Member Ruth Morely

Mom of two, grandmother of two, and co-founder of Mrs Morley’s Allergy Friendly Bakery.

Hi, my name is Ruth Morley, and I moved to Ridgewood from London, England, with my family in 1998. We still live in the 1904 house we bought then, as we love its character, the wraparound porch, and how close we are to downtown. Walking into Ridgewood, to the train station, and eating out in town are some of the perks of our location. We have two daughters, a son-in-law, and two adorable grandsons. We all especially enjoy grabbing pizza at Puzo’s or burgers at East Coast. Our favourite activity is to spend the day at Graydon Pool—having a beach right in town is just brilliant!

I was a high school drama teacher in London and worked as an actress in touring regional children’s theater when I first moved to the USA. It was tricky juggling being a mom of two with theater and touring, so I had a wonderful few years as a stay-at-home mom. Feeling the need to do more, I went to work for a law firm, and I taught grade school for a few years. My current day job is at the Bergen County Courthouse in Hackensack.

Throughout my life, I have loved to bake! We discovered that my daughter has food allergies in her late teens, which posed a whole new challenge for my baking skills. She just wanted to eat cake on her birthday that actually tasted good, so I tested recipes. After much trial and error, I finally created allergy-friendly bakes that tasted as good as, if not better than, regular ones, and so we launched Mrs. Morley’s Allergy Friendly Bakery.

The business is owned and run by my daughter and me, but the whole family pitches in—I could not do it without all of them. We have a New Jersey Cottage Food License and work from my home kitchen. Everything is ordered through our website, mrsmorleys.com, and baked fresh. You can pick up here in Ridgewood, or we deliver—delivery is free in Bergen and Passaic counties!

I love the creativity involved in designing cakes and creating new products, from classic British treats to birthday and wedding cakes. My kids have always baked with me, and now my grandsons are enjoying learning to bake too. Teaching them new skills while doing what I love gives us quality time together. In our very busy world, baking is one thing that can’t be rushed. It brings back happy memories for me of time spent learning to bake with my own mother and grandmother. It does help that my grandsons are also our chief taste testers—if they don’t like a bake, it does not go onto the website. No one is as honest about food as small children!