Meet Patty Gilligan | Baker

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

Hi Patty, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Necessity and love! I am originally from NJ where there are so many small bakeries that offer delicious homemade treats. When I moved to Florida I couldn’t find a great sweet anywhere – everything was commercial and had a chemical flavor. So I said to myself – if you want a good sweet you’re going to have to make it yourself! I started with family recipes and would give treats to neighbors and friends. It was so satisfying when people would call me and say “I need some of your cookies – I’ve been thinking about them and I’m craving that taste.’ So – I thought – I love baking and I love making people happy – I think I need to start a baking business and share these crave-able sweets with everyone! My other motivation was my family. I was a stay at home mom but now that my kids are grown I wanted them to look up to me as more than a mom – plus they certainly loved being my chief taste testers!

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
What sets Picture City Bakery apart from other bakeries is that we bake custom, we bake fresh and we use the highest quality ingredients available! If you call us up and say “my grandmother use to make this incredible ricotta cheesecake and I want to have that feeling and that taste again!’ or “I was just in NYC and I had the best cupcake from Magnolia bakery – can you make me some?” I love to customize, duplicate and also bake up my own creations! I am in the business of making people happy – mind and body. A big lesson for anyone who wants to go into business is that you have to put in the effort if you want to see your business flourish. I wake up at six am in the morning whether I have to or not and I practice practice practice! I will say – it is a challenge to know your costs – it is not my strong point but probably one of the most important aspects of running a business. I would like my customers to know that I got the name. Picture City Bakery, from the 1920’s. Picture City was a planned community in Hobe Sound and it was intended to be centered around the cinema industry. Its an interesting story and can be found on the internet.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If I had a visitor coming to Hobe Sound – I would first take them on a slow ride up and down beautiful Jupiter Island. From there we would go to the beach and enjoy the sun and take a swim. In the evening I would take them to one of our local restaurants like The Grille, Kork or Taylor Beach House and then over to Harry and The Natives for some local color and to listen to some live music. The next day we would launch some kayaks into the intracoastal and explore the waterways, you can sometimes spot dolphins or manatee and its so peaceful. We could then go into Hobe Sound and explore some of the local shops and galleries. In the evening we would venture down to Jupiter and go have a drink at U-tiki followed up by dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, The Food Shack. For my visitors last day – I would promptly wake them up at six am for their lesson in baking – after we heat the kitchen up to 98 degrees we could go outside to a cool 92 degrees and jump in the pool with a drink in one hand and a piece of cake in the other!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My entire family has been my support group and in so doing -they have sacrificed their waistlines along the way! I was also inspired by Chef Thomas Keller – the baked goods in his shops are incredible. So I bought his book, Bouchon Bakery, and labored through all of his recipes from start to finish. One more person that has been a great partner and mentor is Darrell Lester. Darrell runs a successful catering business, Optimal Health Chef, and he and I have partnered up where he does the savory and I do the sweet.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/picturecitybakery/?hl=en