Should Ojai be unfortunate to suffer through another evacuation, baker Kate Pepper, partner at The Dutchess, knows her priorities. After her pets and loved ones, next on her list of must-rescue items is her crock of mother starter yeast. With it, she has carved out a brilliant career for herself. The only thing that rises faster than her sourdough starter is her Instagram likes @katesbread where she entertains and informs more than 40,000 fans.

She developed her devoted followers through her Sunday bake sales, which brought lines around the block to her Meiners Oaks home for her delicious array of fresh-baked goods. Now she's been running with Kelsey Brito the bakery at The Dutchess, the newest outpost in the Rustic Canyon family's eight restaurants. We talk about Los Angeles food culture, the fusion of Burmese street food orchestrated by chef Saw Naing and how Ojai is now squarely on the map when it comes to food enthusiasts.

We talk about what it means to cook for people, growing up in Ojai and raising your children here. We did not talk about the NFL overtime rule changes, Ukrainian bridge-bombers or the Song Dynasty.