Fast forward to 2019/2020 and we are all in COVID with odd in-person schedules and hybrid flex learning, coupled with the launch of an online version of Fave Chef 2020 in which I ended up in the semi-finals (top 800 out of over 15k participants); I felt the pull of the kitchen again. My wonderful students and their families rallied around me online and voted for me to soar on Fave Chef 2020 which was truly moving.

After the competition I fell off again for a bit with recipes and such, but in the summer of 2025 I wanted to pick up baking as a way to save money and provide healthier food for my family. I had always been a cook, but never a baker- I always found it rather intimidating and I am impatient. I obtained a sourdough starter from my friend Ashlea Simons (the owner of Be.Loved.Bread) and began toying with it. I slowly gained some confidence but it was all just personal bread. Then, in November of ’25 when the administration began to threaten SNAP benefits I felt the call to action so I contacted my friend who runs Burrito Brigade in order to obtain a ‘Free Little Pantry’ to put in front of our house. We live in an area where need is not always visible from the outside, but food insecurity is very real. Many of the families in our area are just around the poverty line, multi-family or generational homes, and experience issues accessing food and other resources. There was no Pantry within a ten mile radius of our home. Within three days it was in front of our house and I was filling it with as much bread and baked goods as I possibly could while it was being totally emptied every single day.

From my time working abroad to teach English and American Sign Language to Deaf and Hard of Hearing students in Rouen, France; I learned the value of food. Living in France changed the way I understood food. I saw how bread, markets, and daily meals could be treated as part of community life, not as luxuries, but as essentials. That experience shaped the way I think about Hadley’s Kitchen today. These ideals are central tenets of Hadley’s Kitchen. They are the reason my loaves are large, why everything is made with organic flour, and why I have made a commitment that my plain rustic sourdough will always stay $8 or less. I understand the need to pay myself and make this work sustainable. The specialty items— cinnamon rolls, flavored scones, cookies, and loaded loaves— help to make that possible. But the center of the shop is the plain rustic loaf, the beating heart of the kitchen: simple bread built around nourishment, access, and community.

While filling the Pantry, a few friends, my parents, and my husband encouraged me to try and sell some of it, that the bread and bakes were indeed good. I was doubtful, self-confidence has not always been my strong suit, but in late November I decided to give it a go. I posted a bit on my Facebook and Instagram, borrowed a pop-up tent from a friend (which ended up being broken in one corner so he actually let me keep it!) And that morning in November, drenched in a pouring rain in my front yard I opened with just sweets. I had muffins, pumpkin coffee cake, my signature browned butter salted chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, and no bread, because surely- no one would want bread from me. I was sold out in two hours and nearly every single person asked for bread. I remember going inside the house and crying. The little boy who got his first Easy-Bake Oven around six years old was finding a way to fulfill a lifelong passion of feeding his community. I became an educator because I wanted to positively impact where I lived and since leaving the classroom that has been a missing piece for me, but here I was back at it again. Leftovers and “mis-bakes” (what I lovingly call bakes that are perfectly fine to eat, but may be a little too rustic for the table) are put into the Pantry, along with other weekly items that I make especially for it. I also encourage others to bring donations and receive a discount at the Kitchen.

I know Hadley’s Kitchen does not fit every traditional image of a cottage bakery. My bakes are generous in size and spirit: not because there is one right way to bake, but because Hadley’s Kitchen is built around abundance, access, and care. As a gay man, I know what it means to build a space where people feel welcomed as they are. I also do not see myself in competition with the other wonderful cottage bakers in our area. That’s the thing about bakeries, they feed people in more ways than one. In other places some of the most essential shops are bakeries and little fresh-food shops. I think our communities would be stronger with more small bakeries, fresh shops, and local food providers. Not only is there more than enough room, there’s a need.

My goal is to continue to grow, to shine, and to share the love of bread and food, and one day to perhaps have some sort of brick and mortar or cart. I have had a menu written for over a decade now, just waiting; and for the first time, I feel the momentum. Along the way, I have had endless support from the community: people who helped fund our bread oven through a GoFundMe, where three-fourths of the cost came from donors who came out of the woodwork; people who helped me obtain a food cart shell, which the universe provided at no cost—a story for another time; and those who help me week after week, including my mom, Ashlea, my husband, and old friends. Every single person has shown such kindness and willingness that I still get waves of emotion thinking about it.

Watch this space as I look for more opportunities to continually feed our community and grow something sustainable.

Desde el fondo de mi corazón,

Nicholas Hadley