COLORADO SPRINGS — Early Bird, a home-based baking company, started churning out tasty treats during the pandemic, bringing along with it a bit of baked good positivity for El Paso County.
Mary Ponting, educated as a chef and employed as a cook for Penrose, has dreamed of operating a bakery for nearly a decade. During the pandemic she took the dive, registered her new company, and began churning out an assortment of tasty treats after her work hours.
"I've been recipe testing for so long," Ponting commented, "to to get it finally out there is awesome."
Ponting reports returning from full days in the kitchen for work and often spending an additional four to eight hours in her own kitchen whipping up breakfast breads, cookies, and more.
Some weeks see her spending as much as 70+ hours in some sort of kitchen environment, but according to her, it's time well spent.
"Baking just puts a smile on people's faces," stated Ponting, "in a time like this, what better thing to do then bring a pan of cinnamon rolls to your door in the morning. It's just something to make people happy and smile and I get to be happy and smile as well."
While currently her assortment of creative confections can only be found in farmers markets and ordered online, Ponting wants to see this side job grow and evolve into something more full-time.
She hopes to procure a food truck (or some equivalent), commercial kitchen space, or perhaps a storefront at some point down the line.
Early Bird, dedicated to providing fresh products, reports that all unsold baked goods are donated to first responders and healthcare workers.
To learn more about Early Bird Bakery, CLICK HERE.
