Apr 20, 2009

Woman’s snacks gain popularityBy Ryan ClarkNews.Cincinnati.com

Covington – Marilyn Baker’s life changed for good in 2004.

That was the year her beloved Sheltie dog, a 12-year-old pooch named Yankee Doodle, died. As a speech language pathologist, Yankee Doodle would accompany Baker to the nursing homes she would visit. She became known as “The Lady with the Dog.”

In her grief after the dog’s death, Baker started to cook – a lot. It helped her cope with the sadness. Some of her most popular treats were her spicy pretzels called Zels, which she sold in the gift shop at the Drake Center in Cincinnati where she works.

Now, while still working full-time, Baker is continuing to sell her Zels at her Yankee Doodle Deli in Covington – and the snack has gotten even more popular. They’re sold in shops around the area, and on April 14, Food Network cook Rachel Ray featured them on her national talk show as the Snack of the Day.

“I found that friends were eager to buy healthy alternatives to fast food,” said Baker, 52, of Covington. “Our gift shop started selling them and the proceeds benefit patient care so that is a win-win. I added two other flavors and started getting accounts all around town. When the Rachael Ray show called, it was a Friday evening and they wanted 170 Tri-Zel snack packs in the New York studio by Tuesday afternoon. I was ecstatic about the opportunity so I called my crew and five of us packaged the bags until after midnight and they were at the FedEx office at 8 a.m. Saturday morning.”

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