After he graduated from high school in 2001, Owen Petersen moved to Calgary and was hired on for a temporary position at Prairie Mill Bread. He ended up staying on for eight years. “I started as a hand roller for the bread dough, and then slicing and packaging and cleaning,” Owen says. “Making bread is a very simple and satisfying trade to be in. You work with your hands, starting the day off with nothing and finishing it off with a lot of wonderful food.”
When Owen moved back to Edmonton in 2008, it was to bring a Prairie Mill Bread location to his hometown. He and the owner, John, had become friends by that point. “We agreed that Edmonton was in need of another good organic, wholesale bakery,” Owen says. “We both own our businesses independently, and I operate under the Prairie Mill Bread logo and branding.”