Two California Lutheran University professors took home multiple awards from the home arts competitions hosted at the Ventura County Fair, including special awards and first place ribbons. 

Dr. Katherine Hoffmann, associate professor of Analytical Chemistry, Biochemistry, and General Chemistry, entered the baked goods competition with her homemade sourdough bread.

Her award-winning sourdough bread consisted of 40% whole wheat and rye. Other submissions included cheese and nuts, which Hoffman said made it difficult for the judges to pick a winner in the contest. 

“There were three really excellent sourdough breads in there, and they couldn’t decide between all of us. So they gave all of us special awards,” Hoffmann said. 

Hoffman has been baking bread for 14 years and sourdough for almost 12 years. While she had stopped briefly after having her daughter, she picked up baking again during the pandemic. Sourdough, unlike other breads, uses live yeast that requires regularly added amounts of flour and water. 

“With just flour, water, salt, and your starter… that alone is enough to give it a really fantastic flavor on its own,” Hoffmann said. 

As for her plans to compete again next year, Hoffman said she was encouraged by the fair. 

“I figure if there’s going to be a lot of sourdough categories, then I should try really hard to break the system again next year and put in a bunch of different sourdoughs; like a focaccia, flavored sourdough, whole wheat sourdough and a not-whole wheat sourdough and just see if I can keep making trouble,” Hoffmann said. 

Hoffmann said homemade sourdough tends to be flavorful and more interesting than store bought bread. As such, she said that if anyone needs any sourdough starter, she is a great source. 

Kristine Butcher, another professor in Cal Lutheran’s chemistry department, entered in a handful of contests both in baked goods and knitting. 

Her entries consisted of chocolate cookies, rye bread and knitted patterns, resulting in five 1st place wins and one 2nd place win for her cookies and patterns. 

Butcher said that while it seems simple to enter in a standard cookie baking contest, it’s more complex. 

“It’s not just cookies, it’s chocolate cookies, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chip cookies with nuts, oatmeal cookies, oatmeal cookies with nuts, oatmeal cookies… there’s a bazillion categories,” Butcher said.

As for her five knitted pattern submissions, four of them got 1st place while one got 2nd place.

Influenced by a friend who recently had their first grandchild, Butcher said she decided to knit infant clothing such as cardigans, pull ups and other accessories. Participants are also allowed to choose patterns with structured guides. 

“I pick out the pattern and then buy the yarn and make them… since I knew this year that I wanted to enter, I had started six or seven months in advance thinking I wasn’t going to give these pieces away,” Butcher said. 

She said how in the past she wishes she had saved a couple pieces until after the Ventura County Fair contests as most pieces are given away. 

Butcher said her inspiration behind entering these competitions at the fair go back to two years ago, after the reopening of the VC Fair following COVID-19 restrictions. 

Butcher said visiting the fair has always been a tradition for her family, and after checking out all the baked goods entered into contests with her daughter who makes sourdough bread, she decided to enter the following year.

“We looked at one another and we were like, ‘we could do so much better than this’…I’ve knitted things for a long time, but I had never thought about it entering. It was really seeing the lame sourdough that we thought we should do this,” Butcher said. 

One of Butcher’s greatest supporters, friend and partner in their self-proclaimed “Yarn Club” is Dr. Hoang, professor of Political Science. 

Hoang said they’ve started a tradition of coming together at least every other week to needlework, with Hoang crocheting and Butcher knitting. Outside of doing needlework in between schedules, they’ve brought yarn to long meetings and faculty retreats in the past to keep entertained. 

According to Hoang, their needlework often tends to garner attention, with many faculty expressing interest in joining them. Hoang said she recalls a time, during a faculty assembly, that a faculty member caught on and sat next to the duo with plans of bringing her own yarn for the next assembly. 

“It’s like a little camaraderie, like a community…I thought it was a nice way for us to reconnect after COVID and to rebuild that kind of community which I’m big on, and I know she is as well,” Hoang said in a phone interview.

When asked if she would consider entering the Ventura County Fair contest for her crocheting, Hoang said she purposely doesn’t because she likes something mindless, while these contest submissions require precision and a followed pattern. 

“I call it crocheting for a cause. I’ll do it for shelters, women’s groups, and everything. Last year when Syria and Turkey had that really devastating earthquake and it was in the winter, I donated 30 sets,” Hoang said. 

Hoang said she mostly makes gloves, blankets, mitts and other warm accessories so they can be donated to winter clothing drives and organizations such as the Red Cross. 

Hoang said she jokes that Butcher is a “yarn Olympian” and “multiple gold medalist,” following this year’s victories.