Meet Jenna Mead | Bakery Owner & Hospitality Professional

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jenna Mead and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jenna, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I decided to start my baking business ultimately because I have always wanted to have my own business. I’ve been inspired by many great young entrepreneurs and envied how they took an idea and turned it into a business. With this below the surface burning, I ran into a need at my job. As a hotel manager, I needed to have something warm and welcoming for our guests when they arrived to check-in. I was already known for being a good baker so in a brief discussion with my boss, we decided I would provide cookies and be paid for them. It was not until every surface in my kitchen was covered in cookies that I realized I had a business.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I entered the world of hospitality before graduating college and I’ve never left. What started as a summer job, turned into a career once I realized the match of my skill set to the demands of hotels. I am natural born people pleaser. How can I make your day better and impress you along the way. This mirrors itself in my own business. When someone purchases cookies from me I want them to be surprised at just how much they love it and need another. I’ve learned to manage moving targets in my career and owning a business is no different. My brand is built on my experience of taking care of others, my baked goods are an extension of that work.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If you were visiting my “city” of Kennebunkport, Maine, I would excited to give you the full Maine experience. First, I put put you up in one of my favorite boutique hotels, The Tides Beach Club. We would enjoy Goose Rocks beach and take some beach cruisers up to sister property Hidden Pond for a dip in the serenity pool. We’d round out the day enjoying a beautiful meal at Earth at Hidden Pond. After enjoying those luxuries, I would take you out on the water on a lobster boat cruise. Hopefully, we’d pull up a rare “one in two million” blue lobster. We’d kiss it and toss it back.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’ve received plenty of help along the way, and there are many people that played pivotal roles to getting me to where I am today. But if am to boil it down, my business is built by my passion for baking. That passion would not exist without my childhood caretaker, Linda. She had all of the grandmotherly qualities of being your friend while molding you along the way. She taught me to bake, first with the Toll House bag then on to decorating cakes and more. She always leaned into the games I wanted to play in the kitchen including acting out a cooking show staring myself. She taught me to bake, but also to share. With that mindset, I had built-in reinforcement from the many eaters of my treats. Though Linda is passed, I try to make her proud with the work I do.

Website: www.BlueLobsterBakery.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bluelobsterbakery/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bluelobsterbakery