Pussy Power Post #11-Jennifer Sheppard
The summer in between my sophomore and junior year of college, I shared a sublet room with one of my sister friends. The motley crew of characters that lived in that house with us provided stories that we still tell to this day. One of that crew was Jenn.
One day that summer I burst out of my room in search of something to fulfill a very urgent munchie need and was greeted by the smell of something sweet coming from the kitchen. Jenn had baked cookies…just because. And they sat plated so beautifully on the table before her.
“Cookies?” she asked.
“Marry me,” I replied…or maybe I just started eating them. The moral of the story is that Jenn’s talent as a baker is the basis for our relationship.
Since then, I’ve watched her grow in her corporate career, grow as a wife, grow as a mom and grow as a baker of all good things. When she told me that she was going to take a step back from the corporate world, spend more time with her kiddies and hubby, and take a stab at actually charging people for the amazing things she makes, I couldn’t have been happier for her.
In such a short time she’s built a blossoming business making cakes that are not only gorgeous but taste UH-MAY-ZING.
Meet pastry chef and supermom, Jennifer Sheppard.
I’ll start with a very LA-esque question. What exactly is it that you do?
I make cake (and cupcakes and cookies and all sorts of other sweet treats) that make people want cake more than they want to be skinny. I make cake that adds a sweet memory to a celebration, even if you’re just celebrating making it through Monday. I make cake that kids who are allergic to peanuts can confidently eat. I make everything from scratch and I use organic and/or non-GMO project certified ingredients whenever possible. I do simple “just because” cakes and custom-designed cakes for big celebrations like showers, birthdays, weddings.
What inspires you?
In short, wanting people to want the last piece of a cake that I’ve made is what inspires me.
I’ll explain. This may be an odd thing to admit to, but My name is Jenn and I’m greedy. And I am addicted to sweets, but [thankfully] I’m very picky. Just like I’d rather be single than be in a bad relationship, I’d rather have no cake than bad cake. Because I’m often either disappointed by the dessert I taste, I sometimes skip trying it when at a celebration because it either doesn’t look good enough to waste the calories on or is such a masterpiece of Play-Doh-like fondant that it doesn’t look edible. And nothing is sadder [to my greedy-self] than looking around the end of party at half-eaten pieces of cake. That’s the thing I remember (with my father’s voice trapped in head about starving children all over the word).
So therefore, wanting people to want the last piece of a cake that I’ve made is what inspires me.
Give me an abridged version of your journey.
As a child, I never had a store-bought birthday cake and I got whatever flavor I wanted. I am one of 6 kids so I’m sure that that was more pragmatic than anything. But being in such a large family it was the one day that you got to be queen (or king). And it’s always stuck with me because that cake left an indelible feeling of feeling special and loved.
I’ve been baking since I was my daughter’s age (9). I can remember inviting people over and gathering friends around my dining room table to mix up the Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe. Skip to high school and I borrowed my dorm parent’s kitchen so that I could make cookies for my boyfriend for Valentine’s day. And then in college, I’d bake a cake from a mix for track team dinners. I love to see people’s joy while eating my desserts.
Once I had kids, I starting caring more about what was in the cake. Baking from scratch meant that I knew EXACTLY what was in my desserts. Not that organic sugar, flour and dairy was healthy, but it is certainly healthier. And from there, I started more intricate baking and decorating techniques. And I started baking cakes for my friend’s kids with peanut allergies. If you know a child/person with a peanut allergy, then you know that it is normal for them to decline cake at parties, for fear that they will have a reaction. Baking for the these kids over the years and getting to a place where not only did they eat the cake, but they trusted that they were safe so stopped asking, quadruple checking, that it was nut-free is really what told me I needed to make this a business.
In July of this past year, I resigned my career of almost 15 years as a Recruiting Manager. The goal was to be a stay at home mom for at least a year, but then the calls for cake started.
What’s your biggest accomplishment thus far?
Taking the plunge to start this business has really been the biggest accomplishment.
What’s next for you?
I am trying to build in a smart way, the slower we build this, the less risk. And with two small children I am at a place where I need to consider that risk. I secured commercial kitchen space at the tail-end of last year and the LLC was formalized effective January 1 so Everyday Yay Baking Co., LLC is not just a dream! Right now it‘s building the business, growing my social media presence, and look at ways to introduce my amazing cake to others.
Name one major goal for the future so your sistren can manifest that with you.
I recently partnered with a party space to provide cakes for their events. I would like to create a network of similar venues to which I can provide dessert options. I would also like to find a retail space for rent because the daily foot traffic and classes that I intend to provide is really what will allow me to sustain the business and maintain the quality I desire.
Name: Jennifer Sheppard
Age: 39 and 2/12ths
Location/Region: Plainfield, NJ
Industry: Bakery Owner
Theme Song: ‘Til I Collapse by Eminem ft Nate Dog
Favorite Place to Travel: Anywhere with amazing food or France
Best Book You’ve Read in the Past Year: Food related-Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat; Non food related-Becoming by Michelle Obama
If You Were A Color You Would Be: Navy blue
Best Piece of Advice You’ve Ever Been Given: Learn to like being alone so that you’ll never settle for bad company.
Favorite Article of Clothing: High-waisted pencil skirts
Biggest Fear: That I’ll die and someone will perm Paige’s hair. No but really, dying and leaving my family. As long as I am alive, I can work through anything else.
#1 on Your Bucket List: To open my own store front bakery
Fictional Character You Most Identify With: Really weird answer- Temperance Brennan from Bones immediately comes to mind. That’s not because I am a super genius, but because I also see things very black and white.
Daily Affirmation: #BeBest…Fake it ‘til you make it…What’s the worst that can happen?...Just do it. It’s okay if you make a mistake, that’s progress too.
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