We were lucky to catch up with Jennifer Meek recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jennifer thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?

The most unexpected problem I have faced was being diagnosed with MS June 2023, 3 years after starting my decorated sugar cookie business. What started as mild tingling to a few fingers on my right hand progressed to full numbness and complete loss of use of that hand. It then started progressing to my left hand. I had to suspend cookie orders while I underwent aggressive medication therapy and physical therapy. I also worked full time as an RN so I was unable to do tasks that required the use of that hand. I would type / chicken peck with my left hand while I awaited voice dictation equipment to get set up. As a nurse, I knew what MS was but I did not know what it meant for me. I slowly regained the function of my hand. I resumed cookie orders but I felt a level of uncertainty because of the unpredictable nature of the disease. I enjoyed baking but could not physically turn out the volume of several dozens per week. I took the next year and a half taking small orders but mostly focused on self care, health, and kept busy with our young boys (Gray 6, Chase 4).
Then randomly one day I googled ‘ what is the hardest thing to bake’ and the majority consensus was french macarons. November 2024 I entered my mac era and started making 2-3 dozen per week. Sometimes they turned out, sometimes they didn’t. My husband and I would bring them in to work each week and have been doing so for the last year. I made a different flavor each time. When I started getting consistent results, I started offering a monthly seasonal box with 6 macarons and 6 flavors.
My work colleagues also convinced me to get into sourdough – after telling them repeatedly that I don’t have the bandwidth for that, I made my first loaf November 2024 and have been obsessed ever since. What started as making loaves for my family is now something I am able to offer my community. My MS is stable but the numbness/tingling in my hands remains. My hands feel heavy most of the time, always numb and tingly – like how your mouth feels after the lidocaine starts to wear off. You can talk and chew but it feels weird. That’s how my hands are and always will be.

Jennifer, 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?

In the thick of motherhood in Feb 2020 (Gray was 2 and Chase was 6 mos old), I started Gray & Chase Baking Co, which is my home bakery in Littleton. I specialize in decorated sugar cookies, homestyle cookies (like grandma made) and most recently, French macarons, and sourdough bread . My first bake sale was Valentines Day and it was a huge success. Despite the world being locked down, I began to take custom sugar cookie orders, the first being for a baby shower, the next for a retirement party, then a taco twos-day themed birthday. I also began teaching cookie decorating and showing up occasionally to farmer’s markets and fairs as a vendor.
I have been baking for 20+ years and now that people were wanting to pay me for my bakes, it was so humbling! I bake not only for the enjoyment of it and the happiness it gives people, but the connection I feel with my mom, who died suddenly when I was 22. She was a very good baker and I am blessed to have all her recipes (which I have spent the last 20 years tweaking due to the high altitude in Denver). After losing the use of my hand for about 6 months in 2023 from MS, I eventually became proficient with the technically difficult and sometimes volatile french macaron. Sourdough has been a stable presence in our household for the last year also. I was baking it for my family anyway, so I decided to sell some fresh loaves at an artisan fair recently and was stunned when I sold out in 45 minutes! I am working on mastering French pastry currently and hope to offer croissants in the future as well. I focus on using the use the best ingredients while balancing flavor and texture. My business is small, local, authentic, and everything is hand made by me with a lot of thought and care.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Despite losing the use of my right hand, I was able to work hard to regain most of the use of my hand. Not only am I able to manage daily life, I have finally found balance between working full time as a nurse and full time as a home baker, without sacrificing my health or time away from my family. I am grateful and will be the first to admit that it wasn’t easy but perhaps I am too stubborn to give up!

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I was physically unable to produce the volume of decorated sugar cookie orders I was doing prior to my MS diagnosis so I learned how to make French macarons and sourdough which I can now offer my customers.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://grayandchasebakingco.com
• Instagram: instagram/grayandchasebakingco

Image Credits

n/a
All images are mine