The Dough Basket & Creative Cakes is a small, locally-owned bakery in Shreveport, Louisiana. We bake from scratch with the finest ingredients every day. The Dough Basket has many yummy goodies to choose from. Specializing in cakes, cookies and other goodies that are made from scratch and made to order! Remember.... no Mardi Gras party is complete without a King Cake from The Dough Basket. For the past 15 years, owner Tanya Andrews Clark and her "Cookie Krewe" have worked to provide quality products that precisely meet the individual needs of each client. We accept American Express, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, Cashiers Check or Money Order. We accept personal checks on in store purchases only. All orders which require shipping are sent via UPS. International Shipping Available. U.S. Postal and Airborne are available upon request.

Tanya Clark
With a father serving in the United States Air Force, Tanya lived in various locations before settling down in Shreveport; but it didn’t take long before she made the town her home and became an active force in the community. Tanya’s involvement in local organizations include serving as president of the Line Avenue Business Association, past president of the Women’s Business Council (a division of the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce), and being a charter member of The Krewe de les Femmes Mystique, the only all-female Mardi Gras Krewe in the area.

Since November, 1992, Tanya and her husband, Chuck, have been the proud owners of The Dough Basket & Creative Cakes. The business has truly been a family affair, as Tanya’s sisters, brother and parents have "done time" on the payroll, and many of her employees are treated more like family than staff.

When not chairing committees, selling cookie baskets or delivering wedding cakes, Tanya enjoys spending time with Chuck and their "four-legged children" – cats Chatter and Harley, and dog Kizzi – and their nieces and nephew. The Clarks also love to steal away for quiet weekends at their camp on nearby Lake Murval.

Tina Allen

Originally from Colfax (the largest town in Grant Parish and home of the annual Pecan Festival), Tina is The Dough Basket’s walking, talking version of "country comes to town!" She has worked at the shop for the past five years, currently holding the title of shop manager, and serves as a shorter, and sometimes meaner, version of Tanya when necessary.

When away from the bakery, Tina spends as much time as possible with her sons, Cole and William. Together they care for their menagerie of pets that currently includes a cat, a fish, two chickens, and an African Sulcata tortoise who now has to be visited at the Monroe zoo because she outgrew the Allen compound!! Always a bit of a tomboy, she has no problem digging in the dirt (for fishing worms or hidden treasure) or engaging in water balloon wars; so her afternoons and weekends are usually filled with fun. She shuffles her schedule around the boys’ school and extra-curricular activities, always ready to supply yummy class and party treats from The Dough Basket!

During her quieter moments when the boys are with their dad, Tina enjoys reading (Stephen King, Harry Potter, and an occasional celebrity tabloid to keep herself "in-the-know"), watching tv (Survivor and Lost are favorites, and she’s an HGTV addict!) and hanging out with her friends. She also writes short stories and hopes to someday publish a best-selling novel.

With most of her family living two hours away, Tina considers her boss, co-workers, and even some customers as her "Dough Basket" family and is grateful for their constant support and encouragement. Working at The Dough Basket is like therapy according to Tina. "Regardless of the occasion, everything we do at the shop is something positive. Birthdays, get well wishes, new baby congratulations, weddings, anniversaries, even sympathy trays are all about people doing something nice for someone else. It’s very uplifting."

Sharon Vinson

With a family of seven children, one husband and a pitbull named Rocky, Sharon is certainly no stranger to a kitchen. Her love of cooking and baking naturally led her to a career in a bakery. Sharon is presently the kitchen manager of The Dough Basket, which generally means she does it all – mixing dough, baking, decorating cakes and cookies, even mopping the floors. She has been a member of the Cookie Krewe for almost two years.

When not at the shop, Sharon enjoys spending time with her family at their home in rural Keithville. She says her off-work hours are filled with gardening, baking (yes, even at home!) and just "being a down-home mom."

As for future ambitions, Sharon plans to continue working in the bakery field and develop new mixing, baking and decorating techniques. She enjoys her job and loves "being able to explore new techniques with cakes and also working around people who enjoy life to its limit." According to Sharon, "every day is a great day at The Dough Basket!"

Wee Wee Edwards

Delivering cookies is a sweet job according to Johnny Edwards, Jr., the Dough Basket delivery driver; but if you come into the shop and ask for "Johnny," you’ll probably receive some confused stares. Mr. Edwards prefers to live life under the pseudonym of "Wee Wee," a nickname from his beloved mother that dates back to his early childhood.

Already a veteran delivery driver, Wee Wee ran pizzas for seven years before trading the cheesy pies for cookie baskets. Now at The Dough Basket for four years, Wee Wee has come to appreciate having a company-provided delivery van and spending his evening hours with his wife and their three children. He is also grateful for the respect and appreciation he says he receives from Tanya and his fellow co-workers. Still, he says nothing can quite compare to delivering the cookie baskets to people every day and leaving them with a big smile on their faces.

While Wee Wee has no plans to leave The Dough Basket in the near future, he does dream of developing his love of music into a future career and opening his own CD shop and dance club. Until then, he will continue cruising the streets of Shreveport/Bossier City and delivering yummy Dough Basket creations.

Yvonne Andrews

Retirement wasn't enough to keep Mrs. Von from earning her keep at The Dough Basket. Actually, retirement from a successful nursing career opened the door for her to actually bring home a paycheck for her efforts at the shop, instead of volunteering her time for the simple love of her daughter. Yep, this lady is the boss' mom!!

After following her Air Force husband all over the world (literally) and raising four children, this West Salem, Wisconsin native settled down in Bossier City with hubby Jim and their two dachshunds, Boris and Matilda. With three daughters (Tanya, Michelle and Pam) living in the Shreveport/Bossier area, and a son (Scott) currently working in United Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mrs. Von spends her leisure time entertaining her four grandchildren, checking e-mail, scrapbooking, and improving her golf swing.

Mrs. Von works part-time at The Dough Basket and is the chief cheesecake square and brownie maker. She also serves as the shop mother to her daughter and her co-workers alike. Mrs. Von says she enjoys working at The Dough Basket because she likes to make brownies and she can decide her own work schedule (boss' mom, boss' mom!!).

After logging a few more years at The Dough Basket, Mrs. Von hopes to permanently retire, spend more time on the golf course and travel. One thing’s for sure, she knows where she can find excellent snacks for her future road trips!