lauren8.jpg

Lauren Ferrone is a modern, twentysomething woman who had an idea, developed a plan to get there and is well  on her way to new business heaven with her company Summerhouse Baking.  I asked her a few questions about how she did it, and why.
Q:  Lauren, first congratulations on getting Summerhouse up and running.  What inspired you?

A:  I took a leap, inspired by the desire to do more. I recognized how lucky I was in life, what sort of opportunities I had available to me, and how unwise I was for not immediately taking advantage of whatever I could to find what I was looking for. I wanted to be more dynamic; physically and mentally. I wanted to create more, from start to finish. I wanted to share a passion with the world and to challenge myself to make something extraordinary. And I wanted to start the journey towards all those things immediately.

Q:  What did you do to get prepared?

A:  I applied for a 30-week Baking and Pastry Arts certificate program at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in St. Helena, California in April 2005, and enrolled in the beginning of October. The program was everything I hoped it would be.  During my time at the CIA, I decided I would move back to the East Coast when I graduated. I spent the summer living and working a seasonal pastry position on Martha’s Vineyard and moved to Boston in the beginning of October ready to settle in.

Q:  Any surprises along the way?

A:  I applied for a couple different pastry positions right when I got to the city but (surprise surprise) what they offered me was barely enough to survive Boston city living. All in all, too much time and energy for the return. There were still so many unknowns in my own venture I was looking for something to provide some routine and hopefully force me to focus while I figured out the structure of what I was to create. I really didn’t want to take a (more lucrative) position outside of foodservice for fear that it might take too much of me. This proved to be a real labyrinth.

I learned of a certified commercial kitchen in a suburb of Boston where culinary professionals- primarily specialty food producers and caterers- rent storage space and hourly use of the kitchen facilities. The space is designed to minimize startup costs and help culinary entrepreneurs get their business off the ground. Unfortunately, I also found out it had lost its funding and was planning to close at the end of 2006. I started looking for other potential places to cook- churches, community centers, etc.- and found no luck there.

Q:  Sounds like you were losing hope a little?

A: I had to make something work in Boston. Worried again about staying afloat, I applied for a position at one of the best bakeries in the city, went in for a training day and again faced the sad truth that it was not going to work. By chance, the day before I went in to work at the bakery I saw an article in the paper that the commercial kitchen was being saved by the city and had received a check from the mayor that would at least keep them in business through 2007. I felt like I had no choice. This was my big break.

Q:  So, that was the start of it all?  How is it going so far?

A:  I buckled down and started the tough part. With one unknown solved, there were now a whole slew of questions waiting for answers. I fine tuned ideas, over and over again. I consulted the best, most honest minds I could find. I ate, slept and dreamt pastry business and eventually settled on this: www.summerhousebaking.com. A business I can make work, for now, and that can grow in many directions- corporate gifts, wholesale specialty foods, a retail bakery/culinary center with an actual storefront(s)- or maybe all of the above! For the moment, I feel very alive. I am creating from start to finish everyday and I am sharing something I love with the world. I feel incredibly thankful for the opportunity to do so.

Need a gift? Order cookies!

Tags: , , , ,