How long have you been part of the Chamber?
For 18 years, ever since I took over from my parents, who were long-time Chamber members.
How did your family get started in this bakery business?
My dad Rolf and Uncle Ernst came over from Germany after WWII to start over as a baker or pastry chef. Dad bought the Pins & Pleats building (then a wallpaper shop, torn down two years ago) on Parmenter Street. Dad put the first Clasen Bakery in there. Later they built one at Laura Lane, which bakery succeeded enough to subsidize their chocolate factory.
So how did you come into the family business?
I bought out my parents. Not easy. They wanted to remain owners and retain me as manager. I gave Passing the Torch [still in print] to my parents, saying, ‘Time to read this, Dad. This is what I want.’ My parents thought I was crazy. Only 25 at the time, I would not take ‘No’ for an answer. I bluffed them, taking on Daddy’s lawyers and accountants, and telling Dad I’d go to Chicago if they didn’t sell to me. Lots of emotion involved. But things worked out well, as Dad was in the shop the next day taking measurements and orders for what I wanted. He kept the chocolate shop as consolation, as that’s where the real money is. I chose the bakery instead; an easy call, as that’s where the creative potential is. Creativity is what drives me, even to this day.
You sound so sure that this is your life’s chosen work. Did you always know this is what you wanted to do?
From 8th grade on, this is all I wanted to do. Before that I wanted to be a cruise director, like on “Love Boat.” Upon graduation from MHS, I was sent to Siegberg, Germany, for four years to apprentice under a Master Pastry Chef. Originally, I wanted to own a restaurant, but Dad said, ‘No, that’s too rough. You’ll work weekends in a hot kitchen. Why don’t you get a pastry degree?’ So I did, working and going to school, six days a week for four years.
Was that anything like “Hell’s Kitchen”?
That’s an interesting TV show. Yes and no. The Master Chef was very rough verbally, but I was not abused physically (unlike my dad and uncle who, years before, went through that same program). Knowing my parents had a business back home, my mentor allowed me to do things a first-year apprentice never gets to do.
What exactly do you do in this job?
As owner, I set the direction for what product lines to develop, what marketing ideas to pursue. My 42 employees make and sell the diverse line of breads, rolls, chocolate bark and cookies. Each Christmas and Easter I get to make stuff. For a foodie like me, to keep those creative juices flowing, we gotta make stuff. Time on the shop floor also helps me appreciate what my employees do. But if I did that every day, as I once did for six weeks to cover an employee on leave, I could not run the business.
What’s next as you grow your company and express your creativity?
A few years ago my knowledge base began to plateau, so I enrolled at the UW-Madison’s Executive Education Department. I took six classes over three years to receive a Professional Development Certificate in Applied Marketing. Also, I’ve started writing. Look for a new food column in the Middleton Times Tribune, called “For the Love of Food.”
How have you been impacted by the current economy?
A food business located in Madison or Middleton is more recession-proof than most, but we’re all affected by cost of product, fuel, health insurance. We got through the past two years because we had no debt. I learned from my parents to expand carefully. The recession and my parents also taught me: Eat and shop local.
Will you pass this on to your kids in your own succession planning?
Funny you should ask. My oldest, age 19, wants me to open a bakery for her to run. But I put the onus back on her, saying, “No, you open it and own it, then I’ll help.’ My other daughter wants to become a pastry chef. And my son is mad at his two sisters for stealing his ideas. My husband owns a successful trucking business in Illinois, so he commutes Monday-Thursday to Peoria, where we also own a horse farm. I join him there on weekends, or he comes up here, but I can’t picture the day I ever give up this business.
I sense a strong feminist theme in your career path, your family, even your marriage.
Oh no, I am not a feminist! I am a traditionalist. I believe women should be taught to cook and develop the innate skills they have to manage the household.
And those same skills help you run your business.