Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Shannon
Hi Lisa, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started Bread(ish) Gluten Free Bakery after taking a career break to move with my family to Austin from New York City. With the demands of my busy NYC Catering and Private Chef Business removed, I was able to focus on tinkering at home, creating and perfecting Gluten Free versions of holiday and everyday items for my own gluten free family. When the pull to return to working began to be too great to ignore, I decided to bring these accumulated skills and talents to the Austin market, focusing on baked goods for the first time. As I looked around at the availability of Gluten Free products, I noticed certain items tended to be repeated by the existing bakeries: it was pretty easy to find cupcakes, muffins and cookies, but impossible to find real artisan breads and more specialty products. So I chose as the specific mission of Bread(ish) to provide those items that are harder to find, to offer what is not on offer elsewhere. My strong skill set and extensive experience at the highest level made me uniquely positioned to tackle these trickier recipes, with their challenging texture and structure issues, and to produce quality gluten free alternatives. It began to feel like a Calling.
In addition to the variety available, it is my commitment to provide these items in their most healthful and whole-food form, with attention to the look and presentation of the product, as well as the taste and texture. I believe being Gluten Free shouldn’t mean you can’t have beautiful, nourishing food, lovingly prepared. So we source our ingredients carefully, focusing our menu on local and seasonal produce as much as possible, we choose only preservative free ingredients with no artificial colors or flavors, and we proudly make everything from scratch.
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My official Bio:
Chef Lisa Shannon is a dedicated Gluten Free Baker with nearly 20 years experience in NYC and ATX. Trained in the classical French tradition in NYC, Chef Lisa graduated at the top of her class at The French Culinary Institute in New York City. There she was able to refine her craft and develop her skills in the classic tradition of the French kitchen. Chef Lisa has cooked for an elite level of clientele. Celebrities, diplomats, and members of New York Society have all enjoyed her produce-driven, fresh and unique menus. She has also been pleased to serve in a consultant capacity to some of New York City’s best-loved restaurants and food institutions. Among her favorites was serving as Bon Apetit Magazine’s Chef de Cuisine (Interim), and being a featured Guest Chef at neighborhood favorite Italian eatery, Polpetto. Chef Lisa’s talents have been featured in both national and local media, including television, magazines, and online content. Chef Lisa has the experience and skill to bring truly beautiful, delicious baked goods to Austin’s gluten free community, at a level of quality so high, even gluten eaters will happily dig in!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I started Bread(ish) as a Cottage Bakery, in my own kitchen, and it used to be whatever I could make with my own two hands was the limitation. As demand kept growing, I was able to hire help, but we were soon busting at the seams in my home, and it was hard to never really be able to leave work! So when the opportunity came to move to a commercial kitchen, I jumped at it. But the scale up has been intense. We are essentially bootstrapping it, making each step forward a hard-won hurdle, and the stakes get higher with each step we take. My family and I continue to make sacrifices to bring this vision of ours to life, one squeezed out move at a time. It’s honestly been grueling, and sometimes i have felt overwhelmed or despairing… but when I look back at all we’ve accomplished, how far we’ve come, it blows my mind.
At this point, my greatest challenge, personally, is to remember it’s a marathon, not a sprint. I have to make a concerted effort to take time for myself, to put the pressure aside for an afternoon, to enjoy time with my kids or snuggle with my dogs. Without recharging I would not be able to continue, and I want very much to see this Bakery reach the potential I see for it. I consider Bread(ish) to still be in its infancy – there’s so much more we can do and so much more we can bring to the gluten free community. I feel like the past few years have been the building of a foundation, and from here we can really start to grow.
We’ve been impressed with Bread(ish) Gluten Free Bakery, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Bread(ish) Gluten Free Bakery is a woman-owned, dedicated gluten free bakery featuring hand-crafted Artisan breads and French-style pastries. We are a brand in the making, having begun our journey with two hands and a vision, and we see ourselves as building not only a brand, but we hope we are helping to build a better future for the Gluten Free Community, and for the food industry. To this end, we have 3 foundational principles: We offer a truly Premium product, We provide an equitable, supportive workplace, and we are committed to the highest level of Customer Service.
At Bread(ish) we offer 100% scratch-made breads and pastries with nothing artificial, no preservatives and no dyes, made entirely from whole food ingredients. Not just another cupcake outlet, Bread(ish) provides real food, including the highest quality gluten free bagels, pizza crusts, baguettes, and cinnamon rolls, as well as seasonal and regional treats many gluten free folks haven’t had in years. All as locally and responsibly sourced as possible.
As a company, Bread(ish) seeks to break the mold of exploitative workplaces typical of the food service industry, which rely on low-wage labor to make a profit. We seek to employ a diverse group including women, people of color, people from the LGBTQ community and the Neurodiverse, to give them meaningful and engaging work, and to pay them a living wage, as defined by the City of Austin. By the same token, we don’t accept tips because we feel it is our responsibility, not that of our Customers, to pay our employees enough to live on. It certainly makes it harder to keep the lights on to hold ourselves to these high standards, and we realize we’ve set ourselves quite a challenge as a fledgling business. But we believe in these principles so strongly and if we can’t make it work with this model, we don’t want to do it.
The third pillar of our foundation is our commitment to our customers. We would quite literally be nowhere without our customers, and we seek to create for them a superior food shopping experience. Bread(ish) Sales Associates are trained to engage with each customer as if they’re the only one there, to give out samples and information freely, and to never rush. We strive for 100% customer satisfaction – and while perfection is not possible, and we’ve certainly made mistakes, it is our goal that every customer receives our best possible effort, including being responsive to complaints when they do arise, and making every effort to make things right.
This is a purpose-driven Bakery, with a commitment to progress and to equity. We are a heart-forward Team of Bakers and Sales Associates who show up each week with a mission to give to our Community, bringing nourishment and joy to our Customers.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
I think i already poured my heart and soul out in the previous answers!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.getbreadish.com/home
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getbreadish?igsh=eHhreXhsY3Nwb2g5&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100076174480074
Image Credits
headshot taken by Lindsay Mac Photography
All other photos taken by me (Lisa Shannon)
