About Duffy’s Dough
How Our Homemade Sourdough Starter Company Came to Be
Patrick and Linda have both made their ways as working actors, largely on television and on stage. More importantly, family has been the focus of each of their lives and raising their now grown boys, three between them. Two of the boys have wonderful families of their own with two children each.
Acting life means that a certain portion of each year is spent on the road either on tour or on location. They are both grateful to continue the adventure of being actors. Connection to nature is also very important to each of them and they are blessed to be able to make that connection at home in Colorado, California and Mexico. Hikes, bike rides, skiing, swimming…all welcome activities.
Primary influences have been Japan…Patrick has been a practicing Nichiren Buddhist for over 50 years. Linda was raised in Tokyo…and the West, for which they both have a strong penchant. Patrick born and spending his formative years in Montana, and Linda’s familial home having been in Colorado for the past 35 years.
Besides family, friends are an important part of the balance of their lives…the histories, loyalties, laughter…the love and ongoing inspirations they afford.
From Patrick…
“Some of our happiest memories in life have happened in kitchens of family and friends and now we hope to not only share those moments in real time but also inspire people to create their own good times. Out of an abundance of gratitude for the good fortune we have experienced in our lives we are very excited to be on an adventure to proactively cultivate joy.
Sharing life with my partner, the amazing Linda(!), I would make rolls, etc. for dinners that we would host. Armed anew with guests’ reactions, also inspirations from family friend and entrepreneur, Lance Stuart, our imaginations were ignited. We began to flesh out the notion of taking this germ of an idea commercial but only if it maintained the concept of sharing between friends and contributing to the general humanity and well-being of people.
We continued to take rolls and breads to friend’s homes when we went for dinners. One of those was at Steve and Christy Kaczmarek’s. The conversation flowed, Linda and I pitched the idea of creating a business to be called Duffy’s Dough. Central to the idea would be that, in time, Duffy’s Dough would be able to support causes we believe in. Those include world hunger, education and the environment. Steve, with his incredible business acumen, began to make the possibilities real and together we started in earnest on the journey of Duffy’s Dough as an entity.
All of this progress continually returns to the simple reality of coming downstairs in the morning and being welcomed by that amazing odor of the starter brimming with new life. The rest of the procedure is my meditation of gratitude when I mix the new batch of batter, knead the dough, and see it rise and blossom. There is no match for the smell of rolls in the oven and the taste of one fresh out with a dollop of fresh butter – and maybe a cup of coffee. And to do this with family and friends gives us the real window of hope and possibility for everything human.”