IIENTREPRENEURII
tasty
treats STORY BY NINA GREENPLATE | PHOTOS BY MADISON ELROD
Italian-meringue buttercream cakes, sweet cinnamon rolls, key-limepie cupcakes, triple-chocolate chunk cookies, delicate brioche, and more scrumptious treats are made-to-order and ready for delivery or pick up from Sea Pines’ new Hearthwood Hull Bakery. Katie DeVries, chef and 23-year-old owner, has been creating toothsome standards and delicious surprises from her home-based kitchen since August of 2020. “I absolutely love the English muffins and breads,” DeVries said. “But the sweets are always more popular.” A 2019 Johnson & Wales University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in culinary arts, DeVries’ career took a detour when her original plan to work the kitchens of New York City led her back to her home on Hilton Head Island. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, DeVries was deep into interview preparation and apartment hunting across the Big Apple. “Corona hit, and hit restaurants and hotels especially hard,” she says. “I was grateful to have finished college, but now needed a safe environment to work in.” DeVries spent months researching all options, including state and local food laws, and concluded it was best to remain on the island. “I knew it would be hard, but I decided to start my own business,” she said. Hearthwood Hull Bakery is DeVries’ working vision of an upscale, in-home bakery, with the quality of a storefront. Chef DeVries adheres to strict state and local safety guidelines and governance. She is fully certified in advanced food security and takes seriously all guidelines on kitchen purity. Using high-quality ingredients and being meticulous in her creative process, the young chef aims to set herself apart from the mundane. DeVries works to accommodate unique requests and dietary restrictions such as gluten free, eggless and vegan. Social media has been instrumental to Hearthwood Hull, and her web page is user-friendly and intuitive.
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