Kate Coffield’s goal is to create memories —of Georgetown, of a trip and of her freshly baked treats.
Coffield has brought a lifetime of culinary experience to Georgetown’s newest eatery, Cake, at 401½ Sixth St. For Coffield, cooking is a family tradition.
“I was conceived a chef,” Coffield jokes when talking about her grandmother and uncle, who were both chefs. She said she started cooking at the age of 12.
“I’d go and spend every summer with my grandmother, and we would go to work at a hotel, and I would help her in the kitchen,” she said.
Coffield’s culinary experience started with shucking oysters and eventually grew into experience at the Hyatt Corp. working under a Swiss chef and then baking under a French pastry chef.
“I’ve worked mostly for corporations. I was the executive pastry chef up at Copper Mountain Ski Resort,” Coffield said.
“I turned 50, and it is hard to be hired when you’re 50 … when there’s so many young culinarians who work for significantly less,” Coffield said. “I got tired of hearing I was overqualified when I applied for jobs — so I hired myself.”
Two years ago, Coffield started making wedding cakes. She decided it was time to open her own kitchen and thought Georgetown was the right location.
She moved to Georgetown, and with a small loan from the Clear Creek Economic Development Corp., she opened Cake.
“It was great. It was exciting, terrifying at the same time, I know pastries like the back of my hand, but (with) the cash register I become an infant,” Coffield said. “So I had to learn to do things that were outside of my comfort zone, but I’m there now. It is OK. I look back on it, and I laugh — it’s just a silly cash register.”
Coffield joined the culinary world because she knew that, at heart, she is a people pleaser.
“My favorite thing is when people go, ‘Mmmmm, this is so good,’ … I like the people who go, ‘Oh my gosh, this is the best cupcake I’ve ever had,’” Coffield said.
She said several cooks can start with the same ingredients, but they won’t necessarily get the same results. Baked goods that are mind-blowingly good require a little something extra.
“A lot of love goes into what I do, so I think that comes out in my product,” Coffield said.
That and having zero compromise on the quality of ingredients, knowing how to fix a broken recipe and knowing how to make adjustments for high-altitude baking.
“Basically it is chemistry, so you have to learn a little chemistry while you’re at it — but anymore I know what it looks like, I know what it smells like, I know what it tastes like. I can look at it and know when it is right,” Coffield said.
She provides a variety of baked creations — from raspberry scones to cupcakes and from cookies to wedding cakes. Cake is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. For information, call 303-569-5043.
Contact Ian Neligh at couranteditor@evergreenco.com, and check www.clearcreekcourant.com for updates and breaking news.