By Austin Metz
Holland Sentinel
HOLLAND, Mich. — When Tracy Allen graduated from high school, she was already on her way to becoming a paramedic. She had done some training and following graduation, continued on that path.
For the last 10 years, she has served the Holland area as a paramedic, working third shift while juggling a love for baking and a family life with her husband and four children.
Today, instead of serving the Holland community as a full-time paramedic, Allen is serving up fresh cookies, muffins, pastries and other baked goods at her new bakery, The Oven Mitt, located in Holland’s Baker Lofts.
“A couple of years ago I went to the Culinary Institute and did the baking and pastry program, mainly just to pursue my hobby further,” Allen said. “I was going to stay a paramedic but after graduating, this space became available.”
Allen graduated from The Culinary Institute at Baker College in September. On Nov. 1, she signed the lease with Baker Lofts and then on Feb. 10, The Oven Mitt held its grand opening.
Only two months ago she was still working as a full-time paramedic and would work on setting up her new business in the morning. She had never owned a business or run a bakery. Today, five months after graduating, she is doing both.
The bakery is open five days a week from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Fridays. It is closed on the weekends, but that could change moving forward.
Allen said she closes early on Fridays to make sure she has time to complete custom cake orders.
“I do decorated theme cakes and wedding cakes and that is keeping me very busy on the weekends,” she said.
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So far, Allen said, business has been going well. It has been steady, with special orders flooding in. But for her, the most difficult part of the process has been the transition in careers.
“Being a paramedic for 10 years and leaving that career and that family and that lifestyle has been very difficult,” Allen said. “At the same time, it has been a dream come true. Now I’m working day shift and am at home with my family during the evenings... It is more family oriented.”
Allen said she starts working in the morning and does the day’s baking in the full kitchen on the Baker Lofts premises. Once done, she brings the baked items to her bakery and spends the rest of the day decorating cakes and cupcakes behind the counter.
“I try to do the majority of my decorating up here in the shop,” Allen said. “I do a lot of my decorating here because I think it is a lot of fun for people to see. Making wedding cakes is kind of fun to watch and it keeps me up front with my staff and my customers.”
Moving forward, Allen is still going to work part-time as a paramedic and plans to pick up a few shifts a month to stay involved in that community. But right now, she is focused on making her dream come true.
“You can want something or you can make it happen,” Allen said. “I think my paramedic career has given me a lot of drive and has shown me how short life is and that I should never take anything for granted. If an opportunity comes, you just have to go for it.”
Copyright 2017 Holland Sentinel