Today we’d like to introduce you to Linda Yoder.
Hi Linda, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
Butter & Fire began as a Cottage style bakery out of my home kitchen.
I first started selling my baked goods in 2011 at our co-op, Local Roots, because they needed a producer to sell cookies. At that time, I was also chef and manager in their cafe, where we served lunch, catered local weddings and events, and sold packaged to-go meals. Local Roots eventually changed the structure of their cafe to feature a variety of local chefs throughout the week. The demand for my baked goods really started to grow, so I stopped making lunches for Roots to bake full-time in 2015.
A few years later, another local business referred me to the College of Wooster, so I also started selling scones and healthy bites on campus. I expanded selling at other multiple locations, including farmers’ markets and pop-up shows. To accommodate the extra baking, I became a licensed home bakery. Most recently, we designed a website where customers can order our fresh baked goods and have them shipped right to their houses.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The bakery has had a really natural progression over the years, and I am always surprised at how much we continue to bake! Sometimes it can be hard to keep up with demand.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I really enjoy developing new recipes. I love sharing good food that brings joy to the people around me. My baking stands apart from others because I only use wholesome ingredients like unbleached flour, raw cane sugar, and real butter. I’ll never use over-processed ingredients or artificial flavors; they’re terrible for you and taste awful. The bakery is locally famous for our rolled scones, our most popular cookies include Chewy Ginger and Chocolate Chip, but we also make some unique flavors like Triple Chocolate S’mores and Brown Butter Caramel Salted Chocolate Chunk.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://butterandfire.com/
- Instagram: instagram.com/butterfirebakery
