Meet Kailee Mitsuyasu | Sourdough Baker

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

Hi Kailee, what do you attribute your success to?
I attribute most of my success to being authentic to myself. Every item I sell is something that I love to make and would personally buy. I also try to add personal touches to ensure love and care goes into every customer’s experience. I even leave out free samples of new items at every pickup because I just love sharing food with people! When someone looks at my business branding, I want them to feel welcomed, cared for, and excited for some delicious baked goods.

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?
I was born and raised in Hawaii and moved to Colorado to attend CSU for Computer Engineering. After working in the gaming industry for a little while, I quickly realized that I wasn’t passionate about my job and that it didn’t align with the life I wanted. I found myself just going through the motions of daily life without truly enjoying anything. I fell into depression.

For more than a year, I stayed in that job while working to discover more about myself. I went to therapy to learn how to love myself and put myself first. Along the way, I picked up a new hobby: baking.

I taught myself how to make sourdough bread after watching way too many videos on TikTok and YouTube. Soon after I started exploring, the staple carbohydrate in our household shifted from rice to bread. There were just so many flavors I wanted to experiment with. I found something that challenged me creatively and scientifically. I started researching how time, temperature, hydration levels, acidity, and even various flours affected the outcome of the bread. Finally, after 18 months, everything in our life started to align. My partner and I moved back to Colorado this past April; I quit my job in tech, we moved into his parents’ house, and I started Wildflower and Wheat LLC, a Cottage Law sourdough bakery.

When people ask me what I miss most about Hawaii, I always say the food. More specifically, I miss how the people and culture revolve around getting together and sharing meals. I remember going to my grandparents’ house to pound mochi before New Year’s, or attending potlucks and bringing home boxes of leftover food. To this day, I like to say that my love language is feeding people.

I’ve been officially open for about a month and a half, and while it has been very challenging and stressful, I’ve never felt happier or more fulfilled. Wildflower and Wheat is run out of our home, and we have a rotating weekly menu. Alongside the perennial-favorite sourdough loaves, I also make cookies, crackers, sourdough cinnamon rolls, and granola. While I’m still very new to owning and running a business, I’ve learned to take it day by day and to celebrate the small victories. I love being able to share delicious food with my community and can’t wait to see where the future takes me.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
OOO okay okay here we go:

Eat / Drink:
New Belgium Brewery
Blue Moon Brewery
Himalayan Bistro in Fort Collins
Lucile’s Creole Cafe in Fort Collins
Rise in Fort Collins
Cafe Mexicali for the Sweet Pork Nachos

Places to Visit / Things to do:
Estes Park
Rocky Mountain National Park
Fort Collins / NOCO
Meow Wolf
CSU Flower Gardens
River tubing
Glenwood Springs and/or Steamboat Springs
Find a concert to go to at Red Rocks Amphitheatre

(Can you tell from my list that I was a college student at CSU??)

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to dedicate this shoutout to my family–most importantly, to my partner Seth. He has always shown how much he believes in and supports me. Two weeks ago, he woke up at 2 a.m. to help me set up for an event. In the moments when I second-guessed my decision to open a business, he reminded me of just how much I’ve already achieved and has always been by my side. He’s my cheerleader, my biggest supporter, and even my photographer. Thank you for all that you do!

Website: https://www.hotplate.com/wildflowerandwheat

Instagram: eatwildflowerandwheat

Facebook: Wildflower and Wheat