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• Special-needs children require special plans, help from community

• Severely epileptic child finds some relief

• City could make money with its own broadband service, councilmen say

• Blazing Fourth of July: Roads, rivers will be filled with holiday travelers

• New director of San Joaquin water district to vote on groundwater proposal

• Regional Roundup

• Locals talk about Supreme Court Justice O'Connor's retirment

February 9th, 2010

• Middle College High School rated one of the best — and a bargain, to boot

• Lodi decathlon boasts top team in county

• Man who sparked counterfeit case pleads guilty

• Local businessman will visit Haiti to look for family

• Man who claimed to be Yosemite Sam pleads guilty to meth charge

• David Harmer seeks Republican congressional nod

• Lack of evidence in case against suspect in 'drug deal' stabbing

• Regional Roundup

February 8th, 2010

• Public Meetings

• Locals pick best, most memorable Super Bowl commercials

• Regional Roundup

February 6th, 2010

• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch

• Meet Larry, Curly and Moe

• Baboon business

• Regional Roundup

• Several Lodi venues let you watch the Super Bowl in style

• Lodi Library celebrates 100 years of serving the community

• Culinary craft

February 5th, 2010

• Kids, teachers help Haiti by collecting pennies for Learning Link

• Lodi, Galt students reach out to help Haiti earthquake survivors

• Tasered suspect claims he is Yosemite Sam

• Hours of sweat and work go into putting on crab feeds

• Things looking up for state's real estate

• Correction

• Regional Roundup

• Stray bullet strikes Lodi home; police suspect gang activity may be factor

February 4th, 2010

• Managers at Geweke Toyota answer questions about recall

• Lodi City Council votes to replace play structure at Century Park

• Lodi extends ban on pot shops for another year

• Mokelumne River triathlon set for June

• Family, friends to run half-marathon in memory of Galt family

February 3rd, 2010

• Correction

• Delta College trustees again collide over stipend committee

• Bad bugs, weeds are hot topics at Grape Day

• Lodi-area senators Dave Cox, Lois Wolk admit to gifts; Tom Berryhill case pending

• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts

• Galt City Council avoids budget cuts — for now

• New Lodi Memorial Hospital emergency room opens to the public without a hitch

• Regional Roundup

February 2nd, 2010

• Local business leaders say tourism, Costco, Home Depot may play roles in city's future

• Correction

• Former Lodian Erica Davis is first paraplegic woman to summit Kilimanjaro

• Regional Roundup

• No snow leopards, otters for Micke Grove

• McNerney leads in campaign cash

• Police: Train victim was a Lodi teen

• Big rig plows 7 cars

• Jumpers across California

The following stories have received the most reader comments during the last 7 days.

• Will terrorists be given Miranda warnings? (75)
• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts (64)
• President Obama's first year (45)
• Many reject the politics of 'no' (45)
• Islamic symbol in mosaic — what is all the fuss? (44)
• Writer comments on Neely column (42)
• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch (41)
• Time to shed the convenient sham of 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy (34)
• We need to conduct respectful conversations (30)
• Tasered suspect claims he is Yosemite Sam (25)

ADVERTISEMENT

Lodi native pursues love of baking in Cameron Park

There is a little bit of Lodi in Cameron Park.

Located on the corner of Green Valley and Cameron Park Drive, you'll find Seibel's Vineyard Bakery, a cozy little bakeshop and cafe owned and operated by Lodi native Scott Seibel.

Seibel got his start at Cottage Bakery, when he was 16. He was first hired to do clean-up on weekends and soon rose in the ranks to donut fryer, mixer and bread shaper. A Lodi High School graduate, Seibel spent six years at Cottage Bakery, learning the ropes, before accepting a line cook position -- which later led to chef and restaurant manager jobs -- at Cold Springs Country Club in Placerville.

A year-and-a-half ago, Seibel heard about a turnkey bakery that had become available in a small shopping center in Cameron Park. To Seibel, it seemed like an opportunity too good to pass up.

"I had wanted to go back to baking, which was my first love," said Seibel, now 32. "They had never had a bakery in Cameron Park. Only supermarket bakeries."

These days, Seibel runs his own bakery, which turns out a line of baked goods, pastries and bread. He also has a wholesale business, providing half a dozen area coffeeshops with his own recipe pastries.

"I love making bread. It's like clay. I love to be creative," said Seibel, who has made loaves of different colored breads and shaped them into different figures like alligators.

At Seibel's Vineyard Bakery, glass counters display their jumbo-sized pastries. Plain and filled croissants. Caramelized oversized muffins. Jam-filled danishes. Pretty apricot tarts and designer cakes.

Walls are painted in a deep red and butter yellow. Framed paintings of fruit decorate the walls. Three bistro tables and black chairs look inviting.

Loaves of sourdough and French bread are on display at Seibel's Vineyard Bakery. (Tricia Tomiyoshi/News-Sentinel)

But the most attractive part of this place is the sweet scent of warm pastries that lingers in the air.

"People say this place smells like grandma's house," said Seibel. "My biggest influence has been my grandmother and her baking."

Prices range from $.50 for a doughnut to $14.50 for a large apricot tart. In between, most items fall in the $1.25 to $2.75 range.

After a pleasant drive up Highway 50, I stopped in one day to try some of Seibel's recipes. I ordered a blueberry scone, a ham and cheese croissant and a jumbo snickerdoodle cookie and brought some to share back at the office. The triangular scone was bursting with blueberries and pleasantly sweet, if a little crumbly. The croissant was buttery and flaky, stuffed with minced ham and cheese. The cookie had a great texture -- I sank my teeth into it and it was soft and chewy.

I paired it with their freshly brewed Costa Rican blend by Portland-based Boyd's Coffee Company, which was dark and hot. It provided just enough fuel to bring me back to Lodi.

Contact Lodi Living Editor Tricia Tomiyoshi at triciat@lodinews.com.