Home Bakery In Attica
Fresh, Made From Scratch Baked Items
About
Who Are We?
Ralph’s Café and Bakery began when, after 15 years as a stay-at-home mom, I found myself asking once again, “What do I want to be when I grow up?” As an aspiring jack-of-all-trades and still homeschooling mom of five, I spent some time going through the possibilities.
Besides choir and dogs, another long-standing interest of mine has been cooking/baking. As a kid, I always wanted to help with the baking. Some time during high school, I baked my first cake from scratch and I was hooked. I just love being able to take raw materials and turn them into something amazing. For many years afterwards, I watched as much Food Network™ as possible. In my college years I completed a series of Wilton®
cake decorating courses and worked in a grocery store bakery, all the while
testing out my cooking skills on friends and family. I have also made cakes for many family occasions throughout the years—including my own wedding cake!More recently, I did spend a year in an actual store front location on Market St. in Attica. However, I have since moved back to a home-based business as I figure out my next steps on this journey through life!
So Who Is Ralph?
You may be surprised to find out that Ralph is a pug! (Did I mention I love dogs?) Ever since elementary school read-aloud time, hearing about the adventures of one particular mouse on a motorcycle (by Beverly Cleary, in case you want to check it out), I always knew I would save the name “Ralph” for someone special. On my 27thbirthday (March 3) in 2008, I was excitedly awaiting the birth of my first puppy. Two days later (March 5) I got news of my birthday buddy and we’ve celebrated together ever since.
Ralph saw me through good times and bad. Marriage, deaths, births, divorce… In his old age, I did my best to care as much for him physically as he cared for me emotionally. He had gone deaf, blind, lame, and incontinent, but he was quite content to let me pamper him. Feisty as ever, he would “yell” at me when he thought it was meal time, practically inhaled his food, wagged his tail when I would pick him up, and settled in contentedly for a nap every time I held him.
With part of my work background in hospice/comfort care, it was only natural for me to provide 24/7 comfort care to Ralph in his final weeks. Exhausting as it was, I would do it all again for my best friend. He was comfortable in my arms and so that's where he stayed most of that time, napping or being fed his favorite treats (french fries, bacon, burgers, and even his first Puppuccino! Just after 1am on May 2, 2023 (still in my arms!) he passed away surrounded by 4 of my 5 kids, and receiving lots of pets. We will always share a special bond and we made some great memories! Check out the photo from our weekend road trip to Lake George in 2019. Ralph loved the kayak.
