bakeries on this trip, eating the good stuff and learning more about the #realbread scene there.  #realbread is a proper movement in the UK and Chris Young is the guy who keeps the energy high and the momentum growing.  So it's only fitting that we bring back the conversation we had last year ( Rise...

We're getting some Orange Boot Bakery nostalgia this week.  Because for this Second Rise episode, I'm sharing the talk I had with Teisha Huff in March, 2019. ( Rise Up! #48 ) Teisha was a big part of the Golden Years at Orange Boot.  She was our first ever student intern.  Our Head Baker for three years.  And after she left us for greener pastures, she kept working on her game.   She started a sou...

When I talked with Josey Baker back in 2019 (Rise Up! #55 ) I wasn't sure what to expect.  He was already super famous, with a best selling book, talks at Google, and his irrepressible grin all over YouTube and Instagram.  In my mind, he was one of the early wave of 'bread celebrities.' The Josey I spoke to was one of most thoughtful men I've ever met.  Our talk gave me the confidence to 'go there...

Charlie Emers is an old friend of mine, although only via email, until we got together for a conversation back in early 2021. ( Rise Up! #118 ) Since he was on the show, we've struck up a fun correspondence, with Charlie writing me long emails from his front porch.  I imagine him hitting send and then either heading to the bake shop or sneaking out the back of the farm for a hike or a ski.  It's a...

While Mark and Cindy head out on a summer adventure, we're taking a second look at some of Mark's favourite conversations from the podcast archives. In this episode, we travel back to a conversation with Nate Houge of Brake Bread in St. Paul, Minnesota.  It's a peek into the start of a budding friendship that thrives to this day.  (This conversation originally aired as Episode 5 in April 2018) Hel...

Sometimes you just see a need and feel compelled to fill it.  After working together in the corporate world and being underwhelmed by the quality of their box lunches, Joan Kanner and Michelle Bond decided to bring the great bagels of their native New Jersey to Baltimore.  Starting with pop-ups and market bakes in 2015, by 2020 they opened Bottoms Up Bagels on Greenmount Avenue.  Now they are taki...

In this episode, Mark riffs on the challenges faced with building your bakery, or running your marketing, on platforms that you don't own.  Plus, listener questions and more! Helpful Links Atomic Habits and The Power of Habit on Goodreads Support the Podcast Here! Ask a question or listen to past episodes on Rise Up! The Baker Podcast website The Bakers4Bakers Community Mark's Blog, with the  Bake...

There are a hundred moving parts at the bakery, even for solo bakers.  Ingredients coming in, food going out, and all the processes in between.   Without well defined, repeatable, teachable systems, a day at the bakery can feel like chaos.  Get your team on the same page, however, and you can make more product, and feed more people than you ever imagined. In this episode, Mark shares stories of sy...

Laura Brannan, aka elbe, has been baking her cannabutter based cookies and cakes since the days when they were allowed as medicine only (and even then it was deeply in the 'grey zone.)  Now, Elbe's Edibles are available through cannabis stores throughout Oregon.  In this episode, Mark and elbe discuss the significant roadblocks to opening a cannabis business even though it's now a legal ingredient...

Nickey Miller and Josie Rudderham are co-owners of Cake & Loaf in Hamilton, Ontario and are also co-authors of a brand new cookbook called, you guessed it, Cake & Loaf! In this episode, Nickey and Josie share the story of their bakery, their continued commitment to paying a living wage for their employees, even through the pandemic, and the love and care they have put into their book.  The love th...

Sophie Williams is the founder and baker at Raven Breads in Bellingham, Washington, right across the water from Mark in Victoria.  Sophie has been baking for her community from a shared restaurant kitchen for the more than eight years now. In this episode, Mark and Sophie talk about her path to baking, the importance of place to living a fulfilling life, committing to whole grain baking and Sophie...

Hazim Tuğun left a successful career in Environmental Engineering to cook for people in the Bay Area, in Cyprus and in Michigan.  Now a Bread Manager at Zingerman's Bakehouse, Hazim is up to his elbows in fresh milled flour every day and is having the time of his life. In this episode, Mark and Hazim talk about getting his start in baking, the tension of leaping into a new career and working on a...

Natalie Salzman  grew up in an Austrian mountain village and wound up living and working in Panama.  But she never lost her love of Austrian bread and over time began baking for her family and work colleagues.  These days, she's baking full time at her elegant bakery and bistro Krume Backer.  In this episode, Mark and Natalie talk about travel, language, culture and design, and of course bakeries,...

When Rachel Wyman sees a need, she does what it takes to meet it, whether it's making life easier for her regulars, motivating local runners with the promise of fresh doughnuts or feeding workers being ignored by the government.  And if the problem is many times larger than anticipated, so be it. In this episode, Mark and Rachel talk about her early days baking at Bread Alone and Amy's Bread, embr...

Katie Kopsick wasn't planning on opening a bakery.  But when Covid rose up she lost her brand new job and was itching to do something, so Katie started baking bread for friends and neighbours.  Two years and two moves later, the Bolivar Bread team is making the good stuff in historic Harpers Ferry and Katie is going from strength to strength. In this episode, Mark and Katie talk about her early da...

Brian Winzenried switched from modelling to baking by taking over his father-in-law's successful bakery in Madison, Wisconsin.  After Covid derailed his plans to split time between the midwest and Panama, Brian doubled down in the jungle and opened Gamboa Baking Company.  Now he's baking bread for his community and slinging pizzas in the evening too. In this episode, Mark and Brian talk about lear...

Guy Frenkel was content digging deep into bread and art from his garage, until an opportunity in 2020 saw him taking over a large baking factory.  Now Ceor Bread is gearing up to bring excellent bread to a range of clients, from equisite "couture" breads to beautiful, nutritious loaves for the hungry and homeless. In this episode, Mark and Guy discuss the need for all bakeries to develop a luxury...

As a speech therapist, Shiri Reuveni-Ullrich worked with youth and young adults who often found it difficult to connect with others.  When she discovered that baking could be the thing that brought them closer together and brought them great joy, she shifted gears and started Rising Above Bakery.  Now their cottage bakery is looking for a larger, more permanent home. In this episode, Mark and Shir...

Corey Mintz is no stranger to restaurants, working as a cook, restaurant critic and food reporter. His book "The Next Supper: The End of Restaurants As We Knew Them and What Comes After" explores fundamental problems within the food service industry and describes what restaurants, and most importantly, diners, must do to rebuild food service for eaters, owners and staff. In this episode, Mark and...

While studying for her PhD in Canada, Lara Schuetz made the big decision to shift her studies from literature to food, attending culinary school at George Brown college.  Now, back home in Austria, she is studying to be a baker and a certified Bread Sensory Expert.  In this episode, Mark and Lara discuss the apprentice / certification process in Austria, her decision to shift to professional bakin...