by Jacqueline Pennington

Walking into Wentworth & Fenn, it may not be immediately obvious that you’re walking into a bakery. The leather chairs, fireplace and dark color palette lend themselves to something a little different. But that’s just the point: Samantha Ward is bringing something different to the bakery scene in Charlotte. Nestled in hip, industrial Camp North End, Ward is working seasonal, local ingredients into her ever changing menu while simultaneously running a business. 

After Ward graduated from the pastry program at Johnson & Wales, she spent time working in a handful of local bakeries, including the original Amelie’s location in NoDa, before landing a job as pastry chef for The Fig Tree. Eventually, Ward felt that she had hit a ceiling.

She was ready for something different, but didn’t see a path for herself in the Charlotte fine dining scene. It was then that she decided to start her own bakery, and Wentworth & Fenn was born. She started the business out of a refitted Shasta trailer before opening at Camp North End in 2020.

Here’s what a day in her life looks like. 

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4:30 a.m.: Running a bakery calls for early mornings, something Ward still isn’t a fan of. “I immediately go for the coffee pot. After that, I get my dogs up and I will post on social media, get the game plan for the day, answer a few emails, and then I get ready for work”

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6:30 a.m.: “I write our production list the night before, and when I come in I just double check everything — what parts we need to make, that kind of stuff.”

Ward partners with Goodie Bag, a market for surplus food, and she sets aside what’s left from the day before for them before getting started on making what she has on the production list for the day. “That part is very Groundhog’s Day. It’s very based on repetition,” Ward says. 

“Then, me and Charlotte, my assistant pastry chef, really just bust out a lot of production that needs to get out on the pastry cart and in the cold case.”

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9:00 a.m.: “We open at 9 a.m., so when people are coming in they’re literally getting stuff right out of the oven. And then from there, most of the time, all the pastries for the day are pretty much out there and we’ll typically roll into the other stuff that needs to get out. Like the loaves of focaccia, we can’t rush them because we do an overnight fermentation and then it has to come to room temp, then proof, then sit again, then bake, then cool, and then bag. So, the bread takes a little while. All that stuff becomes our second set of production.

Then after that, it’s anything that we need to make for the next day. If we need to make muffin batter for the next morning, we go ahead and make it, and if there’s any finishing work that needs to be done, we kind of do a little bit of a tango back and forth to finish that while we’re doing the other stuff.” 

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12:00 p.m.: “We don’t really take breaks at all, which my staff…they’re amazing. I certainly couldn’t do this without them. Everyone brings snacks and we’ll kind of just eat while we work,” Ward says. “We do any bread dough, puff pastry, or laminated dough at the very, very end of the shift because, for most of our dough, we do an overnight fermentation.”

If there’s anything other than Ward’s delicious and beautiful baked goods that should bring people to a place like Wentworth & Fenn, it’s the long, intense days, hard work, and dedication of Charlotteans who want to bring something special to our city. Ward is transparent about the struggles of her business and hopes that people will make the effort to support local businesses like hers.

“I can’t scream it loud enough: my P.S.A. is please support small because it’s already a hard market, but we can’t all go down in flames,” she says. “Please drive the extra five minutes, please pay the extra dollar for a cup of local coffee versus Starbucks. They are a billion dollar company. Come to Camp North End, spend the day with your family and support all of the small businesses here.”

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3:30 p.m.: After an hour cleaning up the space, Ward heads home for the day. “When I go home, I am just doing paperwork for two hours. So, my personal evening, even though I am home, doesn’t start then.”

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6:00 p.m. For dinner, Ward will practice what she preaches and look to a local business if she’s not staying in for the night. “Because I cook all the time, unless I’m cooking for someone which isn’t terribly often, I’ll go out and support someone. I love Restaurant Constance or even The Diamond. But, if I’m just home I make a salad.”

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10:00 p.m.: Despite her early mornings, Ward still takes time to relax and wind down before turning in for the night. “I don’t sleep a lot. So, if I go out with friends or hang out at home, I’m typically ready to relax by 10 so I can lay in bed for like an hour and watch TV. Then, I fall asleep around 11.”

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