Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ally Barrera. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Ally, appreciate you joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later

I started my business in the midst of Covid.

In late 2019, I had recently moved back from Miami where I had two of my biggest job opportunities working for some amazing chefs and gaining so much experience. I had started a pastry chef position at a local bakery in Houston and was working there for about 6 months when Covid hit. Like many places, my work place had a lot of uncertainties and after my pay was drastically cut, I decided to find work elsewhere. I really enjoyed my work at that location, but with the big pay cut and Covid looming, I was forced into a position to find a higher paying job. I found temporary work at HEB and brainstormed my next move.

It was April 2020 and while at HEB, I was working with the curbside grocery pick up team which was something completely different from what I was used to. Here I was, a baker and pastry chef, riding the high I had experienced in Miami, and I was loading groceries into people’s cars. No hate for that position, but it gave me a lot of time to think and pushed me back into a creative mental space. I missed the kitchen. I missed baking, but I knew I was not going to find a well paying baker’s position any time soon.

So, I decided to just bake from home, mostly for therapeutic outlet, but also because I knew I needed to continue doing what I had learned and keep honing my craft.

I started posting pics of macarons and sweets to my social media and friends would reach out and ask if they could buy them. It started small, but just kept growing.

It was all the confidence I needed to keep baking and make a name for myself.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have always been into art – painting, drawing, cutting my clothes, making sculptures, etc. I didn’t really bake much as a kid or growing up. but I saw my dad bake often and my grandparents and mom were always cooking. I found myself wanting to cook more than bake, so quickly after high school, I enrolled in the Art Institute of Houston’s culinary program.

I graduated from AI in 2012 with a goal of being a chef. I worked toward as a cook for a solid 2 years before realizing I missed my art. Every time I was working in a fast paced, hot kitchen, I would see the pastry area of the kitchen and I just loved the beautiful plating, the colors, and the ability to make a dessert look like a little art piece.

I quickly got out off the hot line and into the baking and pastries section of the kitchen. I thankfully had some experience from culinary school, but I learned most of my baking/pastry skills in the numerous bakeries I worked in over the years.

Fast forward about 10 years, I bake and run a cottage bakery (home bakery) from my home. I specialize in croissants, macarons, cookies and cakes… all things I truly enjoy making.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

I started Sweet Bee Bakehouse when Covid hit. I had just transitioned out of a baking position where I was making a decent salary to getting my pay cut to quitting that job to working at HEB as a temporary employee. Right around the time that stimulus checks were going out. I decided that any money that was not going to bills or necessities was going to go into my business, that included the $600 stimulus. I used that money to buy an oven from a restaurant auction online. I figured the best thing for me to get going was to get a good piece of equipment.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I got out of the culinary industry for about 5 years of my career. Around the time when I was 24, I had been working in kitchens and bakery’s and realized that I wasn’t happy with how things were going. The industry is hard. You work long hours, every holiday, weekend, birthday, etc, for little pay and many challenges. I remember I had tried to take a “corporate” route with my career and tried working for a hospital and later a private school. Both of which were the worst environments for someone creative. I tried and quit those jobs quickly and after being fed up with both restaurants and corporate gigs, I went to pursue my other passion which was health and fitness. I studied nutrition and began working as a personal trainer for about 3 years. I absolutely loved it for a long time. I loved helping people. I loved the community I was able to create. I loved that I was always able to work out and be absorbed in a gym setting. But after a few years, my artistic side came knocking again.

I had been removed from the kitchen for some time and felt overall rusty. I wanted to jump back in, but I didn’t want to do the same jobs or live the same way I was in my early 20’s.

I had been obsessing over pastry pictures and different pastry chefs I looked up to on social media. I just had the idea that I wanted to be like them. I wanted to make the beautiful desserts that literally looked so nice that you didn’t want to eat them. One day I saw that Pastry Chef Karina Rivera had posted job and intern positions that were coming up in Miami at the bakery she worked at (Bachour). The bakery was opening a new location and needed hands.

I decided to apply. I figured it was a long shot but why not.

Two weeks later, I was on a zoom interview with Karina. She had seen my application and the video entry I sent introducing myself and she wanted me on the team as a 3 month intern (unpaid). I was ecstatic. Yes, it was going to be unpaid, but this was going to be my re-entry into the industry and what better way than with one of the persons I admired. Plus a 3 month Miami getaway sounded amazing.

In about a 3 month notice, I quit my personal training position, managed to find a roommate in Miami, scraped up enough money for 3 months of rent in Miami, packed my car and made the trek to Miami, Florida.

Fast forward some time, I worked my 3 month internship, was hired as a baker, worked another 3 months at that bakery, then worked another 4 months at a Michelin star restaurant as a baker (L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon). After almost a year, I missed Texas. I missed my family and was ready to come home and continue the momentum.

The 3 month internship turned into so much more and it was the spark that got me to where I am now.

Contact Info:

• Website: sweetbeebakehouse.com
• Instagram: @sweetbeebakehouse @_allybarrera
• Facebook: Sweet Bee Bakehouse
• Linkedin: Ally Barrera
• Other: Ordering Site for my Saturday Bake Sale – sweetbeebakehouse.square.site

Image Credits
All photos taken by me