By Admin, BuyLocalBG.com, BuyLocalBg@gmail.com/
Friday, September 11th, 2015 1:00 PM CST
Get To Know Beech Bend Farmers Market’s Vendor Linda King. Owner of Linda’s Just Desserts!
Tell us a little about you. Where are you from, what are your hobbies and where did you start your career that led to the business?
In my former life, I was an elementary school teacher. My husband and I relocated to the Bowling Green area 16 years ago. I grew up on a small farm, and my parents were bi-vocational. They realized my love for cooking and baking and made it my responsibility to have meals ready for our family of seven. I started helping my sister in 2004 at her bakery in Tennessee. A few years later, I started baking cakes from our home. I found out that baking and selling from my home was illegal in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. So my husband and I decided to build a commercial kitchen on our land and Linda’s Just Desserts became a reality. I started taking orders for birthdays and weddings cakes, pies and cookies. I now offer our family recipe for chicken salad that I am told is award- winning. The value of simple, chemical free and as close to natural ingredients has become very important to me. I have purchased and use a grain mill to grind my own grain from fresh ground wheat that I have sourced from non-GMO and chemical free produces to produce breads.
What is your earliest memory of your work, what got you interested in it?
I remember my grandmother always had fresh baked goods in her kitchen when I was a child. I loved to see her work and help her prepare a meal.
What is your favorite thing you sell?
I love the sparkle in a child’s eyes, the seriousness on her face, as she chooses what she wants to buy.
Who are your influences in life and your work?
My greatest influences are my family. I love it when they like a new recipe that I have created and give me approval for its flavor and presentation. They are my toughest customers!
If you had to choose a last meal, what would you eat?
My last meal would be one of my sugar cookies with vanilla butter cream icing-no sprinkles!
How important is local business collaboration to you?
I love the idea of talking to the farmer to see what harvest is available and relying on her knowledge about how her product was produced and harvested.
What event in Bowling Green (Farmers Market) are you involved with?
Beech Bend Farmer’s Market is my first experience selling at a farmer’s market. I am looking forward to this fall’s Night at the Market events. The themed nights will give me a special focus for the products I will offer.
What other locally owned businesses in town do you enjoy shopping, eating or patronizing?
After I learned about the chemicals used in growing wheat, I found sources for wheat and flours that are as natural as possible. Grinding my own grains to make my Ezekiel bread chemical free is very rewarding.
