Eryn Dion
News Staff Writer
TEMPLETON For Joyce Dossett, owner of The Kitchen Garden, food is more than just substance.
It’s more than an income, more than something to consume.
For Ms. Dossett, food — particularly her Finnish coffee bread — triggers memories of her grandmother and holidays long past.
And if her customers are telling the truth, she’s not the only one.
“There’s something special about it to people because it’s a memory,” she said.
“People are always telling me a memory they had with it.”
Ms. Dossett opened the small shop on Baldwinville Road in 1988 with her parents.
Originally a farm stand that sold her family’s strawberries and pumpkins, the family added a bakery in 1991 after Ms. Dossett’s mother convinced her to take up the craft.
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| News staff photo by ERYN DION Joyce Dossett, owner of The Kitchen Garden, stands with a map showing how far her Finnish coffee bread has traveled across the country. |
About nine years ago, Ms. Dossett began selling locally made gifts, transforming her store into a dream she’d held since graduating college.
“I always wanted to have a little business,” she said.
“It’s like another child to me.
I really do love it.”
While some areas may have a competitive business scene, Ms. Dossett lauded the community’s tight-knit atmosphere, especially among local shopkeepers who often work together through events like the Country Roads Christmas to provide for their customers.
“It doesn’t hurt,” she said.
“It helps.”
Through hiring high school students and donating weekly to the local food pantry, Ms. Dossett said she tries to give back to the town that supported her and her family for generations.
“At the end of the day we wrap things up and put them in the freezer.
For years, every week they come and pick it up,” she explained.
“I’ve had a couple people come to me and say when they were in need, they got food from the food pantry and how much they enjoyed having the treat of a muffin from here.”
While beneath the counter is well-stocked with your standard bakery fare, Ms. Dossett takes care to mix in a few old-world favorites, specializing in Scandinavian goods influenced by her Finnish grandmother.
“I started out baking the Finnish coffee bread.
That brought in more people who were Finnish and they would ask for things,” she said.
“I learned a lot from my customers.
That’s the Scandinavian influence.”
Ms. Dossett’s famous Finnish treat is well-traveled, too, as a map hung behind the counter shows.
“Customers started saying they were going to visit family and taking the bread with them,” Ms. Dossett commented.
Eventually, the store owner bought a map, using pins to mark every city, state and country where her bread has been shared.
Several years, and a bigger map later, Ms. Dossett has pins in Alaska, Hawaii and even Ireland.
But no matter how far her bread or her family travels, Ms. Dossett said her roots will always be in Templeton, where she hopes her business will grow and expand in the coming years.
“I love Templeton,” she said.
“The store is just a great way to see family and friends.”
Kitchen Garden has the best coffee in Worcester County. Why not, the Finish people are noted for their coffee and coffee bread. My mother was 100% Finnish and the coffee pot was on as soon as a car drove into the yard. You never give anyone old coffee, that is a no no !! At one time there was a number of Finish families in my neck of the woods, my how times have changed. All it takes is a good cup of coffee, to bring back the past. Bev.
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