The Alula is a specialized group of feathers located on the leading edge of a bird's wing, otherwise known as the "thumb" of the bird. The primary function of the Alula is to provide additional control and stability during flight, especially at low speeds or during maneuvers such as takeoff and landing. The Alula helps to reduce turbulence and increase lift, allowing the bird to maintain stability and maneuverability even at slower speeds.
Meet your advisors
Melissa & Sean have first hand experience in building businesses.
Sean's career has run the gamut, having managed a 3-Michelin Star kitchen with some fun stops along the way. From culinary director of an award winning cookbook, to restaurants, to recipe development. Locally, Sean has worked mainly as executive sous chef at SingleThread for 5+ years, until moving onto the Quail and Condor project with Melissa, and spearheading the Friday pop-ups held at the bakery in Summer 2021. After proving Sean’s food had created a demand, the couple opened Troubadour Bread & Bistro in 2022.
Melissa began baking at seven years old with her grandmother. That interest grew with her through graduating pastry school, working in the best restaurants in Denver, to opening her first bakery in Denver at age 23 and finally moving across the country twice to direct large pastry programs on the East and West Coasts for some of the leading names in the baking industry: Bien Cuit (New York) and Gjusta (Los Angeles). Since moving to Northern California, she has worked at SingleThread as the hotel baker and had baked bread for multiple farmers markets, hotels and wineries. In 2020, the couple bootstrapped the now Quail & Condor retail bakery.