Episode 10 🥐🏍️ Thomas Birkholm | Baking Tradition & Riding Fast

Food

Aug 16

Written By Keith Saarloos

Chopping It Up with Keith Saarloos · Released August 16, 2025 · Santa Ynez Valley, California

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About this conversation

In this episode of Chopping It Up, Keith sits down with Thomas Birkholm, third-generation owner of the iconic Birkholm’s Bakery in Solvang. For over 70 years, the Birkholm family has been serving up Danish pastries, cakes, and the legendary bucket of cookies that generations of travelers have carried up and down the California coast. Thomas shares the incredible story of his grandfather Carl, a Danish-born baker and Merchant Marine whose journey took him across the Atlantic during WWII, into a CIA interrogation in New York, and eventually to Solvang, where he built a bakery that became a cornerstone of the town.

We dig into the history of Solvang’s heyday, how the famous cookie bucket started from a stack of hotel ice buckets, and why people still stop in for a taste of nostalgia and tradition. Thomas also talks about raising his kids in the valley, keeping the family business alive in changing times, and what it means to be part of the fabric of a community that “lives where people vacation.”

But Thomas isn’t just about flour and sugar — he’s also one of the founders of the Live Fast Rally, the Central Coast’s own motorcycle gathering that blends bikes, music, vendors, and charity into one unforgettable day. Each year, thousands of riders roll into Nojoqui Falls for the event, raising money for veterans and giving away a fully custom Harley. Keith and Thomas dive into how the rally started as Sunday rides with friends, grew into a valley tradition, and why it’s one of the most positive and welcoming biker events around.

This episode is part bakery, part community history, and part full-throttle motorcycle culture — the perfect mix of what makes the Santa Ynez Valley so unique.