Do you know the Muffin Women
A Spotlight on Tala Coffee Roaster’s Bakery Supplier Holcomb Hollow
This interview has been edited for clarity.
Do you know the muffin women? Located in Mundelein, Illinois in a nondescript wholesale kitchen is Holcomb Hollow. A business that began from “the plan is jam mentality,” if you get the friend's reference you know, at the local farmers market, eventually developed into an original gluten free flour recipe and all the baked goods behind it. I sat down with Melissa Norton, head baker and co-owner, and Elena Morris, chief operating officer to learn more about what makes these muffins so special, leaving customers coming back for more with statements like…’you have the best muffins–’ at least that’s what floats around the Winnetka cafe.
MR: You started as a jam business at the farmers market. What made you transition into the pastry space and why gluten free, vegan, and dairy free?
MN: So it is true, I started in my kitchen making jam for farmers markets, and it was a big hit.
EM: A huge hit.
MN: Yes, it was very popular. Great jam. So our favorites were pineapple mango habanero. That was an award winning jam. I won awards for that jam at the Lake County Fair. Blue Ribbons. So pineapple mango habanero, the strawberry lemon, strawberry sunshine, and then blueberry maple, which we transitioned into an oat cup.
The business began as a sustainable locally sourced jam project where the produce was bought and sold at the Lake County farmers market.
MN: It was a really great way to get to know people and be in community and meet people.
At the crux of this customer service interaction is where Melissa became acquainted with the gluten free community, and the banana bread passion project–turned muffin extraordinaire was born.
MN: So when I was doing that, I also made a loaf of banana bread. It was my mom’s recipe from way, way back, and I just made it one week, and it was popular. But one week, this woman came up to me and she wondered if I could make it gluten free. So I was like, sure. How hard could that be? I said, come back next week, and I’ll give you what I got. Well, it turned out to be immensely difficult, but that customer came back every week and she said, What did you make? And I would have this little blob of goo in a baggie, and she would take it. I would give it to her, and she would come back the next week and she’s like, that is the best thing I ever had.
The relationship Norton developed with her customer created a sense of brand loyalty around gluten free baked goods. Determined to crack the code of texture and flavor with her mother’s iconic classic, she got to work in the kitchen modifying flour ratios to build their gluten free blend. Soon a local coffee shop wanted to sell the baked goods, and thus their wholesale relationship was born–eventually developing the banana bread to the Cinnamon Banana Swirl Muffin Tala Customers know and love. As for the triple berry jam, this berry forward flavor developed to the triple berry muffin, a former staple at Tala Coffee Roasters.
How did Melissa and Elena decide to go into business together? Now that’s a story seeded in a trip to New Orleans and a partnership written in the cards.
MN: So I did meet Elena, like over the years of when I was working, you know, she was a regular customer. She brought all of her friends. She actually started this really massive Facebook group of moms
MR: The person who asked for the banana bread?
Much to my dismay, this was not their origin story, but instead rooted in Elena’s ability to organize and a pinch of fate from New Orleans and a tarot reader, who she asked about the business.
MN: I need some help with my business. What should I do? So the lady does her whole [some form of hand motions and noise], and she says to me, she says, I want you to think of someone who you would like to work with. The first person that pops into your head, that’s who you should reach out to.
And of course, she thought of Elena, one Facebook message and a drink later, after encouragement from friends, they were business partners–Morris running the books and communications, and Norton the baking.
As for the molten center of our conversation or the streusel on top, which Norton and Morris are both fans of, it is the fall favorite, the pumpkin crumble.
MN: I love the pecan in there, so that’s really good. Streusel was a tough thing for us to create because it’s, you know, it’s all butter and gluten. So it’s really, really tricky to get the texture right when you’re not using butter and gluten. So we made a dozen of them, and they were gritty, or they were too melty, or they burned.
EM: Everything we make is like a science experiment. Recreate these flavors, but the vegan, gluten-free version…We love it, and that’s always our goal, to try and make things that taste like regular items where everybody can eat it.
Now their recipe testing process has been refined to “a few bakes,” which led to creations like the "scandalous brownie” or refining the lemon blueberry muffin that Tala customers enjoyed with some recent lemon enhancements. And maybe for Friday and weekend cafe goers, a few new additions have been added to the pastry case, including the stuffing scone studded with cranberries and an aroma of Thanksgiving day gravy, best served heated up, or the classic everything bagel–the perfect savory treats to sip with coffee. Or if you have a party or a pack of five friends, the apple cider donuts, a seasonal favorite made with rice flour, are another sugar-dusted treat to enjoy.
As for the Tala owners, one message to be conveyed is:
EM: We are big Tala people…and I really wish there was one in Mundelein.
MN: It’s the best coffee.
The holiday drinks from Candy Cane Lane to Navidad Naranjo inspired as much enthusiasm in Holcomb Hollow as I had with Stefan in the kitchen.
Boasting an array of muffin flavors rotated seasonally from the pumpkin crumble, zucchini chocolate chip, cinnamon banana, and other wholesale favorites, I concluded the interview with a pressing question for the internet age.
MR: If you were going to birth order your pastries, who is the eldest daughter? Who is the sun who ran wild?
MN: Well, the banana muffin is definitely the eldest daughter.
EM: The scandalous is insane. It is a brownie with an Oreo inside, and a chocolate chip cookie baked on top.
MR: So that’s like the wild child breaking curfew.
MN: For sure, because it’s a crazy concoction. You either love it or you hate it…Then I would say the zucchini chocolate chip is like the very dependable older brother, like solid, like fair for you. You know, when you just don’t know what you want, you turn to.
MR: Not too chocolatey.
MN: Got some green in there…So I would say zucchini is always around. It’s always there for you, never goes away, never changes.
MR: The biscottis, I don’t know if those are like the grandparents.
MN: Oh yeah, they’re so delicate, so delicate and fragile, right?
Norton, always at work, developed the biscotti in an interim, looking for a commercial kitchen at an Italian restaurant, turning the twice-baked cookie into a Holcomb Hollow favorite. Next time you’re in Tala Coffee Roasters, see if there are other birth order negotiations for the pastries; the Holcomb Hollow owners may or may not agree.
Mia Rhee
Mia received a BA from Northwestern University and is a contributor at the Chicago Review of Books: she is a firm believer that coffee pairs best with reading.