Cottage Baker

The very legalization of Minnesota’s cottage food enterprises is a major accomplishment. The 2021 amendments increased the sales cap per registered individual and added pet treats for dogs and cats as a cottage food product. “We’ll keep working to educate the public about the importance of registering and how to run a business safely,” said Shelley Erickson. “It’s essential to recognize what it means for a business to have registered and why that’s important both for the business owner and their customers.”

Caroline Houghton of Carobeans knew that she was serious about chocolate when she bought her own melanger to grind cocoa beans into chocolate. Carobeans is an artisan bean to bar chocolatier based in St Louis Park, MN.

Jenny Casper relaunched Fiddlesticks Bakery, her Eagan cottage bakery, in the fall of 2023 with gluten-free celiac-friendly cinnamon rolls. 

Toni Luschen's baking celebrates the harmony of Minnesota’s seasons and flavors. Her rotating menus include many ingredients harvested and preserved from her own yard. What she doesn’t grow, she sources on her weekly trips to the St Paul Farmers Market. 

Embracing a healthy relationship with food was something that Kelsey Enders of Eat Me Bakery MPLS learned. “I was taught to be afraid of food, to see it as something that had to be limited. Many of us who grew up in the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s were subjected to an intense diet culture,” shared Kelsey.

Jamie Levenhagen found her joy again when she started making sourdough bread during the pandemic. Baking sourdough was more than a passing hobby for Jamie. It became a calling.