OLYMPIA, Wash. — “We have five different savory dinner pies.” explained pastry chef Phoebe Martinson. “Cakes and pastries and individual desserts, breakfast sandwiches, lunch. My happy place are my custom cakes.”
Surrounding yourself with some of the tastiest food on the planet might not seem like the best way to lose 150 pounds. But it’s working just fine for Martinson.
“I love all of it.” she admitted. “I’ve spent my whole life eating all of this. So, I know what it tastes like, but I know what it’s gonna make me feel like, and it’s not great.”
As the owner of Phoebe’s Pastry Cafe, with two locations in West Olympia, Martinson has always loved making and eating delicious dishes.
“I’ve never had any other job besides food. It’s been my whole career,” Martinson said.
Customers like Chris Lee and Kate Sandboe have appreciated her culinary creations, too.
“The world’s most perfect cake.” Sandboe said, displaying a cell phone photo of a cake that she and Lee had custom-made for their historic home’s 100th birthday.
Then Sandboe pulls up a photo of the home. The cake and the home are a perfect match.
Martinson loves her job. But a couple years ago, at more than 330 pounds, she realized she was on an unhealthy course.
“During the pandemic I’d gained more weight, I was drinking every day, I was sore, I was tired, I was mildly depressed.” Martinson said. “My dad literally dropped dead at 62. And I’m, like, 'I’m going down the same path.' I was wishing someone would come and help me. I was wishing I could be different. I was wishing that I had the motivation. And then I just finally said 'Stop that! Just do it. Just do it.'”
With the love and support of her husband, Dan, Martinson set out to change her entire relationship to food and exercise. She began a journey of healthy diet and moderation. After a little more than year, she’d cut her weight in half.
“Now I work out 6 days a week," Martinson said. "I’ve never been healthier. I’m doing trapeze yoga, all kinds of crazy stuff now that never, ever would I have been able to do.”
Martinson’s Instagram has become a popular meeting place for people in search of inspiration, and she’s happy to oblige.
“I get on and just talk about all the stuff that we say to ourselves that nobody ever talks about,” said Martinson. “Being able to show other people that it’s doable, every day you can start again, so that’s just been amazing.”
In the spirit of taking on whatever life has to offer, Martinson said “yes” when the Food Network came calling.
“I told myself when new opportunities popped up I was going to take them,” she said.
She’s a competitor in this year’s “Halloween Baking Championship.” Spoiler alert: She didn’t do as well as she’d hoped.
“Horrible,” Martinson laughed, “if we’re being honest.”
It didn’t bother her a bit.
“It is not representative of what comes out of Phoebe’s Pastry Cafes,” she quickly clarified.
Overflowing with newfound positive energy, she looks forward to whatever challenges lie ahead.
“I’m just excited to get up every day and see what is gonna happen,” Martinson said.
For Phoebe Martinson, life is sweet in a whole new way.
“You gotta make a decision every single day to take care of yourself,” Martinson said. “It’s mindset. We can do whatever we set our mind to.”
Phoebe’s Pastry Cafes are located at 1800 Cooper Point Rd SW and 106 Division St NW in Olympia. The Cooper Point location is open Tuesday through Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The Division Street location is open Wednesday through Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
The season finale of the Halloween Baking Championship airs Monday, October 30 on the Food Network.
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