SWEET THINGS

An Unofficial Love Language

Baking and eating: the emotional experience

By Brittany Hunt

Grace Kelly May, Owner and Executive Pastry Chef of GK BakedGoods

Eating delicious food is absolutely an unofficial love language. Delicious food makes you feel good! Cooking and eating can be such an emotional experience that hopefully summon happy memories or create new ones. Grace Kelly May, Owner and Executive Pastry Chef of GK BakedGoods, hopes to “share joy” through the bakery with the people of Fort Wayne. Grace has worked in well-known food cities (Chicago, Hawaii, and Houston) over the course of her career and now she is back in her home state of Indiana.

Q: How does it feel to be back home?

A: “Unexpected and wonderful! And being close to family is helpful in having a built-in support system.The culinary landscape is changing and to be a part of diversifying the food scene in the

Fort Wayne area so it’s not all chain restaurants is great for the community.”

Q: Is there a particular event that was the spark that lit the fuse of baking for a living for you?

A: As a little girl, Grace spent a lot of time in the kitchen with her mom baking and she developed an interest in working in kitchens after working in a local restaurant as a teen. From there, Grace discovered that baking is her passion and pursued it further by attending culinary school in Chicago. Q: What do you feel when you bake/cook?

A: “Baking is my happy place!”

Q: What do you want family, friends and customers to feel when they eat your dishes?

A: “I want them to feel that WOW factor. You don’t have to travel to famous cities like New York or Paris to have delicious food.

I want my customers to know they can have a high end experience in their own backyard. I want my customers to leave feeling happy.”

Q: What’s your favorite food to cook/bake?

A: “I like to take the classics and elevate them, like our

Cinnamon Roll.”

Q: What’s your favorite food prepared by someone else?

A: “This is my guilty pleasure... believe it or not, it’s supermarket cake! The more food coloring the better!”

Q: Do you have a favorite flavor combination? Describe what it tastes like and how those flavors make you feel.

A: “I’m known for balanced desserts. I like the salty/sweet combination. Salt is my secret weapon. The menu item that best demonstrates this combination is the Almond Croissant.

The flavors dance on your tongue!” It is a 3-day process which reinforces the GK BakedGoods motto: “Handmade everything!”

Q: For you, what is baking/cooking connected to? What memories are evoked when you’re in the kitchen?

A: Baking is a meditative space for the pastry chef, and being in the kitchen transports Grace back to childhood baking with her mom and grandmother. It’s also a privilege to be “connected to people’s celebrations. I get to bring a fun little ray of sunshine to people’s day,” she says. GK’s pastries are also being transported via their pastry truck that sells their vegan hand pies in flavors like Blueberry Ginger.

Q: What do you want your legacy to be?

A: Grace grew up watching her mom as a small business owner and so did her husband learning the value of hard work as well as independence. This is a life skill that she is glad to model for her children. As an entrepreneur, business owner and pastry chef, Grace wants people to enjoy GK’s food as a demonstration of love. Furthermore, she wants GK’s BakedGoods to continue to be an integral part of the community, working with other local businesses to cultivate a thriving network. The next step in building her legacy is the downtown storefront opening early next year. Z