About

Picture of Blog Author, Jim
Howdy! I’m Jim, a 43 year old man living in St Petersburg, Florida. In this new-for-me world of food bloggers, I feel like something of an imposter, considering until 2 years ago, I hadn’t baked for anyone in over 12 years. For the last 20 or so, I’ve been working in corporate America, a slave to databases, computer servers and telephone conference calls. I worked from home for the past 8 years, which while it may seem like a dream job, ends up leaving you alienated and de-socialized. You find yourself having long conversations with your mailman. I dreamed of something different. Something that I could pour my heart into and feel enriched for doing so. Something that mattered and brought joy to other people’s lives. Something that made me want to get out of bed in the morning.

I’m sure you’ve had this kind of morning: you’re laying in bed, the sun probably hasn’t come up yet and you’re waiting the handful of minutes before your alarm goes off and you have to start your day. If you love your job, those minutes are full of promise, possibilities and potential. If you loathe your job, those minutes are filled with procrastination, pessimism and protesting pulling the covers back from your head. Sometimes, though, just on the outer rim of your thoughts, there might be a little pondering about a day that MIGHT be. Preferably one without so much alliteration.

I had one of those days. I dreamed of waking up at the crack of dawn to start turning on the ovens, pulling racks of pastries and bread out of the walk-in to get them ready for baking. When everything was in the ovens, I could imagine sitting down for a short cup of coffee before I’d unlock the doors and start greeting my first customers of the morning. I knew that once folks tasted what I made for them, they’d recognize and feel the love that went into everything I bake. This was the dream that really made me sit up in bed and wake up to the possibility of better mornings.

My own bakery might not happen this year or the next or maybe not even a decade from now, but the potential of a different kind of life was enough to prompt me to leave my corporate job and check into pastry school. A year later and no longer tied to the corporate machine and finished with school, there is a world of possibilities open to me and I seriously can’t wait. I hope you’ll enjoy the journey with me as I perfect my craft, develop my own unique culinary voice and bring joy to others through my baking.

Why Comfort in Crumbs?

 

As much as I love to create beautiful tarts, pies and cookies, my favorite pleasure is seeing the empty plate after folks have enjoyed eating them. Nothing left on the plate but the crumbs; it’s a sign of accomplishment. I take comfort in knowing that I’ve created something worthy of being shared and enjoyed.