Baker & Creator Adds Personal Touches to Treats & Charcuterie Boards
By Craig Reed
Sweet. Salty. Savory.
Those 3 words are how Haley Cornilsen describes the foods and tasty treats she sells through her home-based business. Those descriptions are shortened and included in her business name, SSS Grazing Co. Haley says those words indicate she can do a little bit of everything with different food items.
Considering Haley was raised in the Umpqua area around livestock and she now owns some animals, it’s also no surprise she included the word “grazing” in her business name. She finds it rewarding when her customers graze through her charcuterie boards of meats, cheeses, fruits, nuts and vegetables, pick fruit pieces off her Christmas trees and wreaths, or savor a chocolate truffle.
“It makes me feel good and happy,” Haley says. “I like to share my love of cooking and baking with other people.”
She had several kitchen mentors during her youth. Her parents, Kitty and Andy Dake, owned and operated a barbecue catering business—Git-R-Done Catering—for several years. She had grandmothers and aunts who were good cooks and bakers.
For many years while her parents had full-time jobs, Haley spent time—with many of those hours in the kitchen—with her maternal grandmother, Delores Roeder.
“She could bake like no other,” Kitty says.
The passion for cooking and baking shown by her parents, grandmothers, and other family members rubbed off on Haley.
“I find it relaxing,” she says. “I love creating new things. I’ve been around home cooking—making food from scratch—all my life. I like to make people feel good with something tasty.”
Before taking on this endeavor, Haley was already busy as a wife to John; a mother to their 2 young children, Oakley and Wyatt; and as a full-time employee as a forestry office administrator for Lone Rock Resources. She is also a competitive barrel racer, she and John have a few cattle and sheep, they find time to hunt and fish, and they have a large garden.
Haley started her baking business a few years ago when Umpqua Community Center started a weekly farmers market. She made cookies, pies, cupcakes and muffins for her market booth and gradually added cake truffles.
“It was fun to try my hand at baking,” Haley says. “I just started making truffles because I didn’t see them advertised a lot at other small bakeries.”
The Umpqua farmers market only lasted a few years, but Haley had the baking bug. She continued baking and creating, establishing an online business in 2021. She expanded it to include charcuterie boards. She assembled 23 boards in 1 week last year for 4-H members who delivered them as thank-you’s to individuals and businesses who bought their market livestock. She admits she pushed herself to her limit that week.
“I work a lot of evenings and late nights to get those things done,” Haley says. “But I can only do so much, so I try not to overbook myself. I want to have the time to do good quality work. I like to do it all, so I manage everything carefully. People tell me I’m crazy.”
John describes Haley as a busy mother who is a good role model to Oakley, 9, and Wyatt, 5, because of her work ethic.
“She’s able to balance everything pretty well,” he says. “She may be up until 2 in the morning to get something done, but that’s just a testament to her taking the time to get things right. Being in the kitchen is not my strong suit, but when I can help her I do, even if that’s making dinner.”
Haley will be adding another responsibility to her busy life next spring. She and her younger sister, Callista Dake, plan to be co-leaders of the Blue Ribbon Livestock 4-H Club. The sisters were in the club during their younger years and now they will lead it as Oakley becomes old enough to be a 4-H member.
Haley hopes to tie in some cooking projects for the club or other 4-H members.
“I think cooking good food makes everybody feel good,” she says. “For kids to make something yummy and to be able to share it with their families is good for everybody.”
Just like Haley had mentors in the kitchen during her youth, she hopes to now share her cooking and baking passions with her own and other children.