LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Joe Ross' journey to entrepreneurship started long before he was roasting his own coffee beans and decorating gourmet donuts at North Lime Coffee & Donuts.
"I've always enjoyed cooking and making things for people, and so that fulfills that goal," he said.
Ross said he always wanted to own his own business, starting in the fourth grade when he began selling flavored toothpicks on the playground. But it took a career switch for Ross to end up in the kitchen. After leaving as a mortgage broker, he experimented with donut recipes in his kitchen, eventually co-founding North Lime in 2012.
More than 10 years later, the donut shop has four locations across Lexington and Louisville and more than 60 employees. They cook up hundreds of donuts each day, including the cinnamon sugar cake donuts Joe showed us how to make.
After a quick sample of our work, it was time for the final verdict from Joe.
"It was like you've been frying donuts all your life," he said. "You dropped the donuts in. They were perfectly round. It had a nice crispy exterior, fluffy interior. The cinnamon sugar was wonderful. You're hired!"
My score:
Professionalism: 10
Effort: 10
Skills: 10
