Hen and Thistle Mountain Bakery began when we purchased our 10-acre farm in the Texas Hill country. We built a commercial kitchen where we could create our artisan pastries to be delivered throughout the hill country. Our goal is to source responsibly, using primarily local ingredients, respecting the land, human and animal welfare and supporting like-minded artisans, while giving back to our community. We named our bakery, Hen and Thistle Mountain Bakery- Grassroots Artisan Bakers, since we had a multitude of wild thistles growing in our pastures and have beautiful free-range hens that support our pastries with their organic eggs.
Melissa Fritz, Owner, Pastry Chef CMB, CEPC, CHE, MPS Melissa earned her undergraduate degree from Johnson & Wales University, where she studied pastry and baking arts under European chefs. Melissa has a master's in Food Business Studies. She spent her career as a pastry chef in notable fine dining establishments throughout America, including The Kiawah Island Club, The Four Seasons in Philadelphia, and The Woodland's, Relais & Chateaux. Melissa is a Professor of Baking & Pastry Arts at The Culinary Institute of America.