We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tracey Dolehite. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tracey below.

Tracey, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

My family immigrated to America from Sicily in the late 1800s. At that time there was a lot of discrimination against Italian immigrants but somehow they persevered and built a successful bakery. Subsequent generations kept it going but the business finally closed. It is my mission to recapture the success of my ancestors and pass along homemade sweets to families for their celebrations.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Unlike our predecessors, we offer allergen friendly goods on top of our regular menu. It’s important to have treats the whole family can enjoy rather than excluding those who might be allergic to certain products. While we don’t have a separate, dedicated kitchen we do our best to keep those items as pure as possible. If you ordered a gluten free cake and a regular cake , they would be made in totally separate bowls and pans to help prevent cross contamination. Gloves are changed frequently and we strive to provide a product that not only allows those with sensitivities to enjoy it but one that tastes good too.

Freshness is also important to us. We don’t make anything in advance and we don’t freeze product to thaw out and use later. Every order we make is made fresh. It may take us a bit longer to do it that way but it’s important to me that our products taste the very best they can.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

Everything we offer is baked in our kitchen. Since I was 3 years old I’ve been helping and watching my mother cook and have learned everything from her…and some from you tube. I have had some trial and error in selecting recipes that reflect our business and heritage. Each recipe was hand selected by me and given a rigorous testing before landing on the menu.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

The product speaks for itself. Everything is fresh out of our kitchen as if your grandmother made it herself. We want everyone to experience the same feelings we did growing up and having fresh baked cookies and cakes.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @scottinofamilybakery
• Facebook: Scottino Family Baking Company

Image Credits
Tracey Dolehite