Not From Concentrate

This week on Not From Concentrate, Catherine Smart talks with freelance baker Mackenzie Innis about the artistry, logistics, and emotional weight behind her beautiful seasonal cakes.Mackenzie shares how she moved from fine dining pastry kitchens to building Ceres, a freelance baking business rooted in seasonality, local ingredients, florals, and deeply personal celebrations. She talks about turning clients’ food memories into wedding cakes, sourcing from New England farms, growing flowers in Somerville, and finding inspiration in bakeries, gardens, mythology, and community.Catherine and Mackenzie also talk about the less-glamorous but essential parts of creative solopreneurship: email, bookkeeping, client communication, systems, structure, and managing a busy brain while running a business.Plus, they get into Boston-area bakeries, wedding cake etiquette, edible flowers, slowing down, calming kitchen chaos, and why cake can still matter in complicated times.Not From Concentrate is distributed by PRX and produced by Catherine Smart, with audio and video production by Kevin O’Connell. Associate producer: Allie Miller.

This week, Catherine sits down with cookbook author, photographer, and artist Jerrelle Guy to talk about her beautiful new cookbook, We Fancy.Jerrelle first burst onto the food scene with her acclaimed debut cookbook Black Girl Baking, but success came with a cost. In this conversation, she shares how burnout, creative pressure, and the constant pursuit of "more" led her to rethink not just the way she cooked, but the way she lived.Together, Catherine and Jerrelle discuss:🍅 Why slowing down can unlock creativity ✨ The philosophy behind We Fancy 🥄 How small rituals can make everyday meals feel special 📚 The reality of writing cookbooks 🎨 Food as a form of artistic expression 👶 Motherhood, intuition, and trusting yourself 🧠 Why "just because you can, doesn't mean you should"They also dive into Jerrelle's favorite recipes, including her famous Wednesday Sauce, tiramisu cheesecake, and the simple garnishes that inspired an entire cookbook.If you've ever felt overwhelmed, creatively drained, or disconnected from the joy of cooking, this conversation is a reminder that abundance often starts with paying attention to what's already in front of you.