Who is the Butter Ben?

Having a mom who loves to bake and a dad who is a nuclear astrophysicist is certainly a strange combination, but it didn’t come into play until after I graduated from Western Michigan University with a degree in Food Marketing and literally moved 2,000 miles away from home.

It was during the year away from home that I started developing my love for baking. I have an enormous sweet tooth, and I was accustomed to having whatever dessert my mom whipped up. That was no longer possible since we were now on opposite sides of the country. So I started learning to bake using a custom cookbook my mom made for me.

Fast forward a year, I found myself back in Michigan with a new job, but with a new set of baking skills that I used to keep my friends, family, and coworkers happy. However, I had gone through the whole cookbook my mom gave me. So make sure I was always bringing new flavors to potlucks, I took after my dad, and started experimenting.

Did these experiments always work? No (just ask my friends about the Skittles cookie), but there was one creation that I latched onto and wanted to perfect. That recipe would later become my croissant cinnamon rolls.

Tired of working corporate jobs where I didn’t feel like I was impacting the community, I set off on my own adventure with my cinnamon roll recipe in hand. Bring back an old college nickname, I became Butter Ben.

To understand why I’m doing this, you need to understand me. I love making people happy. Whether it’s through telling jokes in the office, helping someone move, or giving someone a weird Christmas gift, those are the best moments in life. And through experimentation, I learned that I made people the happiest through my baking. Seeing someone smile and wish they didn’t share the other half of their cinnamon spiral is why I bake.