Who's On First Banana Bread: Part II

Last month I blogged here about my children’s plans to go into business together baking banana bread and selling it at Carlisle’s Farmers’ Market. With two weeks of Farmers’ Market under their belts, they are off to a marvelous start, and it’s interesting to itemize the skills developed and lessons accrued so far.

The first Saturday, they baked 20 mini-loaves and priced them at three dollars each. In the four-hour stint of Farmers Market, they sold 17 loaves, which was a fine number. As I told them, it left one for us to put in the freezer for whenever we next needed a ready-made “hostess gift”; one to cut up for samples the following week (as avid Whole Foods shoppers, we are well entrenched in the culture of samples, and the kids believed this was an important attraction at their booth); and one for our family to eat in the hours following Farmers Market. ("It's hard baking for other people and not getting to try any ourselves!" Tim had commented earlier in the day.)

The second Saturday, they baked 21 loaves and sold out within the first two hours the market was open. At ten o’clock, just as the parking lot was filling up, Tim and Holly sold their last two loaves to one chatty customer who said her children would be delighted with the treat. Farmers Market still had another two hours to go, but we were out of inventory – and the kids had collected a total of $63, mostly in ones, which they divvied up when they got home. Astounded at their commercial success, they set a goal of 25 loaves, maybe even 30, for the next week’s market. It would require them to spend a lot of time baking, they knew, but they were elated by their initial success and inspired to work harder than ever.

So far this week they’re halfway to their goal, but they’ll keep baking over the next two days. It doesn’t take them very long to make a batch from start to finish.

They still rely on me for a few tasks – they don’t like handling the well-ripened and slightly mushy bananas, so I do the peeling and drop the pieces into a mixing bowl, and I always take on the job of sliding the loaf pans in and out of the oven – but they’ve got the rest of it down to a well-managed routine, with Holly greasing the pans and whisking the eggs, Tim beating the bananas with sugar and combining the dry ingredients. They take turns when it comes to stirring the dry ingredients into the wet, and then they’re done. I help them clean up; ideally they’d do this part on their own too, but it’s a lot to expect.

Week Three is this Saturday. I’m hoping faces will become familiar and the kids will be rewarded with repeat business. I’m already happy with what they’ve learned and look forward to seeing them further develop their business acumen, baking talents and time management skills as the summer progresses. Business is brisk so far, and we’re off to an encouraging start.