Anna Olson

"Sugar" host Anna Olson turns the art of baking into a sweet deal.

To many she's the blonde bomb of Food Network Canada, whipping up tempting confections faster that most women can whip on their Prada heels. But to Anna Olson, star of "Sugar" and the new, full menu series "Fresh", fame hasn't overshadowed the "real" business of running a small company.

Thanks to her new TV stardom, this passionate diva of the bake pans has seen Olson Foods & Bakery in Port Dalhousie, Ontario double in size since launching the boutique business with her husband Michael Olson in 2004. In fact, when she's not helping customers shop her fragrant bakery or tutor TV fans on baking like a pro, Olson has also delighted audiences with such cookbooks as Sugar, the Inn on the Twenty Cookbook, Another Cup of Sugar and Anna and Michael Olson Cook at Home.

From building a Dessert Wine Gingerbread House to building her successful brand, any way you slice it this commanding culinary star is no cupcake in the kitchen - or in business!

MODW: "Anna, to millions of fans you are 'the goddess' of the kitchen."

Anna: "Well, I never thought it that way, but I'm glad that people like the show, as well as what I do at my bakery. It's my passion and passing that love of cooking and baking along to people, as well as how they can share in it with the right information makes me very, very happy."

MODW: "You only launched Olson Foods & Bakery in Port Dalhousie four years ago. Does it surprise you that your big career dream has lead you to this kind of success - and rather quickly?"

Anna: "Yeah, but at the same time that's a big question to answer. Was it my only dream? I don't know about that. I have so many different, interesting, exciting things that I do. Some I think I fantasized about. Some have just appeared in my life. I just I feel very grateful and so lucky on so many different fronts."

MODW: "When it came to launching your business, was there ever any point where you just wanted to throw your hands up and give up?"

Anna: "Yeah. That kind of happens every day."

MODW: "Okay, so you're not superwoman - unlike what many fans might assume?"

Anna: "At the end of the day I run a business. Hosting a television show creates this celebrity for me which is a great built-in marketing tool. But the decisions, challenges and the things that I have to do every day as a small business owner are just the same as any other person. I go through the exact same frustrations and satisfactions, too, just like anyone else."

MODW: "There are so many great chefs working on TV today - both female and male. What is it about you and your show that has set you apart?"

Anna: "At a very basic level I believe what translates on camera is my sincere passion to cook. That's number one. But I also share a lot of information with people. So I think the combination of the two contributed to my success."

MODW: "What has been the biggest challenge for you so far in your career?"

Anna: "I get very, very nervous whenever I tape a show. Whether it's Sugar or this new one I'm working on called Fresh, I feel the butterflies in my stomach when they're counting me down to 'Go'." It's been that way for me from the first episode I ever shot to the last show I taped."

MODW: "How have you coped with that fear?"

Anna: "The opening line is the hardest thing for me, so I really have to plan that one to counter my nervousness. But the minute I start to cook I relax. Whether I'm creaming butter and sugar together or saut�ing onions in the new, full menu stuff that I'm doing on 'Fresh' that's when I start to relax and talk to the viewers about what I'm doing"

MODW: "Has fame complicated your life or running your own small business?"

Anna: "Not at all. I think if anything has been difficult to deal with it is as a result of the challenges I put on myself."

MODW: "You mean living up to your TV name?"

Anna: "Exactly. There is a heightened level of expectation now that people know me from the show. So when people visit my bakery I can't compromise on quality. I'd say 99.9% of our customers walk away feeling very satisfied with our products. But it's that .01% that finds something wrong somewhere along the line that I take very personally. That's when I think how do I fix this? How do I make it better?"

MODW: "So food show fame does come with a price - but one you're willing to live with?"

Anna: "Well, I feel the pressure of it. That's the truth. What I make translates to television so beautifully. But I still have to deliver it personally each time someone comes into my bakery. That's the one big thing I never forget."

MODW: So perfectionism is your big secret to your career success?"

Anna: "Well, yeah because you know what? Once you decide to stick to your guns on something and not compromise decisions suddenly get a whole lot easier to make. My thing, for example, is making pastries from scratch in-house. That means I have to run my business at a very high labour cost. That means I also have to plan for that because that is part of my terms of doing business. I won't skimp on quality. It's the mandate I live by, both personally and professionally."

MODW: "Many women today look at you and think, 'She's on TV. She runs a business. She's happily married.' How does she juggle all that - and do it so successfully?"

Anna: "Fortunately for me, my husband is also in the industry, so he completely empathizes and is a great support. He's a culinary professor, so when I tend to be the busiest that's when he's available to help me. At his busiest time that's when I usually have time to devote to him. So we hold one another up at different times. It's a real partnership in the best sense of the word."

MODW: "What's you're next big goal after doing 'Sugar' and 'Fresh'?

Anna: "I don't know if there's a giant new goal. But it's certainly not a goal of mine to franchise my store or my name."

MODW: "Why is that?"

Anna: "Well, the magic word in 2007 was branding. Everywhere you looked it was brand, brand, brand. But what I am looking at now is how I can grow my brand without stretching myself too thin and stick to my standards."

MODW: "So keeping that hands-on approach to your business is still the key for you, despite your TV fame?"

Anna: "I think what lends me credibility is that I have this boutique bakery. So there is a home base. There is somewhere to find me. A lot of TV hosts exist only in TV land. They're not grounded in a physical location, so they're not accessible to their viewers the way I am."

MODW: "So staying connected is the key?"

Anna: "Absolutely. What's more I always try to answer my email. I get a lot of questions and it's getting more and more challenging for me to reply to people. But it's a part of the job and one I totally accept."

MODW: "If nervousness on camera is your biggest fault, what's your best business trait?"

Anna: "One thing I will say is that when I hire I hire above myself."

MODW: "I'm sure employees across every industry are applauding you for saying that."

Anna: "It takes being insecure and secure in yourself at the same time to hire people this way. But I think you really shoot yourself in the arm if you can't put your trust in someone else and in their skills and talents. I know it's tough for some people, but you've got to let go a little bit in order to get everything done. I can't see running a great business any other way."

MODW: "What do you think you owe your fans - and your customers?"

Anna: "Well, I certainly owe them a smile when the come in to the store, because I've been in their living room. There's that connection. They've identified with me even though I haven't had the opportunity to meet them."

MODW: "Does that expectation make it harder for you when fans do visit your bakery?"

Anna: "Well, I've had this bakery now for almost four years. I've come to see my viewers as customers. They give me their time. They sit with me for half an hour a day - and that time, in my opinion, is a more valuable commodity than money today. So I really believe that I owe myself to every person who sets foot in my bakery."

MODW: "No matter what?"

Anna: "It sounds corny, I know. But I think many small business owners feel the same way. And it's funny. Once you decide to run things this way - you know, to give people the best possible quality and always be available to them - it makes everything else you do really kind of simple."

Interview by Constance  
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