One of the fringe benefits of working at the Business Incubator Center is sometimes employees are treated to the edible creations of its clients.

Monday, Kathryn Luther, owner of The Wild Flour, a baking and personal chef business, left some caramel pecan rolls at the Incubator she had baked at the center's commercial kitchen the night before.

Luther said she loves the interaction that comes with baking and cooking for people and businesses.

“Everybody's happy when you walk in,” Luther said.

Luther and her friend, Holly Hutton, a recent graduate of Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Portland, Ore., also make wedding cakes.

Luther cooks for private parties and works as a personal chef whether it's delivering meals or cooking in the clients' homes.

“Some people only want a couple of days a week,” because they come home late, or there's a kid's activity to attend, Luther said. “There's no minimum. I'll make whatever you want.”

Luther offers a basic menu to choose from that she changes monthly. She also accepts specific requests.

“The menu is just a guideline,” Luther said. “I'll cater to (clients') needs.”

Luther moved to Grand Junction four years ago from Taos, N.M., where she catered a lot of arts seminars held at the Mabel Dodge Luhan House, a historic inn and conference center where D.H. Lawrence, Ansel Adams and Georgia O'Keefe used to stay.

In New Mexico Luther was a personal chef and cooked for private parties. She'd cook and freeze a week's worth of dinners for some clients.

“I'm self-taught. I've always loved to cook,” Luther said. “New Mexico was a great influence.

“I was lucky enough to meet a couple of elderly Hispanic women in Taos who welcomed me into their home. I watched them make tortillas from scratch, enchiladas and chile sauces.”

Luther said she gets a lot of requests for her green chile chicken enchiladas, or her pot of green chile.

In Taos, if someone had a cold, green chile was the remedy — “the hotter the better,” Luther said.

Luther also specializes in Italian food — “with homemade sauces, of course,” she said.

After moving to Grand Junction Luther contacted the Mesa County Health Department to learn about licensing and rules and regulations for operating a food business here.

“They referred me to the Incubator,” Luther said. “It was a wonderful discovery.”

The Business Incubator Center, 2591 B 3/4 Road, offers low-cost business classes, free consulting and affordable rent and commercial kitchen space for new and expanding Mesa County businesses.

Luther rents the Incubator kitchen. She also consulted with Kitchen Manager Annalisa Pearson.

“She helped me with putting together a flyer and with advertising ideas,” Luther said. “I learned how to price things. She helped me figure out food costs. I had never done wholesale before. In New Mexico I'd always done retail.”

The Wild Flour can be reached at 245-4714.

Reach Sharon Sullivan at ssullivan@gjfreepress.com.