National Culinary Review

stay in their positions. If you’re a finisher, you are a finisher.”

The employee pool is a small one at Rickard’s. Martha’s Vineyard has 10,000 or so year-round residents, with that number swelling many times over in the summer. The bakery’s winter staff numbers about eight, and doubles for the summer season.

At Chef John Folse & Company, the bakery’s extensive line includes breads, cookies, breakfast pastries, desserts and other products supplied to restaurants and foodservice outlets.

Guas’ Bayou Bakery will be a bakery/ cafe. Imondi’s two locations are the same

Like Harris, the Rickards don’t necessarily concept. “I couldn’t make it in Panama City need trained people. “We can train them,” just as a bakery,” he says.

Kate Rickard says. “What we want are people who are passionate about living on the island The bigger bakeries eventually will take and what we are doing with the bakery.” over the mom-and-pop standalone bakery operations, many in the industry believe. “The small bakeries eventually are going to die off,” Bruehwiler says. But in the meantime, “owning your own business is very special, and you can still make a living with a bakery if you are truly passionate about it.”

Bakeries of the future The Rickards are moving into the future by adding a retail operation to their successful wholesale one. Retail bakeries are becoming bakery cafes, and by adding coffees, sandwiches and even some cafe-type dinner entrées, they hope to compete with the big chains and franchises, such as the St. Louis-based Panera Bread brand.