A life-long baking enthusiast, Vickey graduated with an Associates in Applied Science degree in Le Cordon Bleu Patisserie and Baking in 2006. Not long after, she unfortunately discovered that the final price tag for such an education was significantly higher than the minimum wage a fledgling pastry chef could earn fresh out of school. So Vickey traded in her spatula for a stapler and dove into the corporate world of livable income instead. She then spent the next fifteen years working her way up from office assistant to paralegal. The cubicle walls may have changed from time to time, but baking was always in her heart and constantly on her mind. Yes, the bills were paid, but Vickey’s dreams had been put on hold and “indefinitely” was starting to look like “permanently”. Then the world stopped in 2020…

A US Marine Corps military veteran, Ken is no stranger to corporate life either. After being honorably discharged from the Marines, he worked his way through college to earn his Bachelors of Arts degree in Organizational Management. Ken had a completed education, a new wife and was looking forward to owning his first house. So, naturally, pursuing a management position in a large corporation was the logical next step. Years passed and he crushed milestone after professional milestone. Once Ken reached the peak of his workplace game, he began to experience a spiritual rut, as every day at work seemed to mirror the one before. Things were good enough, but a creative fire within him was starting to long for more than office life could offer. As time continued to pass, it was getting increasingly harder to ignore that feeling. Then the world stopped in 2020…

From what we have learned, there is no event in human history that has impacted every single person on Earth simultaneously until the recent pandemic. At best, the pandemic lockdowns gave people cabin fever and headaches from too much screen time. At worst, our fellow citizens of the world lost precious loved ones that they can never replace. We all lived in various shades of fear, worry, sadness and exhaustion. Then the world started to return to normal. Only for Ken and Vickey, a return to their corporate jobs was no longer an option. The calling to spend their days creating deliciousness and spreading happiness was simply too strong to ignore.

Ken is now our head bread baker and the brilliant mastermind behind our famously fluffy cinnamon rolls. Vickey is of course our resident pastry chef, thrilled to be able to professionally flex her culinary muscles to their fullest extent.

Hopkins Baking Company was created out of a desire to find light after a darker time and share joy with our community. We want to be a part of your special occasions and sweet memories. We feel that food unites us all, and bakeries possess a very wonderful kind of magic.