Today we’d like to introduce you to Tabitha Bright.
Hi Tabitha, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I fell into the pastry world. My culinary degree from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts is in savory cooking, not sweet. So this is how it all began. I suffered a back injury in 2016 while doing my externship. My doctor put me on light duty. And there was an open position in the pastry shop as a pastry cook, which was easier for me to do. I learned that the job had been available for quite some time. Rumor was the Executive Pastry Chef Dale Dickinson didn’t like very many people. So I was uncertain to how this would go, considering I had no formal pastry training and my first love was savory cooking. However, I passed his tests and gained his approval. About one month into the position as a pastry cook, my Executive Pastry Chef told me that I could not leave to go back and cook in the kitchen after I healed. At that moment, I was very proud of myself, and it was then that my love for pastry began. Out of all desserts, I love wedding cakes the most, and since my Executive Pastry Chef hated doing them, it was soon my assignment to assist until I could do them entirely on my own. It wasn’t long before I started making all the wedding cakes for the Missouri Athletic Club, amongst the other desserts. And after three years, I became the right hand to my Executive Pastry Chef as the Pastry Sous Chef. I have moved on since, but my love for all things cakes has not stopped. What brought me to opening Sugarlips Cakery also fell into my lap.
Last year for my 41st birthday, I finally made my birthday cake. And, of course, it had to be a show stopper or, at the very least, BIG! My party was with 11 friends at a Coopers Hawk Winery & Restaurant. There was more than enough cake to go around, so I served three to four tables of customers my cake. They all thought it was beautiful and were surprised I had made it and asked for my card. I had no business cards and no time to have another business then. I have a real estate investment company being a landlord, working full-time, and attending school. That day, I left the restaurant with my friends, fussing at me that I still wouldn’t make cakes. Fast forward a year to this past April. I made a shared birthday cake with my two best friends, Racinda and Sabina, and the situation happened again. With no business cards to give and my friends fussing at me again that night, I finally gave in. Surgarlips Cakery opened the very next day.
Would it have been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I have not been open very long, and it has not been smooth. No one gets to see the behind-the-scenes tears and bloopers—things like forgetting to turn the mixer on slowly and all the powdered sugar flies everywhere—the late nights trying to fit everything in and staying organized. Also, sometimes the STL humidity makes cake-making a nightmare, so cakes take two times longer than expected. But honestly, nothing I am going through falls short of what opening a new small business would be. As they say, “Nothing worth having is easy.” It is still worth it through all the newness and finding out the as-you-go norms. But when you get the perfect straight edge on a cake or a perfectly smooth finish with no lines and see the look on your customer’s faces when they see their cake, makes everything seems so right.
We’ve been impressed with Sugarlips Cakery, but for folks who might need to be more familiar, what can you share about what you do and what sets you apart?
The name of my business comes from when the bride and groom stuff their cake into each other’s mouths at the wedding reception, icing on their lip and seeing all the joy and laughter from doing it. I love cakes, but wedding cakes are my absolute joy! I love making the bride smile when she sees her cake come to life on her special day. Sugarlips Cakery specializes in wedding cakes and custom cake design. What sets my business apart from others is the care I take to ensure your cake is perfect, whether big or small. If your occasion is special to you, it is special to me. I take pride in my service and my desserts. I work deliberately to give my customers the best. Everything that I do, I put care into, from the cake consultation, design, baking, packaging, delivery, and set up. I will do everything in my power to give you the cake that you want within the budget that you need. Call me the Chick-fil-A of cakes!
I want my readers to know that if you wish for service, style, and flavor, Sugarlips Cakery is your best choice. I have perfected my recipes through the years, and my cakes are flavorful, moist, and, let’s not forget, show-stoppers!
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
The baking industry will continue to grow. It will not slow down at all. One of the shifts will be that bakeries will offer more flavorful specialized diet desserts, such as for people with diabetes and vegan or gluten-intolerant customers. The world is becoming more health conscious, and bakers must figure out how to give customers what they want and need in a dessert.
Pricing:
- Orders must be a minimum of $100.
- Cake-tasting consultations are $30 for three flavors, and up to 2 guests can join for a 45-minute consult. You will get 3 – 6″ half-sized cakes to taste; the remaining is boxed to enjoy or share later.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sugarlipscakerystl
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/Sugarlips-Cakery-100558256348362
Image Credits
Treyvion B. Smith
