Crafted with caring

From the Hearth Bakery has won a place in the hearts of locals and visitors alike

(L to R) Mickey Keller-Nadon, Mike Nadon and Jim MacDonald admire some freshly baked tarts. — Photo courtesy Sue Finnigan, Rolltop Editorial Solutions

She describes her husband as a naturally talented man capable of making the difficult look easy. He describes his wife as the most wonderfully dedicated woman he knows. Together, Mike Nadon and his wife, Mickey Keller-Nadon, form the heart and soul of From the Hearth Bakery. 

Mickey describes From the Hearth as a craft bakery. The 500-square-foot location at the junction of Highway 3 and Johnson Road in Christina Lake is modest—and production is definitely not assembly-line. That’s the way the couple like it.

As do so many Christina Lake businesses, From the Hearth adopts a seasonal schedule to accommodate the arrival of a tourist horde that nearly quadruples the local population during summer. 

“It’s even more important to use the off-season interlude to plan what we’ll be offering in the upcoming season,” said Mickey. “That way, we can order well in advance and test out and adjust the formulas to taste.”

What to do for fun?

When asked about their favourite downtime activities, Mickey—whose day job is a customs inspection officer and whose baking schedule can have her beginning a baking shift at midnight—said hers was “sleep.”

However, in late summer and early autumn when work is less hectic, the couple head off riding, Mike on his 1300cc Honda VTX and Mickey on her 1100cc Honda Ace Tourer. They say the ride from Kootenay Bay to Creston is as good as it gets—every twist in the road takes them to a whole new scene. They also enjoy renting a houseboat at Kaslo and dropping a fishing line over the side.

Happy and proud

Mike and Mickey have found that they have a growing number of customers who have tried From the Hearth products while on summer vacation, and this has resulted in orders from people living well beyond the local area.

“Imagine a person or family from Calgary, let’s say, who are so taken with your baking they’re placing orders and taking delivery there,” said Mickey. “The compliment doesn’t get any better than that.”

When asked about his favourite part of the workday, Mike described getting in at midnight to start the baking for the day—a time when he gets to “crank the tunes” while he fires up the dough mixers and the ovens.

To what do the couple attribute the success of their business? They said it is their customers who appreciate their product.

When asked what they are most proud of, the couple said it would be their great team, who make them look good.