The Basics - Bread and Beer – Out to Lunch

During his 1988 PBS interview series with Bill Moyers, scholar Joseph Campbell popularized the phrase “follow your bliss.” At the time, many people misinterpreted it as a license to abandon responsibilities. They were wrong.

So, then, what did Campbell mean?

Amy Irvin hosts Out to Lunch at Mansurs On The Boulevard in Baton Rouge

My lunch guests – Matthew Bolton of Blue Rabbit Bakehouse, located on Jefferson Highway, and Bobby Hoyt of Gilla Brewing Company in Gonzales – can, I think, shed some light on what it means to follow your bliss. They’re two businessmen operating companies meant to satisfy every Louisianans appetite for fresh homemade bread and craft beer.

Matt Bolton, Owner & Baker at Blue Rabbit Bakehouse. “You’d be surprised who’s interested in good, nutritious bread: people from all walks of life.”

You might know Matt from M. Bolton, an industrial construction company he owned for 25 years here in Baton Rouge. Despite his success, something wasn’t quite right, especially when it came to bread. After years of complaining that Baton Rouge had plenty of places to buy doughnuts but not enough fresh bread, Matt decided to learn how to make it himself.

Then, in 2021, following open-heart surgery, Matt decided he’d had enough of the construction business. So, he closed it and began devoting more time to baking, going so far as to convert part of his home, including his pool house, into a baking workspace.

When it comes to baking bread, Matt describes himself as a bit of a mad scientist. What he enjoys most about operating Blue Rabbit Bakehouse is seeing familiar faces, customers he’s known since childhood, on Saturday mornings in the shop.

Like Matt, Bobby Hoyt has built a career in industrial safety-related sales and procurement, working with contractors. But, unlike Matt who is retired, Bobby’s still working full-time, juggling his day job with the responsibilities of owning and operating his taproom and brewery, Gilla Brewing in Gonzales.

Bobby Hoyt, Owner & Head Brewer at Gilla Bewing Company in Gonzales where the taproom and brewery cater to people of all tastes, including “Beer for people who don’t necessarily like beer,” made with fewer hops and more fruit.

Bobby’s story is unusual in that he didn’t follow the traditional path of a homebrewer who eventually opens a brewery. Instead, he learned the business by working alongside an experienced professional brewer at Southern Craft Brewing Company.

We all strive to find satisfaction, even joy, in our lives. Given how much money we invest in education and training and the time spent at our jobs, it’s reasonable to think we’d find happiness in the workplace. But for most, our job is simply a means to an end. A paycheck we use to pay a mortgage, buy groceries and simply keep the lights on.

Matt and Bobby are taking a different approach to finding happiness after years in traditional careers. When it comes to following your bliss, they are both inspirational examples of the passion and dedication required to pursue an inner calling. It’s perhaps no surprise that they both come from careers in construction where resourceful skillsmen make something out of nothing.