I love a challenge that feels like an adventure. Maybe it’s because I grew up in Borneo, Malaysia, always curious, optimistic, and somewhat obsessed with food.

I was a national athlete in high school, and studied accounting before moving to Singapore where I worked in sales and marketing. Five years later I moved to Shanghai, China and decided it was time to turn my passion for food into a career. I became certified in wine and spirits (Advanced level, WSET®) and worked with a wine company to manage their first retail location. After 8 years experience, I was recognized as an expert on the Chinese wine market and consulted multiple companies on market entry strategies.

But then at age 36, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I began to research what foods were best for my body, and during chemotherapy I also searched for ways to calm my mind. Nothing really worked until one day I tried baking bread and found kneading the dough extremely therapeutic. Remembering what I had read about the health benefits of sourdough, I taught myself how to make a sourdough starter and began baking with grains that naturally carry more nutrition, less gluten and no added yeast.

Happily, my cancer is now in remission but I remain vigilant about my health and living a happy life. In 2014, my family and I moved to New York City for a fresh start. I always knew that this was a place that supported people who work hard and have creative ideas, so I decided to pursue my dream and start a sourdough bakery.

I love sharing these slow-rise breads because they bring both nutrition and enjoyment to anyone who tries them, while supporting our local community and sustainable food goals.

With Phoebe’s Sourdough Bakery Inc., I aim to produce delicious and unique bread products for New Yorkers who want to tap into the nutritional power of naturally fermented sourdough, which contains beneficial probiotic bacteria. My sourdough breads are made with locally grown ancient grains and milled flours that are certified organic and non-GMO. Although locally grown and sourced ingredients are more costly, I am committed to supporting small growers and sustainable farming. I will start with 5 types of sourdough bread using ancient whole grains like spelt, emmer, rye, barley, and seeds and nuts (all organic and non-GMO). All sourdough breads will be produced using natural spring water.

I target to sell my sourdough breads at select farmers’ markets and restaurants in New York City in early 2016 and eventually via an online hub.

The start-up costs are significant for a bread business – even a small one – as I need to purchase equipment for bulk production, rent shifts in a commercial kitchen (required by NY City law), organize transport, storage and market space before I can start selling.

This loan would make it possible to start producing and selling in the market and would mean so much to me!

Find out more about sourdough bread at the links below:
1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sourdough
2) http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/aug/12/rise-sourdough-bread-slow-fermented-health-benefits
3) http://www.uoguelph.ca/news/2008/07/sourdough_bread.html

With it I will be able to secure shifts at the incubator commercial kitchen, buy equipment, baking tools and materials for the market stand, purchase locally grown ingredients and packaging, I will also be able to run two to three tests in the commercial kitchen, which I need in order to adjust my recipes and process to the ovens and to the scaled production.

– Shift rental at an incubator commercial kitchen for product testing and one month production either in Queens or Brooklyn ($4,000)

– Ingredients: locally grown ancient whole grain flours, seeds, grains, nuts and spring water ($1,600)

– Mixing and proofing containers, individual proofing baskets (bannetons) and all required baking tools for scaled up production ($2,900)

– Market stand and display materials, bread display unit and packaging ($1,500)