Author Archive for welshrp22

Malia Jusczyk: Malia’s Sweet Treats

Posted by welshrp22 
· Sunday, October 13th, 2024 
· No Comments

(Just a warning, this is a really sweet and inspirational story, but also a really sad one.)

In the spring of 2021, 13-year-old Malia Jusczyk won The Greatest Baker Competition against thousands of home and professional bakers of all ages! The prize? $20,000 plus a year’s supply of Stuffed Puffs®! Malia’s love of baking started by helping her family in the kitchen and soon grew into her passion (especially making chocolate cake pops). She focused on high quality ingredients and baked everything fresh and from scratch. Malia started her own bakery, Malia’s Sweet Treats, where she sold her baked goods online. Additionally, during the Covid-19 quarantine, she began teaching classes on Zoom, where she taught and inspired others to bake. Winning the title of the Greatest Baker wasn’t enough for her, and she hoped to compete in TV baking competitions, such as the Kids Baking Championship. Malia was dedicated to learning and improving, and she spent hours each day baking in the kitchen.

However, starting a business was not the only challenge Malia faced. She also battled cancer, yet she would not let this stop her from baking and inspiring other kids. Her advice to young bakers was to “never give up on what you love, not only in cooking, but also in life.” She was sweet and determined, but sadly passed away after a relapse of cancer in 2023. Since then, her family has continued her business, featuring recipes that she had created and donating the profits to support cancer research and treatment.

Malia’s story can encourage everyone to not give up and press on even when facing battles. She treated her customers with love, wanting to inspire them and not just focusing on making a profit. Hard work and determination can achieve great things, as Malia demonstrated when she won the title of Greatest Baker in 2021.

Read more about Malia’s story at: https://greatestbaker.com/media/pdf/GBS-MagFeature2021-FINAL.pdf

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Categories : Baking, Cancer

Bella Wood: Sweet B’s Bakery

Posted by welshrp22 
· Sunday, October 13th, 2024 
· No Comments

Bella Wood owns a bakery and has competed in The World’s Greatest Baker contest – and she’s only 17 years old! Her love of baking started when she was 8, baking in the kitchen with her grandmother. Two years ago, she began taking her dream of opening a bakery more seriously, and she started Sweet B’s Bakery online to see how it would go. Although she loves to bake everything, her bakery specializes in French macaroons, a highly technical treat. Orders can be placed through her email or Facebook page, and she bakes for birthday parties, holiday celebrations, and weddings. Additionally, she sells her French macarons at farmers markets and other events.

This past winter, she competed in The World’s Greatest Baker contest, after seeing an Instagram post about it which caught her attention. This competition is hosted by Buddy Valastro, a celebrity baker and business owner of Carlo’s Bake Shop, and more commonly known as “Cake Boss” from his popular TV show. Bella competed through multiple rounds, showcasing her treats and story, and made it into the top 5! In addition, she was featured in Owensboro Parent’s 18 under 18 article. When she graduates high school, she hopes to take either baking classes or business courses, and eventually open a brick-and-mortar bakery in her hometown of Owensboro.

Even though Bella loves baking all different types of sweets, she focused her bakery and found her niche with French macarons, something that is technical and more intimidating for many to make at home. She worked hard in The World’s Greatest Baker contest, and while she didn’t win, she still stayed determined to pursue her dream. Bella began Sweet B’s Bakery online, starting small and continuing to hope and work towards expanding into a full brick-and-mortar bakery!

Check out her Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/people/Sweet-Bs-Bakery/100088438637787/

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Categories : Baking, French Macarons

Bill and Jen Ehninger: Chimney Cakery

Posted by welshrp22 
· Monday, October 7th, 2024 
· 3 Comments

Bill and Jen Ehninger were on a trip to Budapest when they discovered the inspiration for their business: Kürtőskalács. Kürtőskalács are cone-shaped pastries cooked to a caramelized finish and rolled in cinnamon sugar or nuts or filled with jam, chocolate, or cream. Hundreds of vendors sold these pastries in Budapest, and when the Ehningers fell in love with them, they decided that they needed to bring them to the United States. So, the couple attended a one-day class at the Kurtos Academy in Murska Sobota, Slovenia where they learned the art and became certified chimney cake bakers.

In 2022, they opened Chimney Cakes, a boutique mobile bakery business, and attended several farmers markets. They decided to give it a year to see how it did – and they met with success as they have added more farmers markets and even offer catering! Chimney cakes are yeasted sweet dough wrapped around a wooden stick before being cooked on their imported gas chimney cake grill to get a caramelized finish. The Ehningers have added their own twist by incorporating orange zest and juice in the sweet dough and even offering some savory chimney cakes. These are a fun and unique dessert, and “people love them because they’re new and different, and they also like to see the process from beginning to end, and they taste wonderful!” as Jen explained.

The Ehningers discovered something that they loved and found a new niche in bringing it to the US. They were dedicated to their idea, getting certified in chimney cake baking, but they also added their own unique twits. Additionally, they recognized their lean start up when they decided to give Chimney Cakery a year to test their idea. They created a business which engages customer who can watch the whole process and even create their own chimney cake. Bill and Jen Ehninger have shared their love of this Hungarian pastry by bringing Chimney Cakes to north-west PA.

Visit their website at https://www.chimneycakery.com/.

3 Comments
Categories : Baking, Travel

Emily Henegar: Cookie in the Kitchen

Posted by welshrp22 
· Wednesday, October 2nd, 2024 
· 2 Comments

A cookie business started by an 11-year-old has now grown into one that serves well-known celebrities, artists, and musicians. 11-year-old Emily Henegar started by walking around her neighborhood, giving out free cookies along with her business cards. She had to stop after only one street because she already had 19 dozen cookies ordered! She began with classic cookies but soon realized her passion for decorating, and as her skills grew, so did her customers.

Emily came from a family of entrepreneurs who helped her as she got started – her sister designed a logo for her, while her mom helped her set up a WordPress blog. For privacy, she blogged under the pseudonym “Cookie.” The name stuck and inspired her bakery’s name – Cookie in the Kitchen.

She continued baking and selling cookies throughout middle school, high school, and even college, where she studied entrepreneurship and graphic design while baking cookies from her dorm room kitchenette. Since graduating 2 years ago, she has been baking and decorating cookies full time in Nashville, TN.

While she does not yet have a storefront, she still has the same dream as when she was little of having one. Emily wants to “open a bakery so I can bring joy to people through cookies, treats, and coffee in an atmosphere that invites creativity and thoughtfulness.”

Emily can inspire others to pursue their dreams as she pursued her dream of owning a bakery by majoring in entrepreneurship. One of her biggest takeaways from college was discovering that she also loved entrepreneurship in addition to baking. Emily’s touch for design and art is evident from her cute website to her intricate cookie decorations, and she combined her skills and interests in a cookie decorating business. She places quality over quantity, recognizing that it takes time to make beautiful cookies. Although she has hopes and plans for the future, she’s trusting in God’s timing and enjoying where He has placed her now!

Learn more about Emily at https://www.cookieinthekitchen.com/about!

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Categories : Uncategorized

Lauren Marts: Baked True North

Posted by welshrp22 
· Monday, September 23rd, 2024 
· 2 Comments

Lauren Marts is an entrepreneur who owns Baked True North, a bakery in the North Hills of Pittsburgh. But what makes her bakery unique? The bakery is dedicated to 100% gluten-free baking, letting customers enjoy “gluten freedom.” Additionally, they offer dairy-free and vegan baked goods.

Lauren attended Grove City College and majored in Entrepreneurship. After graduation, she tried a couple of different businesses without meeting success. Then, Lauren found her niche! When she met her husband, who is gluten-free, she decided to eliminate gluten, and she saw a need for a good gluten-free bakery in the area. Lauren’s love of baking started with her grandmother, and she began adapting the recipes to be gluten-free. Starting in a home kitchen in 2016, Baked True North grew into a commercial kitchen two years later. She still did not have a storefront but sold her baked goods online, at farmers markets, and through wholesale. Baked True North continued to grow, and in the summer of 2022, Lauren opened a storefront just north of Pittsburgh.

“[Baking] has always meant bringing joy, laughter, and people together,” explains Lauren. She loves bringing joy to her customers through delicious, gluten-free items, and you can see this excitement in her customers when they ask if everything is actually gluten-free. Serving satisfaction and building relationships with customers is an essential part of entrepreneurship, as she has demonstrated with regulars who continually come back to the bakery. Beyond her customers, Lauren also cultivates a healthy environment with her staff, making them enjoy and look forward to their work.

Even when she didn’t meet with success right away, she persevered until she saw a need and found her niche. Then, she was willing to start small and grow her business from her home to a successful storefront providing delicious gluten-free treats and bring joy to customers!

Check out Baked True North’s website at https://www.bakedtruenorth.com/!

2 Comments
Categories : Baking

Gideon Bell: A Roadside Stand

Posted by welshrp22 
· Friday, September 20th, 2024 
· 1 Comment

When you hear about a young entrepreneur, many people would think of someone in their teens or early 20s, not a six-year-old. However, six-year-old Gideon Bell is already a budding entrepreneur who is selling his crafts at a roadside stand in his neighborhood. He first had this idea when he saw a lemonade stand at a festival, where he bought some lemonade and asked them about their business. Taking inspiration from this, he saw an opportunity to earn some money.

Gideon’s main items for sale are his plant stakes, which come in the shapes of flowers, pumpkins, and butterflies, as well as other crafts that he makes. His table is set up in the front yard of their house, located in the suburbs of Pittsburgh. Customers stop at his stand and purchase one of his crafts as they walk or drive down his street.

What is Gideon planning on doing with his profit? Gideon is currently saving for a big LEGO boat set, which was his original motivation for starting this business. Already, he is over halfway to reaching his goal! However, once he has saved enough to purchase the set, he is not planning on stopping but will continue selling what he makes. Beyond saving for his LEGO set, he is also tithing off all his earnings. Gideon says that when he grows up, he wants to open or run his own business.

Gideon showed initiative when he wanted to buy a LEGO set, and he found a way to make some money. He combined this motivation with his creativity to design and sell his plant stakes and other crafts. Additionally, he honored God in what he did by tithing from his earnings. Even though many entrepreneurs will not start at such a young age, they can still learn some of these important entrepreneurial principles from Gideon Bell and his roadside stand.

1 Comment
Categories : Art, Crafts, Creating