We apologize in advance if this turns out to be one of those too-good-to be true stories, but it is what it is. It starts with a young man from Mexico who came to California looking for a better life, starting with a job as a dishwasher at Tra Vigne in St. Helena. The management saw something special in Ruben Barrera and decided to train him as a baker. After a few years, Ruben struck out on his own, but when the owners of Tra Vigne decided to start Panorama Baking, they brought Ruben back into the fold and installed him as head baker. A couple years later, Ruben bought a partial interest in the company.

The other half of this equation is Anna Niederholzer. She came from very different circumstances, educated as a chef in Peter Kump's Cooking School in NYC. In SF, she worked as a pastry chef in some of the City's finest restaurants including Rose Pistola and Gordon's House of Fine Eats on Potrero Hill. Four years ago, while working at the latter, she met Ruben whose Panorama Baking Company was next door. They became friends and eventually a couple and now in a sense, business partners. All of the breads (15 different varieties this past weekend) in their booth at the Grand Lake Market are Ruben's responsiblity.

All of the sweets including the exotic foccaccias are Anna's. Some of the recipes are passed down from her family -- the peanut butter cookies from her mother and the carrot/apple cake from her Aunt Dolly. When Anna and Panorama began selling at Farmers Markets two years ago, Anna decided that foccaccias would be the ideal, eat-out-of-your hand product. She began to expand on the basic recipes adding seasonal produce including potatoes, spinach, eggplant, tomatoes, walnuts, onions and pears mixed with Asiago and Mozzarella cheeses.

Panorama breads continue to be featured at many of the Bay Area's finest restaurants and a limited number of retail outlets. Their breads along with Anna's sweets are available at ten different Farmers Markets as of this summer.

For additional information, please visit their web site.