Introduction to Jane Wild
Jane Wild has brought her love for fresh food to the Heights with her Jane and the Lion Bakehouse. When Jane Wild was growing up in Cold Spring in Texas’s rural Pineywoods, the nearest grocery store was 30 minutes away. Instead of processed fruits and veggies, she was used to her mother, a home economics teacher at the local school, cooking with ingredients from their neighbors’ gardens.
Early Life and Inspiration
Throughout school, Wild participated in 4-H, the youth development program that helps students practice skills in various activities like sports, food science, healthy living, fashion, and photography. Wild chose cooking, throwing her hat in the ring in local competitions like small-town or county fairs, with kids entering a pie or cake and adults judging to see who would win a ribbon. This early exposure to cooking and baking sparked a passion in Wild that would stay with her throughout her life.
The Birth of Sunshine Cookie Company
Wild switched gears in high school, opting for extracurriculars like theater, band, and student council. That’s when the itch for baking began to set in. Wild recalls badly wanting to go on a school trip with her classmates to Washington, DC, and Europe, but her parents told her that in order to attend, she’d have to come up with the money. Wild was stumped. With so many extracurriculars in her schedule, she knew she couldn’t work an hourly job, and her babysitting gigs could only help raise so much. Instead, she decided to launch Sunshine Cookie Company, her very first bakery and business.
A Career in the Culinary Arts
Wild received a scholarship to study theater in college, but after a semester at the now-closed Lon Morris College in Jacksonville, Texas, she realized that the life wasn’t for her. Back home, it was back to the drawing board. After some encouragement, she visited the Art Institute of Houston to check out its classes. She soon fell in love with chefs like Alice Waters, Thomas Keller, and Charlie Trotter—Trotter and his eponymous Chicago restaurant even inspired Wild’s own move to the Windy City. But Wild didn’t end up in some big-named, Michelin-starred restaurant in Chicago. Instead, she found herself working for the then-up-and-coming grocery store Whole Foods in the ’90s.
Jane and the Lion Bakehouse
By July 2024, Wild found herself prepping her market goods in the kitchen of the former doughnut and coffee shop Morningstar in the Heights, sharing the space with the café’s former pastry chef Christian Au. Six months later, she took over the lease. Fast-forward to April, and Wild opened Jane and the Lion Bakehouse, a Heights bakery she operates along with three farmers market stalls on weekends. It’s all a part of Wild’s mission to bring to Houston everything she’s learned and loved over the years.
The Bakehouse Experience
When diners walk into Jane and the Lion, they are immediately greeted with Wild’s playlist, which shifts between what she describes as “rebellious loud music” and more vibe-y early-2000s songs, and a cozy environment with secondhand furniture, decor, and plates. In addition to the reliance, carried from her upbringing, on ingredients from local farmers and gardens, Jane and the Lion’s sustainable cooking methods include a no-waste policy: Fennel, for example, is used in early spring for salads, with the leftover stems and fronds, the leafy greens, saved to make chile oil.
Future Plans
Wild says the bakery is now in phase one, and she hopes to ease into the next phases in a year with extended hours, curbside pickup, online ordering, local beer, wine, cocktails, and an expanded menu. Until then, Wild says the phased approach allows her to create a team that’s “rich like bone marrow.” She plans to gauge diners’ interest in dinner with a limited farm-to-table series in the evenings after the bakery closes for the day. A ticketed five-course, family-style dinner is already in the works for September in observance of the autumnal equinox.
Conclusion
Jane Wild’s journey to opening Jane and the Lion Bakehouse is a testament to her passion for fresh food and her dedication to creating a unique and welcoming atmosphere for her customers. With her commitment to sustainability and community involvement, Wild is sure to make a lasting impact on the Houston food scene. As she continues to grow and expand her business, one thing is certain – Jane and the Lion Bakehouse is a must-visit destination for anyone looking for a truly special dining experience.
