Manna Cafe Didn't Just Appear Out of the Blue

Manna Café and Bakery is a dream come true - a local, from-scratch bakery, serving homemade foods whose origins may be found in our respective upbringings, and in the food lives we have led as adults here in Madison.

Born and raised in the New York suburbs, I was a cooking from the age of 2. First it was learning how to make ‘real’ oatmeal (a little cognac and a dollop of vanilla ice cream). Later I blossomed under the tutelage of an exacting (if eclectic) father, whose impatient voice still echoes over my shoulder: ‘no, no, no, that’s not how you sear meat!!!’ At 15 I was entrusted to cook French meals for dinner parties, and by the time I landed at the bottom of Bascom Hill, cooking to please people was a driving force in my life. New York instilled in me the excellence that can be achieved in food; in Madison I found my identity in the down-to-earth lifestyle that would later define my businesses.

Michael's culinary path was decidedly different. Born and raised into a family-owned, third generation kosher Jewish bakery in St. Louis, his first teeth were cut on Grandpa’s bagels. The day he received his driver’s license, he was off to the bakery to make deliveries, and there he stayed until he, too, found his way to Bascom Hill. We met shortly thereafter (1 week), and spent our formative days together cooking curries in an electric skillet in Ogg Hall where, from our dorm room windows, we watched University Square being built.

Fast forward. With a couple of degrees in our pockets (journalism and marketing research), we spent a few carefree years eating in Madison, and thinking about how much we wanted to share our love of cooking with people – any people, in a professional way. Our first B&B experience in San Francisco was an epiphany of sorts, and led us in pretty much a straight line to the Collins House Bed and Breakfast, which opened in 1985.

We have been cooking for and serving people ever since, both at the inn and through our catering. We did some wholesale bakery for a while too. And raised a wonderful couple of kids in between it all. But in the back of our minds, we always wanted to open a local, neighborhood café, where our breads and desserts could shine, and neighbors could gather to kibbitz. On the Northeast Side (where we live). So we looked and looked and thought and thought and then one day we just did it!

Who are we? Two hard-working, food loving, people-oriented Madisonians, who want to share our love of food and camaraderie with you. Our business is grounded in a strong work ethic, in excellence, and in a staff base which feels more like family than like employees.

Just like at the Collins House, we want you to feel at home, and well fed.

Barb and Mike Pratzel