John Walker, BS ’20
Coal’s Creek Cottage BakeryEagleville, Pennsylvania
The Art of Sourdough
John Walker, BS ’20, has made every sourdough flavor you can imagine at Coal’s Creek Cottage Bakery, his Eagleville-based bakery. From maple-roasted pecan loaves to lemon poppyseed English muffins, Walker is always innovating, updating his rotating menu options weekly. He takes Coal Creek’s reputation as an artisan bakery very seriously, committing to a multi-day process to get the product from dough to loaf. His team makes weekly deliveries in the Eagleville area, and you’ll often find them set up at nearby markets like the Artisan Exchange in West Chester and the East Passyunk Farmer’s Market.
Coal’s Creek is named after Walker’s childhood dog, Coalie, and the creeks they adventured to in his Delaware hometown.
Walker sources his flour from Castle Valley Mill, a family-owned mill in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
The process from “make to bake” spans about three days at Coal’s Creek.
Can’t-miss menu item?
It has to be our loaves of sourdough.
Inspiration for going into the food biz?
My absolute favorite thing to do is to cook a meal for my friends or family — to use a tomato from my garden and serve it with mozzarella on a toasted slice of sourdough bread that I baked myself that morning. Love for homegrown ingredients has been a constant in my life, so it only seemed fitting and somewhat inevitable that I would find myself where I am now!
Best moment as a restauranteur/business owner?
Selling out my very first market in Conshy was a huge moment for me! I went in BIG for it too, thinking that I had surely made far too much product. But I didn’t care. I wanted to make a good first impression, and I figured having a skimpy looking table was a surefire way to screw it up! Most beautifully though, a dozen or so of my closest friends (most of them SJU teammates and grads, by the way) came unannounced. My mom was emotional seeing that kind of support! It was easily one of the best days of my life so far.
Favorite guest you’ve served?
My mom. I feel a special kind of honor making something that she genuinely finds delicious. She cooked almost every day growing up — stromboli, slippery dumplings, shrimp scampi, chicken wings, meatloaf, chicken soup, pancakes the night before a track meet. Only now do I appreciate her efforts, so I’m grateful I finally get to return the favor.
Impact of your SJU education?
Like many, I was a very different person when I came to SJU at 18 than I was when I graduated at 22. I learned to grow really strong bonds with my friends, teammates, coaches, classmates, professors, etc. I learned how to talk to others and do it well — something I do for hours at every market. How to be pleasant, share knowledge and listen. That gift is serving me so well now! I couldn’t be more thankful!
SJU-themed meal/dish?
I’d have to make a riff on the Hawk Wrap. A sourdough Pita or Naan, chipotle aioli, some fresh cilantro, arugula or purple cabbage. You could always just go classic with the plain American cheese or maybe a spicy roux-based cheese sauce, cheese steak-style, buttermilk fried chicken, a little flaky salt, and wrap it tight in some parchment. I’m hungry just thinking about it!
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John Walker, BS ’21, in his bakery.
A close-up of Walker hand-rolling dough.
Fresh sourdough loaves at Coal’s Creek
