Tony Zentgraf
I had a great time filming, Exploring the Source with Jenn Plitzko of Heim Bakery. Jenn Plitzko is a classically trained Pastry Chef from Germany. She has also worked with some of Europe’s talented chefs in France and England before moving to Portland, Oregon 10 years ago. The quality of her pastries are a result of her talent and passion for the art of baking. Her website tells it best, Heim, the feeling of home…
heim
Heimat. Noun. German. Feeling of home; not attached to a physical place but to a memory, a sensation, a longing.
Heim’s creations hope to evoke familiarity. Enjoying a piece of cake that was made for you for a special occasion. Like an unexpected treat gifted to you by a friend. The sweet you picked up while traveling that turned out to be oh so good.
Memory elevates the experience. Heim’s sweets are based on personal history: the yeasted sweet breads Jenn’s Mama and Oma made that filled the house with a delicious scent and everyone’s bellies with joy. Or the sensation of trying a new pastry, falling in love with it, recreating it. That is something to hold dear and share.Â
Heim builds on high-quality and locally-sourced ingredients as much as possible.Â
From Germany to Opening Heim in Portland
When Jenn made the decision to move to Portland, it wasn’t a hard decision to pick Oregon. Her mom was originally from Coos Bay and she had visited Oregon on vacations her family would take to the U.S. Plus she had spent 6 months in Portland on a previous trip, making friends and loving the community.
Jenn began her pastry adventure in Portland, baking and selling them at two farmers markets and quickly expanding to a third. She began to get a following and before she knew it she was selling wholesale to some other businesses. While making ends meet, she worked at a cafe and bakery, and Jenn dreamed of opening her own business.
As she weighed her options, she was working for someone else part time, baking for her clients and delivering to them as well. She had to put some heavy thought into what direction she should go. After talking to her mom, she made a decision that she was going to go for it and open her own bakery.
The Big Leap
From the start, Heim was supported by the community. She enlisted friends and colleagues to help from buildout to mentoring. Plus, even had a landlady who supported her Woman- and Queer-owned business. Jenn is all about community; the bakery had an area dedicated to local artisans from the community.
After a year and a half, just when she was finding her work/life balance, Covid hit. Jenn found it necessary to get creative to survive. At the beginning of Covid, there wasn’t much, if any, online purchasing available. She came up with doing a CSG, Community Supported Goods, package every two weeks. This included items from the local artisans as well as farms who provided vegetables and fruit. Jenn would add items such as breads, pastries, soups and even baking kits of bread dough that could be finished at home. All along she would support Woman- and Queer-owned businesses from artisans to farms.
After working through Covid, and becoming creatively burnt out working to keep the CSG going, she had to make the difficult decision to close the storefront of Heim. Although she was closing, and customers were sad to see her leave, Jenn opened her heart and shared some of her customers’ favorite recipes with them in hopes they could bake to remember Heim.
Moving to Southern Oregon
Jenn and her girlfriend moved to Southern Oregon at the beginning of 2023 after going back to Germany to visit family. She got to work doing what she knows best.
Connecting with community, Jenn reached out to the local growers market, Rogue Valley Growers and Crafters Market. She hit the ground running when the market season opened. It has only been a few months since the start of the growers markets but she has already gained a following of loyal customers. Jenn told me a story of a customer she met when she started at the Rogue Valley Growers Market. The woman’s daughter lives in Portland and the mother was so excited that Heim is now down here and she could get the favorite pastries that she loved.
In the video, I start out by saying, “I could go on and on about how delicious Heim’s pastries are but there is nothing better than hearing it from the customers.”
Watch the Exploring the Source with Jenn Plitzko of Heim Bakery interview to learn more of her journey.
Heim can be found at the Rogue Valley Growers and Crafters Market
Tuesdays and Saturdays in Ashland and Thursdays in Medford
The poppyseed bar is great!