|
 Gladys'
Bakery opened for business in 1972 in Cistern, Texas. This tiny
Czechoslovakian hamlet is located in Fayette County about 60 miles southeast
of Austin. It is the creation of Gladys Farek, a mother of 6 girls,
looking for an outlet for her creative baking talents.
Gladys started out by baking
homemade bread and selling it to local restaurants in Flatonia and other
nearby towns up and down Interstate 10. She then added cookies to her
repertoire; as many as 700 dozen a week. Her garage became a
full-fledged bakery and Gladys' Cookies Shop (as it was originally named) was
the local hangout on Thursday afternoons when she offered her fresh baked
goods for sale. Gladys' daughters helped the family business by working
after school.
The Farek's lived on a large
farm and hard work was common, both in and out of the kitchen. Soon
Gladys was baking bread, cookies, pies, jelly and cinnamon rolls. When
Gladys decided to try her hand at making a fruitcake her goal was to change
the way the world thought of it, then she combined and re-altered several
recipes until she came up with one that suited her.
Gladys boasted that her
fruitcakes were loaded with fresh pecans with just enough batter to hold it
all together with no raisins, dates, spices or citron. The locals were
impressed! The first year, she mixed everything by hand and sold about
1,000 pounds worth. The following year she bought a cement mixer and
painted it bright red to mix the huge quantity of fruitcake and a legend was
created! She built a separate bakery next to her home and became famous
for her award winning fruitcakes.
In 1990 Gladys appeared on the
Johnny Carson Show and the following year she was a guest on The David
Letterman Show to show off her 150 pound Texas-shaped fruitcake. Gladys'
fruitcakes are shipped around the world and are in a class of their own.
Gladys is retired now but the
treasured fruitcakes are still available. Gladys' daughter, Melissa,
carries on her mother's love for baking.
The bakery has been moved 30
miles east, but still resides in Fayette County and the family recipes are
still followed with great care. |
