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Whipping Up a New Life

What was it like being an investigator for the Cook County State Attorney’s office?
A. I fought for that job and I loved it. I was the 11th woman hired out of 150 investigators and I didn’t think I would leave. I always say that when I graduated from the Police Academy, my uniform was plain clothes and a gun. Every day was different and busy. I worked in felony trial support on violent crimes and would help the State Attorney build cases. We would work in pairs or own our own, clearing 100-plus cases each per month. We would find witnesses, proactively investigate crimes, deliver subpoenas and evaluate crime scenes and more. It was very exciting. But I wasn’t just dealing with bad guys, though I did make arrests. I was meeting families and innocent bystanders and trying to get them to talk with me. It actually made me a great salesperson.

Why did you leave?
A. I was 31, had just had our second child, Hannah, and there were a lot of changes happening. My mother had just passed away and it shook my world so much. Also at work, the man who trained me passed away and, while I was on maternity leave, my partner died. Although I loved it, the job was sometimes a distressing one and my empathy meter is off the charts. I realized that I couldn’t be surrounded by that sadness. I never thought I’d have children and stay home, but that’s what happened.

How did you start a bread business?
A. It began at the Christening party for my daughter Hannah. The catering basket with the desserts for the party was running late and so in a moment of desperation, I served some banana bread I had made from my Grandmom’s recipe. When I glanced back, I saw that these guys I’d known since I was little had huge pieces shoved in their mouths. I thought they were mocking me, but they actually loved it. They told me I should make it for the holidays and they would buy it from me for gifts. I said, ‘whatever,’ but then the next day an attorney who was at the party called and said, “I heard you are getting into catering so I’m going to incorporate you to be safe. What are you calling your business?” I thought, well, it was Hannah’s party so I’ll call it Hannah Banana Bread Company.”

Did you always keep some of your Grandmom’s bread on hand?
A. Yes, I was sick of buying processed foods for the kids because of all the additives and, well, you don’t want your kids to glow in the dark. So I started making the bread for them. However, I was lucky that I had enough on hand for the party. What happened was that we would usually put overripe bananas in the freezer and when I needed to clean it out for the food for the party, I thought I would just make some up, adding chocolate chips to one, and white caramel chips to another batch. My grandmother was this beautiful tiny Italian woman who baked by taste, she would even taste the flour to make sure it was just right. And she gave me her recipe.

How did you start selling to stores?
A. I just picked up the phone and called. I didn’t even know what to charge so the first coffee shop gave me a price. And then they sold so well that the manager said, ‘you are getting a raise, we’ve just upped the price.’ Then I started selling to other coffee shops and a big local grocery store, Sunset Foods, gave me an order. It was crazy. I was baking, packaging and labeling 24 hours a day. I would fall asleep on the table at night and my husband Pete, who is now vice president in the business, would take the trays out of the oven, hand me the baby to nurse and say goodbye. Eventually I found a great contract baker who I began working with. We now have four children and have many other breads including Peter Pumpkin Bread, JonApple Iced Cinnamon Bread and Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread.

Susan Segrest is a contributing editor to Specialty Food Magazine.