09/10/2024
We have a new feature here at Our Village Kitchens we call the Member Spotlight.
It is our pleasure to introduce you to Atarah of Blackest Berry Bakery! We had an opportunity to ask Atarah a few questions and we are sharing our time together with you here!
How did you discover your love of baking?
I remember baking as a child, but not being very good at it. I started baking again as a hobby in my early twenties and ended up baking birthday cakes for my friends' children's birthdays and baking pies in my free time.
How long have been baking?
I started baking around 2015 as a hobby but started operating as a business around 2016.
What made you decide to focus on this particular baking niche?
I have always been lactose intolerant, but I started eating plant-based around 2015. I always struggled to find desserts with no dairy and realized this was something other people were looking for as well. I began getting customers who were lactose intolerant, with egg allergies, for children's parties to not exclude any children with allergies, as well as vegans.
What is your proudest accomplishment so far?
My proudest accomplishment was the wedding cake and cupcakes I made for a fellow vegan business. It was a tiered cake, which I didn't do often. It also included dozens of cupcakes and had to be delivered over an hour away. I had to perfect the cake and cupcake decoration, keep the desserts cold and steady on mountain roads, and set up with a wedding of people watching. The situation tested my organization, planning, problem-solving, and ability to stay calm in a stressful situation.
Any funny stories about being a baking entrepreneur that you can share?
The funniest story about baking in my life was when I was baking as a child with my sister. We were making a strawberry cake that included eggs in the recipe. We did not mix the eggs well enough into the batter and there were scrambled eggs in the cake. Thankfully that never happened again and I no longer bake with eggs anyway!
Where do you hope to be with your baking in five years?
I'd love to run a cafe, coffee shop, or stand-alone bakery serving a variety of vegan desserts, premade cakes, custom cakes, and other savory snacks. I'd also love to get my products into grocery stores.
We have the honor of working with Atarah and cannot say enough good things about her incredible talent.
If you would like to reach out for your own plant-based pastries, you can reach Atarah at http://www.blackestberrybakery.com
