Marti Payseur

PRONOUNS: SHE/HER

CLAIM TO FAME: The OCP- Oatmeal Cream Pie (a tiny but might tasty cult favorite)

Like many young Virgos, Marti grew up faking illness to stay home from school to watch Martha Stewart. Not only did they share a name, Marti felt a deep kinship with her, like one day maybe she would like the life that other Martha had built. Holding a B.A. from Drake University in Writing and Women’s Studies, the path forward was clear- hospitality.

Before her journey as a hospitality entrepreneur, she ran events, weddings, and public relations for internationally recognized museums and festivals, including the Des Moines Art Center, Greater Des Moines Partnership, and the Science Center of Iowa. In 2019 she would found Thistle’s Summit Bed & Breakfast, in Mount Vernon, Iowa, in a big victorian house where she first began to passionately pursue food professionally. A life long student of food, she finally got the guts to do it full time in 2020.

In 2020 the B&B would pivot to become Thistle’s Summit Bakery, Iowa’s first vegan + gluten free bakery. While not vegan or gluten-free herself, she has always been committed to inclusivity. She believes it’s her life’s work to make people feel seen, heard and taken care of, and that starts with food that can be enjoyed by everyone.

Thistle’s Summit baked goods can be found in retail locations throughout the Des Moines metro. Of her company she says, “My promise to you is damn good baked goods, made by hand the old-fashioned way, that could fool even the biggest fans of butter and gluten, guaranteed.”

Her work as a private pastry chef has included lots of butter and gluten, as well as bread and desserts for some of Des Moines metros best restaurants including James Beard Foundation nominees.

Now you can find her obsessively pursuing flavor and pleasure, swearing like a sailor, probably listening to Mac Miller, yapping on instagram or baking her ass off. She is passionate about pastry and educating women in food + hospitality. She believes everyone deserves a seat at the table and something delicious to eat.