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Alumni Spotlight - Spreading Love One Pie At A Time

Posted by Andrew Braun on Feb 19, 2020 4:22:00 PM

Allison (Bessert) Cebulla – MLHS 2007

Owner of Hatched

Allison (Bessert) Cebulla always had a creative mind, a passion for baking, and a love of sharing with her community. Those three attributes combined to form her new business Hatched, a pie bakery with a motto of Love and Lard. Allison and her husband of 3 years, Craig, run the business together, selling 9-inch pies, hand pies, pie fries, and other doughy desserts.

“I’ve always been a baker, from jobs to just taking care of people, it’s always been based around baking. My first job was in a bakery at 14, but I started baking with my grandparents and parents since I could stand on a chair, stirring to help make cookies or noodles. It’s always been about the love and family associated with it. It’s the way I show people I care.”

After high school, going from culinary arts and food science, to Australia, to early childhood education and music performance, Allison always managed to return to food. Especially once she teamed up with Craig who had his own food culture experience in Asia. He saw she had it in her to make something special. Allison and Craig met after college, and pursued a livelihood of food together. They learned the local process of it all, first on a farm in Madison working for an organic Community Supported Agriculture where Allison wrote recipes and storage procedures for the farm while Craig worked in the field. Then came some Door County bakeries and other farm experiences. But after working all day, she would come home and bake all night. Craig finally said she needed to move forward, and start her own business. They got married in Door County, honeymooned across the country gathering inspiration and courage, and opened Hatched around their 1-year anniversary.

Craig added, “I’ve always been encouraging of her to pursue her career in baking. For me, the food and all of Hatched is all about community created around food. The support we have at farmers’ markets and being involved in that community has been important to us.” They are pleased with how they have come full circle, starting in Milwaukee, to around the world and country, and back, always with the underlying thread of food guiding them.

Once they started Hatched, they were shocked at the immediate response they received. With only word-of-mouth promotion at the beginning, their very first Wauwatosa farmers market station last summer sold out all 100 hand pies in under one hour. They brought double next week, and sold out faster. As the weeks went on, that led to regulars, wholesale clients, and weddings. They credit it to their honesty, care, and old fashioned techniques that hearken back to how grandparents made things and not being afraid to use the lard! Allison said, “I wouldn’t say we’re doing anything extraordinary, but people are responding and it’s nice to see that something we care about is just as cherished by others.”

They recognize good timing was key to their success too. Currently in a commercial kitchen that conveniently opened for them in Brookfield, they don’t have a storefront, but grew by selling primarily in markets, and expanding into local shops in Milwaukee. You can find them at Birch + Butcher, Vennture Brew Co, Pilcrow Coffee, Highlands Cafe, and Hawthorne Coffee. During the summer season, you can even find their pie in Door County at Ephraim Coffee Lab and Door County Creamery. Good timing is also in their structured pace of growth while still learning the ropes of business management. Their recent business developments have been hiring other employees, getting a second oven to double their production, and launching their website for online orders. Their long-term goal will be to open a shop, but they will continue managing the right timing for that as well. Craig commented, “My hope is that when we do open a brick-and-mortar store, we have a line around the door because we’ve already created a customer base with that neighborhood.”

At Milwaukee Lutheran, Allison utilized all the opportunities to participate and excel which fueled her drive to always do more. AP classes, summer gym, choir, band, madrigals, ensembles, and pit orchestra to name a few. It built her sense of community as well, being a part of each group and finding ways to get everyone to have a good time together. Milwaukee Lutheran friends and teachers might remember birthday and Christmas treats she would bring in.

She also gained support and encouragement for her talents from teachers. The choir director at the time, Jeremy Little, made her a student director for madrigals, and band director Del Schmidt put her in Symphonic Band freshman year, while most start in Concert Band and work their way up. Even Dwayne Jobst, the Assistant Principal at the time, would bring her along with him to play piano for his grade school chapels. Having those opportunities to excel in these groups instilled an ideal of doing her best and pouring it into a community, which she takes with her to customers and businesses today.

Another quality that Allison brings to Hatched is her “Lutheran church lady” attitude. With her dad a teacher at Concordia, and her mom the music director at Elm Grove Lutheran, Allison recalls how she practically grew up in the church pews and was surrounded by all the caring people of the Lutheran family. She continues that attitude in her business every day by always working to do her best for other people and going the extra mile. Hatched is also proud to support fundraisers in Milwaukee, such as Ronald McDonald House, river cleanup, and donating unsold items to police stations and many more, giving back to the community that now supports them.

After a short winter pie-atus for themselves, they look forward to Pi Day (March 14th) and making Easter orders, then getting back to farmers’ markets and street stations with their PieCycle. Check out their website piefolio online and follow their Instagram and Facebook page to get your hands on one of their delicious pies!

Photo May 17, 4 39 40 PM

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