God’s Country Provisions

Local Culinary Artist

God’s Country Provisions

By Laura Booras. Photography by Wil Fernandez

For me, there’s not much that evokes happy memories more than a freshly made doughnut. As children, my sister and I would stay with my grandparents for the weekend, and my grandfather would gently wake us up early on Saturday mornings. We would get in the car, sometimes still in our pajamas, and drive to the local Krispy Kreme as the sun came up.

Everyone else would be in bed, but the doughnut shop was bustling, serving up huge trays of doughnuts. Each of us would savor one, still warm, and my grandfather would make his disappear before we got home, since he wasn’t supposed to be eating them in the first place.

It’s precisely this kind of story that the owners of God’s Country Provisions had in mind when they got into the doughnut business. The brand brings together products and experiences that evoke the spirit of a simpler, happier way of life. I was fortunate enough to get a behind-the-scenes tour last winter before the pandemic with Loren Ollenburger, who owns the shop with his wife, Sarah, and partners Tracy and Craig Minus.

Loren Ollenburger

Sugared blueberries are carefully placed on these glazed doughtnuts.

When I arrived, I was given an apron featuring the shop’s simple silhouetted logo, inspired by a scene near their home. Loren led me into the kitchen, where the counters and shelves were filled with yellow and purple doughnuts created for a special event at the local high school. The two couples moved up to the area because they admired the quality of life here. “We had the same desire to raise our children outside of the hustle and bustle of Orange County and Santa Barbara,” Sarah shared. At one point, the couples got wind that Donut Time, a Buellton shop, was for sale. Having always loved doughnuts, they decided to take a leap and get into the business. “We don’t just hand people a menu and tell them to pick something. We’re constantly innovating and coming up with creative flavors and colors, new ideas.” This is evident in the unique flavor combinations, like strawberry habanero, many of which feature local ingredients. In the works right now is a lavender doughnut, featuring local lavender flowers from Lavande. A few months prior, the families purchased Los Olivos Lemons, which feature prominently in the Lemon Meringue doughnuts.

Their creativity even extends to wine pairings. At Riverbench, we’ve now hosted two events featuring God’s Country Provisions doughnuts made to pair with our wines, including the use of Chardonnay in the filling.

The key is that these beautiful creations aren’t overly sweet. They feature complementary flavors that enhance the characteristics of the wine. A sommelier-worthy pairing? Perhaps not, but it’s a lot of fun, and if you’re not having fun while drinking wine, then you’re doing it wrong.

Head Chef Alex Gonzales was busy in the kitchen the day I visited, and he showed me how careful he has to be when glazing doughnuts. The key is temperature: the doughnut itself and the glaze can’t be too hot or too cold, or the texture changes, and it won’t stick properly.

For decoration like meringue or another color glaze, this is vital because if the topping melts off, it doesn’t make for a pretty result. Other decorations, like sugared blueberries, iced stripes or crumbled toppings, can be added after the glaze. Gonzales, a professional chef, went to culinary school and found a niche where his expertise and creativity clearly shine through.

While yeast doughnuts will always be my favorites (also, chocolate is a must), God’s Country Provisions also offers a selection of cake doughnuts. I’m told that these can be really complex because the cake allows for more flavors in the base of the doughnut.

This makes sense; the blueberry doughnut is a revelation of fresh blueberry flavor. And don’t underestimate the classics, either, like a traditional old fashioned. When pressed, Loren admits that this is his favorite, simple and delicious. The case is enticing, full of simple doughnuts one would expect in any shop, along with the more innovative flavor combinations.

Loren and his partners love children, families and this beautiful area. Their generosity extends well beyond the massive box of doughnuts I was lucky enough to take home from my visit. They offer a complimentary coffee to any first responders who come into the shop, too.

And shortly after the pandemic began, they created decorateyour-own-doughnut kits that could be picked up or shipped to people who couldn’t come into the shop. I can’t imagine how many grateful parents there were out there when those kits arrived, offering their kids a welcome break from the chaotic world.

If their main goal was to provide a happy and satisfying feeling to their patrons, the families have certainly accomplished this mission.

To bite into a doughnut is to become nostalgic for a simpler time. For me, the memories of sharing a sweet treat with someone I really loved come rushing back. Loren thanked me for visiting, but the truth is, we should all be thanking them for putting their hearts into something as unique as God’s Country Provisions. Now, more than ever, we all find respite in a simple taste of comfort.

Laura Booras, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, is the general manager at Riverbench Vineyard & Winery in the Santa Maria Valley.

Wil Fernandez, a former advertising agency executive, enjoys dabbling in multimedia production and getting his hands dirty. Both transplants from the East Coast, Laura and Wil live on the vineyard, where they actively farm their own ingredients used to host food writers, celebrity chefs and wine critics for unique Wine Country experiences.

If you go…

The store is located at 252 E Hwy 246 Suite C, Buellton. It is open in the morning from Wednesday through Sunday, and the pop-up shop in Los Olivos is open on weekends. Visit www.GodsCountryProvisions.com for more information, and follow them on Instagram for drool-worthy reasons to visit more often.