Meet Emily Hicks | Baker/Home Bakery Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Emily Hicks and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Emily, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
After working in higher education for over a decade, I transitioned to staying home full-time to raise my boys. This change allowed for more margin to explore creative ventures and develop and foster my passion for food and cooking, something that had been instilled in me inside my mom’s kitchen since childhood. Once I stumbled into bread baking in my early days of motherhood, I was hooked after my first loaf came out of the oven; crackling happily and smelling heavenly. This started me down a path of immersing myself in the process of learning, experimenting, and baking long-fermented bread varieties. Over the years, I started gifting homemade bread loaves to family and friends, and witnessed what a blessing it was to have a fresh, wholesome addition around the dinner table. I started to wonder if my local community could be blessed, too, by my homemade creations. It felt daunting and vulnerable to take the public leap forward, but with a clear nudge from God and the help of some friends who owned a local shop, I found myself out in public on a Saturday morning quickly selling out of my first batch of bread loaves scarcely able to believe it. That was back in December of 2019, and I find to this day I am still a bit in awe and so deeply grateful my bread continues to be found on the tables of my local community.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Harvest was birthed from a place of wanting to use the gifts God blessed me with to give back to my local community. I’m a firm believer we each have something distinct and special we were created for to contribute to the world, no matter how humble or expansive. I view what I do as humble and small, but as having the potential for deep impact and worth. Initially believing this to be true for myself was a challenge. On my own, I would have been content to quietly keep on baking for my family and friends without ever feeling confident enough to take a leap of faith and pursue bread baking in any sort of professional capacity, especially at a time in life where I had been out of the professional field for quite some time and immersed so heavily in the world of parenting small ones. Thankfully, through much prayer and consistently having others speak into my life spurring me onward to not under value what I had to offer, I took a leap of faith and stepped into pursuing my passion. From the outset, I was in awe of the support and interest for my home baked goods, and now almost five years later, I am still in awe and grateful beyond words. I count myself so deeply grateful to have the ability to run a business out of my home that allows me to still first and foremost nurture my family before I then offer nourishment to others.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If I had to host someone for a week and show them all Northeast Ohio had to offer, I would definitely start with exploring some of our local parks and trails. Walking through the trails at Tam O’Shanter Park is an in-town favorite spot for my family and our dog. We’re just south of Cuyahoga Valley National Park, which has so many wonderful spots, but I view Brandywine Falls and The Ledges as beloved favorites. The towpath trail on the Ohio & Erie Canalway is an amazing place to bike and then stop in and eat or drink at places along the path. After a long ride, we love stopping at Cherry Street Creamery in Canal Fulton for some fresh treats. Sitting outside at The Winking Lizard in Peninsula is another favorite as well as Sarah’s Vineyard in Cuyahoga Falls. Visiting local Canton diners and ice cream shops, like Heggy’s and Taggarts, which are childhood favorites of mine, really give you insight into our local food community. Ordering a bittner at Taggart’s is a must – it’s a thick, luxurious chocolate milkshake with salty pecans on top. At Heggy’s, their homemade fries with extra butter on top, a steak burger with the works (their homemade mayo is delicious), and a turtle sundae (vanilla ice cream, homemade hot fudge, caramel sauce, and salty pecans) is heaven on earth (and what I ate after I gave birth to our eldest son). The seafood at Bender’s in downtown Canton is spectacular and you cannot beat the historic ambiance of the location. Gervasi Vineyard has some of the best views in town and has a wide variety of different restaurants with wonderful indoor and outdoor seating options on its property that could keep someone content for days. I’m particularly partial to the space because we had our wedding reception in their lovely outdoor pavilion that’s surrounded by so much natural beauty.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My passion for food, cooking, and baking was birthed under the mentorship of my mom and all she created both in and outside of her kitchen. She taught me to savor food. The process of making it, consuming it, and sharing it with others. I’m still so inspired by her generosity and creativity with how she gifts others with her culinary talents.

Website: https://www.harvestartisanbread.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harvestartisanbread/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestartisanbread/

Image Credits
Adrienne Gerber