Today we’d like to introduce you to Keri North.
Hi Keri, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I have been working as a baker and then a pastry chef for over 15 years. My husband Skyler has a background in finance and business management. As a teenager I worked for a local pie bakery in Lenexa and both Skyler and I competed in national cooking competitions with the Olathe North High School Culinary Arts program.
After graduating High School, I went to Johnson and Whales University in Denver, Colorado and received a baking and pastry degree. From there I worked as a Pastry Chef at a french bakery in Salt Lake City and then at Sundance Resort Park City, Utah. Carreer opportunities took both of us to San Francisco where I worked as a pastry chef at Bi-Rite.
There, we make from scratch Ice creams and supplied our shop, catering business and commissaries with baked goods and ice creams.
In 2018, our boy was born and it was time to move back home. We bought a home in Olathe and I quickly started a small business. We build out a small commercial kitchen in Olathe and sold our products at the Lenexa and Mission Farmers Markets. We very much enjoyed being able to meet our new customers and supply them with treats during the pandemic. The response to our baked goods was awesome and since so many of our customers told us they were sad that they wouldn’t be able to see us in the winter, we decided to open a retail space!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
The response to our products has been awesome and we have a loyal and frequently returning customer base. That being said, navigating through the pandemic has been challenging at times. When we did our first farmers market last year we had to make sure everything was packaged individually.
We were also aware that it was financially a tough time for people, as well. We re-imagined some of our products and developed some new ones so we could serve great products with locally sourced ingredients and serve them safely at reasonable price points. This is a huge part of what we continually do to continue offering new items and keep them at reasonable prices.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
We are known for our from scratch traditional items that we put a fun creative spin on. One item that has quite the following is our cookie fries. We make chocolate chip, sugar, and dark chocolate (like oreo), cookies in the shape of french fries. then we offer dipping sauces that we also make ourselves, like Caramel, Fudge and marshmallow sauces and other toppings like oreo dust, sprinkles, crushed candy bars, nuts, etc.
Another item is our Salted Caramel Croissants. We make the Croissants by hand, cut them into squares, layer them, then drizzle our homemade Salted Caramel Sauce over them. One of our favorite lunch items we offer is our Pigs in a blanket. We get Cheesy bratwursts from a local farm in Leavenworth, then wrap them in cheese and a croissant.
We also have a passion for hyper-local food. Since we started offering our products we have looked for opportunities to collaborate with local farms and vendors. Our products are made with over a dozen items from these local farmers and vendors. These produces range from our bacon, chicken, bratwursts, to our coffee and tea, to our cornmeal, and fruit/vegetables. By doing this we have made and help support some amazing friends, also our products taste even better!
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
The Lenexa Farmers Market and Mission Farmers Markets have both been amazing for us! They do such a great job at getting new people to the farmer’s market and spreading the word about all of their vendors!
We also love our vendors and farmers!
Contact Info:
- Email: pastrychef.kn@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yellowbrickolathe/
- Facebook: https://business.facebook.com/pastrychef.kn
