Smith Island Bakery

Smith Island located in the Chesapeake Bay is an experience many do not know about. As a child, Kristan grew up listening to her grandfather share stories of the island and how the island people have their own language that can be quite hard to understand. Most Smith Islanders descend from 17th-century settlers, most of whom arrived in Maryland and Virginia from southwest England and Wales. The island is known for its soft shell crabs, its mail boat that is also the ferry to get on and off the island, and the most important -- The Smith Island Cake, the Maryland state cake.

"I'd never heard of Smith Island, I'd always heard of Tangier Island. And when my kids were little, my husband said let's take the kids to Smith Island. And I was like, well, where's that? So he brought me here and I fell in love with the place," said Kathey Jones, owner, and baker at the Smith Island Bakery. 

Kathey Jones grew up in Baltimore and always had a passion for baking. She didn't think she would venture out to this tiny island located in the Chesapeake Bay but it is now her home and her bakery is a popular tourist spot as the Maryland state cake is baked there every day. 

"When I moved to the island, the women of the island were the hardest working bunch of women I've ever met and they taught me how to bake these cakes. My first two attempts were complete disasters, and I always bought them from one of the women. But once they showed me all the little tips and tricks and secrets that they knew it, it kind of became very easy for me with my baking experience already," said Kathey.

Prior to Kathey taking over the facility she bakes in today, another company was baking Smith Island cakes there but they decided it was easier to bake and ship cakes on the mainland. When Kristan decided she wanted to go out to Smith Island she wanted to make sure she interviewed a baker who was baking her favorite cake on the island. 

"I opened it in hopes that I could create more jobs so that more people can move here full time and stay living here," said Kathey.

Kathey ships out tons of cakes per week and it isn't the easiest job. She delivers the cakes to the mail boat and then the mail boat takes them to the post office to get shipped. While its a challenge, it keeps things authentic and many of her customers keep coming back for more knowing that the cakes are being handmade on the island the recipe originated from.

To learn more about Smith Island and the Maryland state cake, tune into the episode and visit their website at, https://smithislandbakeryllc.com/. Also, for more information on the Smith Island Inn, the inn Kristan stayed at, visit https://www.smithislandinn.com/. You can find more information on the coffee roaster and local restaurants on the island here.

Lastly, here is more information on the featured musician, The Dangerous Summer. Kristan went to high school with the lead singer.