I'm excited to announce the official launch of my home-based baking business, Sugarsnap Baking!
Lover of all things warm and yeasty and toasty and gratifying, I figure it's about time I make what I have done for years as a career working for others as well as do in most of my spare time and make it my own.
Having began my career in food at the age of 15, I can't seem to keep myself away from it despite all my arstistic interests pulling me in every direction.
I started as a barista at the only cool coffee shop in my small town of Oakhurst, CA and quickly graduated to chef's assistant, where I stayed until I moved to Valencia, CA for college. After settling in I took on a job that began as a bagel sandwich maker and transitioned into me as the sole baker in the bagel bakery. By 19 I baked (also as the sole baker) in a little bakery selling muffins, coffee, and fudge in North Hollywood. Not realizing it was my calling, I guess, when I moved to NYC in early 2000 I took on various jobs waiting tables...but before long I was back in the game, this time working as a pastry cook under a talented pastry chef in a Midtown French-Moroccan brasserie. I worked there past the chef's departure and was hired as the breakfast baker and restaurant consultant at a fresh restaurant serving international dishes. After that, I baked at a homey bakery and catering company up in East Harlem as their head baker and in between did a stint as a pastry and bread baker at a bakery in BedStuy.
Getting pregnant with my son, Kieran (who is now 2!) put my professional baking career on hold, but, because I believe everything happens for a reason, it was just in time. I had always wanted to bake for myself and have full creative control (I got a taste of this at the international spot because the owner gave me full control to develop my own menu) and suddenly I had more time to bake for others in my spare time because I was growing a little bun in my own oven and not slaving over someone else's hot oven. Not that I'm complaining- I love the work. The environment envelops me: getting up at the crack of dawn, basking in a quiet city, then the peace and warmth of a still kitchen, getting my ducks in a row by organizing my tasks, then blasting my music when the coffee kicks in. The food warms me: my sense of smell is quite sharp and I love nothing more than to breathe it all in. And I love to eat so- hello. A constant supply of snacks. Don't mind if I do! I also love to share my food and am quite critical of my own food, so when I do something I'm proud of I want to give it to everyone to try! Which brings me to sharing: I want to make others happy, and a loaf of bread or a warm cookie can do that real fast!
I was working as a preschool teacher (another passion is children and I have worked with them on and off my whole life), which naturally means making low-sugar, healthful cupcakes and teaching little cooking classes, right? Well, it meant that for me! And of course I have never stopped baking for my friends and family, so that meant cookies in the mail, king cakes at parties, gluten-free breads and snacks for my celiac pals. And while I helped run a non-for-profit arts collective I sold many a cookie, sandwich, and goodie at the bar.
Fast-forward to more recent times: a friend needed cupcakes for a photoshoot, a local mom needed more cupcakes, and a cafe needed cookies, so what's a girl to do? Give the people treats, of course! And make some money doing it!
~Jessica
