About Us
Kay Wiggin President/Owner, Baker, Quebrada Baking Co.
Wellesley Bakery
Mark Rabin Co-Vice President, Director of Operations
Deirdre Haviland Head Cake Decorator & Pastry Chef
Jeannette Hicks Head Baker, Wellesley
Bonnie Littman Retail Manager, Wellesley
Carol Gleason Assistant Retail Manager, Wellesley
Katy Curtin Catering & Events Manager
Arlington Bakery
Claire Rabin Co-Vice President, Director of Human Resources
Nyla Zinfon Head Baker, Arlington
Harba Kurdi Retail Manager, Arlington
Jean Malave Retail Manager, Arlington
The Freshest, Simplest Wholesome Ingredients Available.™
Kay Wiggin, founder and owner of Quebrada (say: Kay-bra-da) Baking Co. opened her first bakery location in 1977 in what was then a boarded-up block in East Arlington. Getting up at 3 AM each day and racing off to work, Charles Laquidara and his ‘Big Mattress’ radio show “my inspiration and best advertising,” she produced a line of strictly organic breads, muffins, and honey buns as a wholesale supplier to Erewhon, the Organic Food Cellar, and Bread & Circus stores.
The success of the bakery’s products at Bread & Circus (now Whole Foods in Wellesley Hills), combined with “an amazing interest in croissants,” prompted Kay to open a retail bakery next door. The bakery and store features hand-rolled artisan croissants and breakfast baked goods, barista coffees and teas, and a full line of petite and full size dessert offerings. Custom decorated cakes and cupcakes are also created for all occasions, home and work.
The East Arlington bakery also transformed into a retail shop and café, and together with the Capitol movie theater and other new shops, helped breath renewed vibrancy into the neighborhood adjacent to what’s become Capitol Square.
Coming from a Western Pennsylvanian German baking family, and a tradition of homemade baked goods, Kay has gathered recipes from friends and family for Quebrada™ products, all of which are hand-made in the bakeries from “the freshest, simplest wholesome ingredients available.”™
Ever aware of changing customer tastes and preferences, Kay and her staff, many of whom have been with her decades, have constantly refined and evolved the Quebrada tradition to create a baked goods legacy embracing old-world goodness and exacting artisan preparation. Today this includes custom-decorated cakes and cupcakes, croissants and muffins, classic cookies and petite desserts, along with sandwich loaf breads, Challah, Swedish Cardamom, and Irish Soda Breads.
Kay’s focus on producing baked goods and desserts featuring world-class quality and taste rules out even the thought of processed food ingredients. “The concept of made ‘from scratch’ can be very misleading,” says Kay. “Every bakery in town says that their products are made ‘from scratch.’ In the early wholesale years of Quebrada, ‘from-scratch’ meant that all of our products were sweetened with only honey and maple syrup. Everything was 100% whole-wheat and whole grain. But our customers’ tastes changed with the times, and now ‘from-scratch’ includes unbleached un-bromated white flour and cane sugar. But it’s always been our policy not to use high fructose corn syrup sweeteners or trans-fat ingredients in any Quebrada recipe.” “Every ingredient we use could have been found in your grandmother’s pantry . . . well maybe, did she have canola oil?”
“So much has changed, but so much has not changed. We’ll continue to enjoy offering the best of the baker’s arts by listening to our customers and following in our “Fresh, Fresh, Fresh” tradition.”
“I hope you’ll stop in and say hello sometime soon.”
