The Village Baker, owned and operated by Fran Ferrell and Kathy Waddle, is based in Chapel Hill. We bake at the Piedmont Food and Agricultural Processing Center in Hillsborough, and have also been approved by the NCDA to bake in the home kitchen. Fran is a third-generation baker who grew up in her family’s bakeries and woke up to the aroma of fresh bread baking every morning. Her dad put her to work in his bakery when she was 10 years old; she wants to make the baked goods she remembers from her childhood (and that you may remember from yours). At the same time, her creative streak compels her to try new things, and she likes the challenge of baking with what’s in season. Kathy has had a long career as a chemist, and has recently left the corporate shtick behind to add her considerable expertise and off-the-wall ideas to The Village Baker. Because we believe that we need to respect our planet, and we think that the animals that provide our food deserve to be treated decently, we choose our ingredients with great care. Everything we use in our baked goods is of the highest quality, and because we want to support other local businesses, we like to buy from our neighbors when we can.
