Tellico Grains Bakery is a dream, realized by the combined life experiences of two people, passionate about simple food and about working hard doing what they love.

Anissa's appreciation for baking came at a young age when she would gather apples in the yard at her home in Iowa and watch her mother turn these apples into the most delicious and beautiful pies... with an effortless modesty. It seemed so natural and mundane she never considered making a living doing something so simple. Growing up among many animals in the middle of an agricultural mecca, when it came time for Anissa to think about college and a career, she chose to pursue a degree in Animal Science at the University of Missouri College of Agriculture. After receiving her degree she was selected to join a research team at the university that succeeded in making history by cloning the first pig. Although it was an honor for her to be part of this project, Anissa's favorite part of working in the lab was surprising her coworkers with baked goods at lab meetings! It was this revelation that got her thinking seriously about changing her career path.

She headed out to the open spaces of Montana with her trusty Irish Setter and worked in a veterinary physiology lab, making buffalo vaccines, while moonlighting in bakeries and coffee shops. After volunteering at a bakery with a wood-fired brick oven Anissa knew this was the kind of operation she wanted. She was offered the opportunity to build a brick oven on an organic farm in Colorado, and, once again, she loaded up her truck and her dog to keep the dream alive. That opportunity never came to fruition, so it must have been fate that kept her driving to the remote village of Crested Butte, Colorado, where she got a job as pastry chef at the Timberline Restaurant.There she met Stuart, her future husband. As the desire to have her own bakery grew stronger and more believable, she knew she needed some formal baking education. While in Crested Butte, Anissa lived in a tipi in the national forest to save money, and, thankfully, before winter hit she had enough saved to head to New York City and attend a bread and pastry baking program at the French Culinary Institute. After completing this program - as inspired as ever - Anissa and Stuart began their search for a destination they could call their own.

One of Stuart's first memories in his life was when his father lifted him over his head and into the back of their old grain truck, full of freshly harvested hard-red-winter wheat berries. This is where Stuart and his older brothers would play for a short time before hauling the load to the Coop in Amy, Kansas. As he grew older, he and his brothers would drive the grain truck, tractors, and, sometimes (if grandpa let them), they would operate the combine performing tasks that have been passed on from generation to generation. When Stuart was not in the field, he would watch his grandmother assemble sandwiches and cole-slaw, and bake delicious pies to rush out to the workers and then rush back to cook more for dinner.

When it was time for college, Stuart accepted a scholarship to the Baking and Milling Sciences Department at Kansas State University. In search for a career outside the corporate world, Stuart picked up a job washing dishes at "Harry's Uptown Restaurant". By observing every aspect of the kitchen, the cooks, wait-staff, owners, and customers, he knew that this was his niche in life and decided to move to a "foodie" town in order to keep his dream alive. A resort town in Colorado answered his culinary ambitions, as he was hired to cook on the line at The Timberline Restaurant in Crested Butte. Under the wings of two incredible chefs, Stuart learned classic French/American techniques and the skills and knowledge required to run a successful small business. It was also here where Stuart met his future wife Anissa and they began their culinary journey together.

It was a long and winding road that led Anissa and Stuart to the beautiful mountains of southeastern Tennessee. In 2002, they purchased a dilapidated 95-year old brick building in downtown Tellico Plains, TN, and completely renovated it to suit the needs of their dream bakery and home above. With the help of one carpenter and a few brave friends and family members (that they will be forever grateful to) a wood-fired brick oven was built and the foundation to their successful bakery was laid in place. They still have that Irish Setter and a couple of kids too and their lives could not be happier. They are still amazed that dreams like these can be inspired by such simple memories.