FOOD PROFILE BlueY Farm • Mason, NH

The bakery at Blue Y Farm in Mason is set in the kitchen of an 18th-century farmhouse on 89 acres of woods and rolling green fields. &emsp;Visitors enter through the pantry door, where free samples and coffee await, and follow the line around the corner into the kitchen itself. What comes next is nothing short of mesmerizing. &emsp;Cakes of all sizes and flavors fill every inch of counter space. Shelves and racks transform the central island and surrounding space into a display fit to bursting with hand pies, scones, handmade pop tarts, enormous donuts, croissants, sourdough bread, English muffins, cruffin's (croissant muffin hybrids), tarts, pies, coffee cake, biscuits, cake slices, cookies, jam, muffins, cookie sandwiches, turnovers, eclairs, and brownies. &emsp;It's an overwhelming experience, even more so when you find out that, the day before, none of these bakery goods existed. &emsp;Blue Y Farm's owner and baker extraordinaire Cheri Grovesteen, along with some girlfriends and her college-age daughters, bake everything from scratch before the bakery opens to the public. &emsp;"My ovens are full and running for 24 hours," she says. "I don't sleep from Friday morning until Saturday afternoon." &emsp;Open seasonally, on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon, Grovesteen's bakery is packed like a sardine tin. &emsp;"There's so much to choose from. People often get decision paralysis. I always laugh when the husbands show up with a list written by their wives. It makes things a lot easier for them and us," she says with a laugh. &emsp;The motivation for the long hours comes from Grovesteen's lifelong love of baking and cooking. &emsp;"I love to feed people," she says. "It's my love language." &emsp;The Grovesteen family moved to their historic 1779 property 16 years ago in reaction to Cheri's diagnosis of breast cancer at just 33 years old. They wanted to grow and produce as much of their own food as possible, a goal which naturally complimented her love language. &emsp;"There has never been a loaf of store-bought bread in my house," she says. &emsp;Grovesteen beat her cancer, but it returned five years later. Never one to give up, Grovesteen beat the cancer again — but after the ordeal, came away with a different perspective. Having overcome cancer twice — and with her children older and off to college — she decided to bring her love of baking to a broader audience. &emsp;So, she started the Blue Y Farm Bakery in August 2019. The name Blue Y Farm — a condensation of "Blue Yonder" — is an homage to Grovesteen's husband's grandfather, who flew in the Air Force. &emsp;She decided early on that instead of bringing her baked goods to a market, she would sell them right out of the kitchen where they are made. The menu changes weekly and is posted on Facebook for her legion of followers. "I don't want to get bored," she says of the changing menu. &emsp;Fall through Christmas are Blue Y's busiest times of the year, during which Grovesteen creates pre-order holiday menus. For Thanksgiving 2024, she's offering assorted fruit pies and tarts with flavors like espresso, peanut butter and almond apple. Customers can order by phone, email or on Facebook by 5 p.m. November 17 for a Wednesday, November 27 pickup. &emsp;As of this writing (Oct. 2024), she has yet to publish her Christmas menu. However, if 2023's menu is anything to go by, customers can expect whoopie pies, espresso squares, Christmas tree brownies, peppermint tarts, Yule logs, Stollen, apple strudel and gingerbread men. &emsp;It is not uncommon for a line to have formed outside the kitchen door by 7:30 a.m. on a Saturday. Guests are greeted by Grovesteen's friendly and dependable collie, Filson (who my two-year-old daughter, who was with me during this interview, tried to entice home with the offer of a bite of her strawberry pop tart.) &emsp;The whole location speaks to Grovesteen's love of feeding people and welcoming them to her home. Kids are encouraged to run around in the fields, swing on the tire swing, pet Filson, or say hello to Major, Grovesteen's horse. Above all, though, Grovesteen loves the freedom and creativity her business allows her. &emsp;"I love the freedom to create new menu items and see the people who are eating my items," she says. "I enjoy chatting with my customers and meeting more people from the community. I love seeing how excited people are to try something new." BOX: The Bakery at Blue Y Farm 236 Jackson Road Mason, NH facebook.com/blueyfarm 603-878-4199 Hours vary depending on the season. Check Blue Y Farm's Facebook page for the most up-to-date information.