By Michelle M. Sharp, Founder and Content Creator of Meet the Minnesota Makers
| WHO: | Kelsey Endres, owner of Eat Me Bakery | ||
| BUSINESS TYPE: | Cottage Bakery | ||
| SIGNATURE PRODUCTS: | Custom Cakes, Buns, Bundts, Bars | ||
| WHERE:
IN-PERSON: WEBSITE: |
Minneapolis
Neighborhood Roots Market https://eatmebakerympls.com/ |
Kelsey Endres, owner and creative force of Eat Me Bakery in Minneapolis, encourages you to enjoy your food. “Food is special. It is fun. It doesn’t have to 
just be fuel,” shares Kelsey. “I like to play with flavors. I like the surprise of eating food that someone else prepared.”
Kelsey’s rich flavor palette for her custom cakes, bundts, buns, and bars ranges from basil to pistachio. Vanilla and chocolate are consistently the most popular cake and cupcake flavors. Kelsey incorporates seasonal produce from her fellow farmers market vendors to flavor her baked goods. “I’m very proud of my strawberry cake,” shares Kelsey. “I reduce and puree many pints of berries to make the flavoring. There’s no extract involved.”
The simple joy of baking and sharing the food she made inspired her to open a bakery. “I thought it was such a romantic idea. How cool would it be to be able to prepare food for other people every day?” explains Kelsey. “However, there was this voice in my head that always said, ‘But who will eat that kind of food?’”
Healthy Food Relationships
“Many of us who grew up in the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s were subjected to an intense diet culture,” shares Kelsey. “We still see it today. I tire of seeing women’s bodies as a fashion statement. We shouldn’t be encouraged to make ourselves into different shapes because that’s the ‘trend.’”
A turning point for Kelsey was discovering food as a tool of enjoyment rather than of guilt. It brings people together. It embraces rich cultural traditions 
(like her signature cardamom buns). It surprises and delights people. It makes them happy.
Through her bakery and her social media platforms, Kelsey creates a refuge for body positivity. “When I get comments about how my treats must be sugar and calorie free I always respond, ‘Nope.’ It’s full of butter and sugar and it tastes really good,” states Kelsey. “I will say that if you want to save this for tomorrow because you’re full right now, that’s okay. You don’t have to get this if you don’t want to. I don’t want it to make you feel bad.”
A Bit of Sass and Spice
Eat Me Bakery started in 2019. “I love the name of my bakery. I think it’s so funny,” laughs Kelsey. “You can take it so many ways. It can be an Alice in Wonderland reference. It can be very literal. It can also be sassy and a bit abrasive.”
The other sassy players in Kelsey’s bakery are her cats. “The cats are a nuisance. I always corral them when I’m baking,” smiles Kelsey. After Kelsey has finished baking for the day, “There’s noting cozier than a coffee and a pastry with a cat on my lap and a good book in my hand. There’s just something cozy about the combination of cats and bakeries.”
Kelsey made Eat Me Bakery her full-time mission in 2022. In the summer she participates in the Kingfield and Northeast Farmers Markets. Kelsey also 
takes on as many special orders for her cookies, buns, bundts, and decorated cakes as she can. “I am always honored to be a part of someone’s special event. I love being a piece of my customers’ weddings, birthdays, break ups, and surgeries. I appreciate their trust in me to create something that serves as a literal 
centerpiece for their gathering.”
Kelsey’s baking resume includes time spent in the kitchen at Honey & Rye. “I loved working at Honey & Rye!” gushes Kelsey. “The owner Anne has been so kind and encouraging. She is willing to answer a ton of questions about owning a bakery. I worked with her everyday in the kitchen. I learned so much.”
Food Connections
Whether preparing basil bundts, pesto buns, s’mores cookies or layered cakes, Kelsey most loves the human connections shared through food. “When people wonder what’s the meaning of life? It’s connection. Nothing makes me happier than watching someone process that first bite of something,” muses Kelsey. “I’ve had so many people tell me that the cardamom buns remind me of their moms or their grandmas. It makes me happy that something I made can remind them of their family in a positive way.”
Connect with Eat Me Bakery
Visit eatmebakerympls.com for menu and pricing.
Find Eat Me Bakery this winter at the Neighborhood Roots Winter Market. Look for current market favorites including the amazingly-textured carmelita 
bars and her new brown butter pistachio chocolate chip cookies.
Check the bakehouse website to sign up for a cake decorating class with Kelsey. She teaches both her popular vintage heart cakes and a general 
decorating class.
Eat Me Bakery is one of three makers you can meet at the January 18 Taste Makers Class at the MN Landscape Arboretum. She’ll share her classic buttercream frosting and demonstrate decorating tips before sampling a cake with class participants.
Look for mini-vintage heart cakes this Valentine’s Day. “I love creating ‘spicy’ Galentine’s cakes for the Valentine’s holiday. The spicier the better. I think it’s fun,” smiles Kelsey.
Follow @eatmebakerympls on Facebook and Instagram for reminders to just eat the cake, meet sassy cats, and enjoy tempting buns.
Follow @meettheminnesotamakers to discover the people who make Minnesota a tasty place to be!
Visit eatmebakerympls.com for menu and pricing. Fall flavors return this week. Pumpkin spice and apple cider mini bundts are among the flavors returning to Kelsey’s weekly menu rotation.
Follow @eatmebakerympls on Facebook and Instagram for reminders to just eat the cake, meet sassy cats and, enjoy tempting buns. 
Follow @meettheminnesotamakers on Facebook and Instagram to discover the people who make Minnesota a tasty place to be!
