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Meet Cheryl RICHARDSON

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Meet Cheryl RICHARDSON

January 18, 2024
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Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cheryl RICHARDSON. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Cheryl, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
I come from a family who loves to cook, bake, and gather around a great meal.

It didn’t matter if we were at our Babcia’s, Ciocia’s, or at home…food always brought everyone together… lots of laughter and catching up… just being together with those you love the most…

As I grew up and friends visited, cooking and baking for them was my expression and showed I care and love the people I’m with… I mean a full belly of delicious food, great company, and gathering together is what makes my heart happy.

Our home became the “Misiuda’s House of Hospitality”  that is how my friends referred to our home.

This carried on into my married life. Both my husband and I love to be in the kitchen… cooking and baking together…

Life moved at lightning speed.  Two kids later (and countless home-cooked and baked goodies) a few moves to the USA then to England, numerous European trips, expanded our palates.  I realized I enjoyed cooking and baking for family and friends adding and using all the knowledge I accumulated.

I credit Anna, a friend in England, who introduced me to Scandinavian breads.  She introduced me to sourdough and so my love affair with sourdough began. She offered pointers and suggestions as well as helped me to understand the complexity of the starter.  Those first loaves tasted great but were UFO shaped :) … There were many delicious failures but my curiosity and persistence to create a great loaf of sourdough bread kept me moving forward…

I read all the books I could find in the library and searched the internet. Remember, this was 13 years ago and social media was still in its infancy.

I continued practicing and feeding my friends. I started to step out of the norm, creating new flavours and unique combinations.
The first two flavours I created were blueberry, white chocolate, and lemon. The second was sundried tomato and basil. Sweet and savory.

Fast forward several months and hundreds of experiments,  I was sharing “samples” with neighbors and teachers at my kid’s school asking for honest reviews of flavours, combinations, and mouth feel.  As my recipe creations grew, and my samplers critiqued my creations, friends were now asking to buy my sourdough!

I had my first sale in September 2013. It was a loaf of our Cranberry, Walnut,  Orange Zest…the idea was born! Mrs. Richardson’s Sourdough Kitchen was born and the rest is, as you say, history…
We started small, 2-4 loaves a week, and slowly increased volume.
A job transfer resulted in a move from England to Texas with a stop in Ontario, Canada. My starter had some difficulty adjusting to the local climate. Major first aid was administered and we were back in the driver’s seat.
By this time, we were baking 10- 15 loaves a week and a few dozen scones… I loved it … The joy of baking for others, knowing they were enjoying my bread, had me hooked… I adore that a simple loaf of bread I created was/is part of the family meal and people are still planning their weekly menus around my breads!

Cheryl, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I was born in Ontario, Canada.  My parents are of Polish descent.  I am the oldest of 4 daughters.  We grew up in a family that enjoyed Polish cooking and family gatherings. We always had a large garden that provided most of the foods we ate. Today, we all like to cook.
We create bread like our ancestors… using three simple ingredients Flour, Water, Salt.. that’s it… no commercial leavening ingredients, no preservatives.  We do our best to source the best ingredients that we can find. Some of the herbs I use – come from my garden.
All of our sourdough breads contain fresh milled flour and bread flour expertly blended. We mill the grains ourselves using our trusty Mockmill.  Our grains are milled just as we are about to mix our dough… you can’t beat freshly milled flour. The grains we use are sourced locally, from around the US, Canada, and some of the specialty grains come from Italy.

All our sourdough breads use time-honored methods of a slow, long, cold ferment, approximately 30-48 hours.  The long slow ferment is needed to allow the dough to develop a fantastic flavour, and it makes it easier to digest and makes the nutrients readily available.

We offer a large variety of sourdough breads.  We have 100% whole grain, grain blends, flavoured, cultural specialties, and some traditional to exotic!

We have two sales days a week. Currently, on Wednesday, it is picked up from our home.  This is freshly baked to order.  Our Saturday market day is at the Forever Fulshear Market in Fulshear.

With our little bakery, it has let my creative spirit soar… I love to create unique flavor combinations.  Not only with over 300 varieties of sourdough breads, I have introduced sourdough focaccia, scones, cookies, and dessert breads.

Our flavor inspiration comes from our family travel adventures, family favorite flavors,  locally sourced ingredients, or seasonal produce.
Some of our customer favorites are 1) Porcini Mushroom and Gruyere Sourdough,  2) Roasted Chestnut, Leek, and British Cheddar Sourdough, 3) Bloody Mary Sourdough, and of course 4) our Christmas Sourdough.

I adore our customers for joining me on a baking adventure… together we’ve created some truly unique flavor combinations, through our experimental bakes and the customer critiques.  Our customers are offered samples of the latest creations.  They try the new flavor combinations and offer feedback on ” New” ideas. It’s truly a collaborative approach.

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How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
There isn’t just “one” thing that helped build our reputation. There are so many facets to our success.

Firstly, we are a family business …. Each one of us has a part to play!  My kids as well as my husband all have major roles and input on how our business runs.  My daughter does packaging, labeling, and photos. She helps with maintaining stock. My son works with me at the market booth.  He has a flair for selling and has a loyal fan base! Our long-time customers have watched him grow and blossom into the salesperson he is today!  My husband is my biggest supporter!  He helps in all areas of the business…from picking up supplies, and working at the market to cleaning up!

Consistent with our baked goods’ quality, it ensures the flavors don’t disappoint!  The personal service we provide keeps the customers coming back!

Our Customers have been one of the biggest factors in our reputation… They share our baked goods with friends and family. They tell their neighbors about the “Fairy Bread Mother” at the Fulshear Market.  One of my customers gave me that title!  Every single customer from the kiddies to the grandparents has helped build our company and support our little bakery.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
ands down WORD OF MOUTH! 

It has been the best source of new clients for our Sourdough Bakery. 

Sharing a loaf of bread with a neighbor, taking some scones or sourdough Focaccia to the office, customers chatting in line at the market on a Saturday morning,  and talking up our goodies have helped us grow.  In turn, we have met many fabulous folks. I can bake gorgeous bread but without my loyal customers, dear friends, and family I wouldn’t have the successful little bakery we have today.
So in conclusion,  a massive THANK YOU to my incredible family, friends, and customers. Your endless support, encouragement, and belly laughs have helped me not only grow as a baker and small business – but has helped grow our little bakery into what it is today.
I am excited to see what our future holds and what creations are in store!
Watch out taste testers…. the creative bubbles are brewing.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Madison Hozdic Instagram madisonhozdic.creative Sophia Richardson Instagram sophss_05

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