Meet Katie Choury | Creative Home Baker

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

Hi Katie, do you have any habits that you feel contribute to your effectiveness?
I’m very good at multitasking and working under pressure which running this bakery business has tested both those aspects on a continually basis. With being a mom of 3 and having my youngest at home with me part-time, multitasking has become a way of life for me…the good, the bad and the ugly! Multitasking is essential when owning your own business because you’ll be pulled in all different directions and have to learn how to adapt on the go. Both of these habits, multitasking and working under pressure sometimes go hand in hand and help you succeed if you can learn how to manage them but also learn how to accept things that are not in your control. Sometimes I’ve made mistakes but then have learned how to handle them and how to effectively reach out to customers if there is ever an issue or timing problems. I think this really engages your customers and shows them your care for their order/product and in return creates great customer connections.

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?
Katie’s Kitchen is a self serve bakery right on my very own front porch. Meaning, on the weekends, I fill my pie safe in the morning with individually wrapped baked goods, listed with prices and you can come by whenever convenient for you to grab what you want and leave payment. This is based on the honor system and while yes….absolutely crazy business model and scary for trusting people, I am impressed that there have not been any issues with this. I mean, who feels good about stealing a cookie and not paying for it?! At least, that’s my hope anyway!

I created this business after a trip back home to Michigan to visit a good friend. She knew I loved baking and had done some holiday events to sell so took me to this cute driveway where this gal set up an adorable shed that was a self serve bakery. I was instantly in love with this concept! I loved how cute the shed was, how it was decorated and how the items were displayed. So I decided to try this concept out in my own neighborhood. To my surprise, I got a great response! There definitely are hard days/weekends when I don’t sell as much and it’s hard not to turn that inward and take it personally. But it doesn’t stop me because when I have those days that I do sell out or get amazing feedback, it keeps me going and reminds me that this was a great business venture. Maybe it’s not forever, but for now, it’s exactly what I need and what my heart needs.

After being in the corporate, consulting world for 13 years and having my 3rd kid in 2022, I was overworked, overwhelmed, missing my children and missing things that mattered most to me….FOOD! I wanted…ok needed to take a step back. But with my Type A personality, I didn’t even quit my corporate job before starting this baking shenanigans. I say shenanigans because at the time that’s what it felt like. I told myself this was just for fun and a little something to keep me going but little did I know it would take off and start fulfilling me and my needs more than I knew. There are so many things I don’t know about baking, so many things I’ve learned and I’m sure so many things I will never know. But…to those that are reading this and think you can’t bake…..like Gusto says in Ratatouille (great movie by the way), “Anyone can cook”. Grab a recipe and just go for it…..you’d be surprised at what comes out!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

A few of my favorite spots to hit up:

– Red Rocks for a concert
– Colorado Rockies (poor guys, they just can’t get on the winning side of things but I do love baseball so would drag my friend to a baseball game and make sure to have a drink at a roof top bar beforehand)
– Trip up to Boulder to check out my college territory and a quick hike up Chautauqua
– Castle Rock has two cute shops with all local vendors – The Barn and The Emporium

A few favorite eateries:

– The Maine Shack (in LoHi, miss my east coast family so this brings a little home all the way to CO)
– Little Man Ice Cream (must have the Salted Oreo ice cream!)
– Angelo’s Taverna (in Littleton, great wine by Carboy and amazing hand made pasta dishes)
– Breckenridge Brewery (in Littleton) – perfect place to have a few beers outside in their beer garden on a nice day

The trip wouldn’t be complete without a girls night out:

Saturday Night

Dinner: Dos Santos – literally the best margaritas and tacos ever!

After Dinner Nightlife: Sports Lounge (in Highlands Ranch) – this is a dive bar with live music that you most likely will get lost at but also simultaneously have the best night ever!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Is there enough space for this?! ha! First, my husband, greatest dish washer known to man and dare I say free labor?! I can’t tell you the countless times I’ve looked at him with my puppy eyes asking nicely if he’d wash the 16 dirty bread loaf pans for me because I just can’t bring myself to do it again! He’s been so supportive in this crazy adventure between dish washing, refilling my flour bins, endless Costco trips on his way home from a full days work, taste testing, and ribbon cutting. I know I don’t tell him enough, but I’m not sure I could have done this alone without all his support, love and reality slaps.

Secondly, when I first started this business before I even quit my 13 year stretch in the corporate world, my parents were right there cutting ribbon, cutting papers and tying bows for my holiday bread orders. They would stay over late or take ribbon home just to make sure I wasn’t so far behind or they would watch my little one so I could continue baking. Sometimes I wonder if they just came for the free loaves! But in all reality, their help and support meant the world to me and again, I don’t think I could have gotten this business going without their help!

Lastly, The Recipe Box by Viola Shipman to this day brings all the smiles to my face when I think of it and read it. It’s a story that talks about a young woman that grew up in Michigan and felt trapped by the family orchard and pie pantry. She leaves to build her own life but ends back at the orchard and finds what matters most in life. I loved this book because I’m from Michigan so it brought me back home but I loved the stories of the recipes and how they were created. Food to me is a love language. When I can speak to someone through my food, all the hours, blood, sweat, and tears it took me to create it are washed away when I hear how my food made them feel happy or helped them remember something special.

Instagram: katieskitchen_andmore

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/657832389451773/

Other: I have a private facebook group currently that you can ask to join: https://www.facebook.com/groups/657832389451773/