If there’s a scientific side to our business, it’s media planning and purchasing. Media Planners like Mandy Finke must get clients’ messages to the right audience, at the right time, for the right rate. Mandy’s exactness is also vital to her other passion: baking!

Get Valentine’s treats made with true homemade love for your sweeties through her Facebook page: Facebook.com/MandysKitchen

From our Fargo office, Mandy designs media plans for clients throughout the Flint Group. “First, we look at each client’s marketing objectives. I then consider media options, based on reach, cost and effectiveness. I have daily contact with vendors in print, broadcast and interactive. I then choose the medium and vendor that best reaches the client’s target audience. I also manage the regional group dealer programs. These programs allow dealers to advertise in more costly regional publications that have larger reach than local publications by pooling their money together. I handle all media planning and placements for these programs, which really show potential for dealer channels and keep me busy,” Mandy explains.

Baking her way to balance

“I analyze spreadsheets with large amounts of data, which can be mentally tiring,” Mandy says. “When I bake, all I have to do is follow specific instructions. Baking also allows me to be creative, especially when decorating. However, baking is also a lot of standing on your feet. Together, it’s a nice balance.” Away from the office, Mandy plays volleyball once a week and manages a women’s softball team in the summer. She hits the gym with her sister-in-law and makes homemade dinners to enjoy with her husband.

Prime time: Holidays

Mandy’s prime time is the holidays. “I bake, bake and bake some more! I bake every evening and spend several entire weekends rolling lefse, making caramel rolls and cut-out sugar cookies,” she says.

Christmas cookies and orange rolls from Mandy’s Kitchen

One December weekend in particular: “First I started yeast for caramel roll dough. It’s amazing how a little water, sugar and yeast can rise 10 times larger than when you began! After my yeast was ready I mixed it with the warm milk, sugar, salt and flour. Then I added more flour and kneaded the dough for 20 minutes. Then I cut the dough in half placing each portion into its own bowl, sprayed it with cooking spray to keep the dough soft and covered it with plastic wrap. “While I let the dough rise I started the peppermint kisses, which are made out of meringue and sprinkled with crushed candy cane. I piped the mixture onto the cookie sheets and baked the cookies for 1 ½ hours. As these were in the oven, I prepared the caramel mixture for the caramel rolls. Then I beat down the dough and stretched it out into a long rectangle. I then buttered the dough and sprinkled sugar and cinnamon on top before rolling the dough into a long snake of dough. I then cut the dough into 12 individual rolls and placed them on top of the caramel mixture.”

All in a weekend day’s work: Caramel rolls ready for the oven in Mandy’s Kitchen

“By then the peppermint kisses were ready to be taken out of the oven. Then I started the cut-out sugar cookies. After mixing the dough I rolled it out and cut-out Christmas trees and stars. After baking I let them cool before frosting each cookie with buttercream frosting. To be efficient, I definitely have to know how to multi-task,” Mandy says.

“I bet my colleagues would like lefse”

“About three years ago, I asked my mother to make lefse with me, as it was always a staple at my grandma’s Thanksgiving Day table. As we were rolling out lefse, I thought, ‘I bet people at work would love lefse!’ “So I put out a sign-up sheet at the office. I made more than 500 pieces of lefse at Thanksgiving and another 500 at Christmas. Since then, I have expanded to Krumkake, spritz and other Norwegian treats as well as cookies, cupcakes and cakes.

Traditional homemade Norwegian lefse from Mandy’s Kitchen

Small adjustments make a big impact

“I love sharing food with others. It makes me happy to share the treats that my family has passed on to me. Some of my favorite cookies are still the ones my grandma made. I hope to someday pass these treats on to my children as well.

“I also like making small adjustments in recipes to create my own unique goodies. Small adjustments can be made to make a softer cookie, a richer taste, a creamier frosting. I even make my own vanilla!”  I grew up around cooking and baking. My grandmother is still known for always having baked treats around her house. You couldn’t visit her without having a piece of pie or a cookie. She also inspired me to do canning. I make my own seasoned tomato sauce that is great in goulash, lasagna and spaghetti. I canned more than 150 pounds of tomatoes this summer!

“During high school I also worked at the local café, first as a waitress and then as a cook, and sometimes as both. I took great pride in making good meals for customers. Ever since then, I’ve thought about opening my own café/bakery.”

Strawberry cupcakes with cream cheese frosting from Mandy’s Kitchen

In the meantime, she says, “I don’t have any trouble finding taste-testers at Flint.” And you never will, Mandy.

If you’d like to order homemade goodies from Mandy’s Kitchen, visit her Mandy’s Kitchen Facebook page.

Get to know a Flintster: Q + A with Mandy!

What’s your dream job? Owner of café/bakery

Which job would you not want to have? Fast food cook My cooking/baking is a way of connecting with people, not serving high sodium high calorie burgers for a buck.

What was your first job? Waitress at the local cafe

What did it teach you? How to cook to order and how to make large quantities of food

What is one thing you’d be willing to practice for an hour a day? Decorating cakes

What’s the best advice you ever got? Don’t expect respect. You have to earn it.

What sound do you love? Ocean lapping on the beach

What scent do you love? Cut grass