Today we’d like to introduce you to Julien Kochendorfer.
Hi Julien, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I grew up in the Philippines, and there was a small bakery I would walk to visit. Every morning there was a line, and every morning we waited for freshly baked breads and pastries. It always impressed me that someone had enough passion to get up way earlier than everyone else just to make things for others to enjoy. When my family immigrated to the United States, I continued to experiment in the kitchen with mixed (and messy!) results, but my own passion started to grow as I saw others begin to enjoy what I was making. At this point I hadn’t considered a career in my passion to be possible, and that idea didn’t come for many years. Finally last year during COVID, I was furloughed from my job in ophthalmology. Suddenly I had tons of time on my hands, and that passion came rushing back! I got a business license and never looked back.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
If you don’t encounter bumps in the road, you’re probably not trying hard enough! That being said, my first real challenge was when we moved to Arizona, I could no longer make orders for people I already knew. I had to start from scratch, and build a clientele all over again. The next challenge of course was COVID! No events or weddings, very few birthday parties, and no way to get my products in front of people. We turned to the internet and just started making and posting anything I could think of. During this time I got some interesting and challenging orders, including one that nearly brought me to tears, a disco ball cake. Which reminds me of another challenge, working with fondant. Its always disappointing to see something you spent half an hour on fall apart because you overworked the fondant, or added too much food coloring or both! There was an incident with a coconut tree where my husband tried to help and lets just say it turned out looking pretty “crappy”! it hasn’t been easy but its been a fun journey, and now the challenges have changed again! But that’s part of the fun of owning a business right?
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My business is a licensed home bakery, primarily based around cakes and cupcakes, but I specialize in fondant decorations and custom cakes. I want to be able to create the cake you never knew you always wanted . We do weddings, birthdays or any other type of event that might require some tasty treats for everyone to enjoy, wrapped in a beautiful presentation. I make everything from scratch and never use cake mixes or boxed cake. As well as handcrafting each decoration you see on our cakes. I’m most proud of the fact that I built this business with my own four hands (the other two are my husband’s).
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I think I see the industry moving more towards online format. Due to COVID and prevalence of online forums such as Instagram, Facebook, etc. Many cake designers are moving their businesses online. But this could just be the trend and it might all eventually go back to the way things were pre-COVID. Though weddings are different, newly engaged couples want to go through the tasting experience in person and be able to have a live conversation with their possible baker. So for me, I’ll go with the flow, I’ll go with the trend. If I were to open up a brick and mortar, it would probably just to have my own bigger kitchen and a space for couples who want to come in for a tasting appointment.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@summersweetsbakery.com
- Website: https://www.summersweetsbakery.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/summersweetsbakery/
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/summersweetsbake
Image Credits
Samantha Rose Photography – https://samantharosephotos.com Megan Rae Photography – https://www.meganraephotography.com
