Meet Chef Kat Massey, bringer of fresh ideas, delicious treats and positive energy. Kat joined the bakery team in March of 2024, offering some New Jersey sass along with some crazy-good baking skills.
Kat grew up in Bayonne, New Jersey, and credits her love of cooking to days spent at her grandmother’s side in the kitchen. Family dinners with a minimum of nine people added to the mix, making it certain that a culinary career was in her future.
She attended the Culinary Institute in Hyde Park, New York, earning an associate degree in baking and pastry followed by a bachelor’s in business management. A certificate in human resources from Cornell University completed her educational trifecta.
Bread Alone, a 40-year-old organic production bakery in upstate New York, was her next stop. “I was the bakery production manager for six years,” Kat said. “All the breakfast pastries, muffins, cookies, scones, and my favorite, croissants. Then, I added organic bread to list.”
While managing the busy production bakery she also put in time as the manager of the Last Bite Café and as head baker at Stone Ridge Orchard. “Definitely baked some cinnamon donuts, and also chopped wood and fed livestock.” Kat said. “But once I got kicked by an alpaca, I was like, ‘I’m outta here.’”
Kat met her husband, Andrew, at the CIA, and they tied the knot while thay were working at Bread Alone. He’s a Fort Collins native and when they started thinking about relocating to Colorado to be closer to his family, Kat applied to Ginger and Baker.
“I love working here, the team is fantastic, eager to learn and always want to do more,” Kat said. “You can’t make people want to learn, so this makes my job that much easier.” She also credits Chef Hannah (Sprenger) with helping her learn the ropes. “I was a little nervous about the culture coming from New York, where it’s more uptight, but Hanna and I hit it off right away. Her sense of humor is great, we do a lot of laughing while working.”
Kat’s plan is to add new treats to the pastry case, develop decadent desserts for The Cache and add croissants to daily pastries. “They’re my favorite thing to make, we’ll start with classic and add sweet and savory variations… and they’ll all be made from scratch with love.”
When not working, Kat enjoys doing crafts including knitting, quilting and crocheting. “I learned from my great grandmother, grandmother and mom, they’re all talented crocheters.”
She’s also happy to have added a dining room table to her Colorado home. “Time to bring back some family dinners!”
Her favorite pie? Pizza pie!!!