Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Asha Hopson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Asha, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
Once finishing college and figuring out my way around the food industry in Charlotte, I decided to trade in the city I had grown to love for home- Memphis, Tennessee. While owning my business has always been plan A, working in a fine dining restaurant was the last thing I needed to cross off of my list before pursuing entrepreneurship. Within a couple of months of being back home, I become the assistant pastry chef at Restaurant Iris. I joined the team during a critical time; the restaurant was reopening! New menus are being created and tested, and there are brilliant ideas and even better food options being brought out of this kitchen. Before we all knew it, it was time for Iris to open its doors to the public.
I remember being so proud of all of the work I had put in. To hear restauranteurs and “foodies” speak so highly of the desserts that I directly had my hand on felt like a reward for the long nights.
As a trained baker I found the fast-paced environment of restaurants draining, and my passion began to feel like work. That is when I decided to walk away. A difficult evening in the kitchen gave me the push to type my resignation letter the following morning. Though there wasn’t any regret in my decision, I began circling through the ‘what-ifs’.
“What if I just risked it all?”
The biggest risk I have taken was walking away from the life I thought wanted, but in return I have become everything I never thought I would. I am a business owner, I have filmed with Food Network, I am now being presented with the opportunity to talk with a super cool magazine (CanvasRebel), and I get to raise my daughter in the middle of it all.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Asha, and I am the baker/pastry chef/owner of Sundaze Gourmet Desserts. As a child, I always gravitated towards food, especially sweets. From making mudpies in my backyard to sculpting cakes for my Barbies out of clay, I truly always had food on my mind. When I was in elementary school, we had holiday parties where everyone was responsible for bringing SOMETHING, and in the third grade, I signed up to bring food. I ran to my Aunt Phyllis, who was and will always be the most amazing cook, because I needed her to whip up something delicious. She looked at me and said “Hooch, let’s make cookies. Everyone loves desserts, which means everyone will love you.”
Here I am, 31 years old and still living by those words. I create baked goods and curate desserts that are both gourmet and nostalgic; fancy, yet familiar. Banana pudding cupcakes that are made with French pastry cream and a spiced vanilla wafer crumble, and red velvet whoopie pies with salted chocolate ganache and cream cheese are a couple of client favorites. Custom decorated cookies are also a specialty of mine and have actually taken over my Instagram!
I believe that my ability to play with and match flavors sets me apart from a lot of other bakers. Following trends has never worked in my favor, so paving my own lane is what continues to propel me forward.
My passion for making others happy through food has stopped me from walking away from the kitchen more than once and that sense of perseverance makes me the proudest. I give my business, my clients, and the desserts that I bake every bit of love I possess. The joy on their faces is the validation I need to know that my job has been done.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
“Keep classics, classic.”
When taking a class like ‘Classical French Pastry’ hearing that classic desserts should be left alone, isn’t uncommon. Being a trained pastry chef, you learn to do everything extremely well. While that’s ideal, one skill culinary school doesn’t teach is creativity and often times doesn’t welcome it. Once graduating I found myself working in structured kitchens with developed recipes, set techniques and the most I was allowed to add my touch to was the raspberry coulee on the plate. Quickly I learned to quiet my self-proclaimed innovative ideas.
Taking the job in Memphis as an assistant pastry chef allowed a bit more leeway for my creative thought process, but I still found myself playing by other chefs’ rules. It wasn’t until I fully stepped into owning Sundaze Gourmet Desserts that I learned that being different is necessary. Being my business’s creative director, recipe maker, and baker gave me permission to take all of the classics I grew up enjoying and make them more suitable for my mature palate.
Modernize the classics; it’s time to enjoy dessert again!!
Have you ever had to pivot?
Between 2020-2021, I felt like I was at the height of my new career. I was gearing up to film the Christmas Cookie Challenge on Food Network, my self- confidence as a baker continued growing and business was going well overall.
Back-to-back deaths in my family created a domino effect of major life changing decisions. Once filming wrapped up, I headed back to Tennessee to begin packing up my home of the last 20 years. Chester, Virginia, where I was born and raised became home again. As soon as I got settled, life shifted once more, and I had my daughter Parker Jaymes a year later.
Can you imagine, a twenty something whose name and face has gained traction, especially in a big city like Memphis, trading in her whisk for a bottle?
Parker is now 2 1/2 and has inspired me to be the best mom, baker, and business owner. I went back to school and recently graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Foodservice Management. Sundaze is still up and running and life has turned out to be more than I could have planned.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Sundaze Gourmet Desserts
- Facebook: Sundaze Gourmet Desserts
- Other: Food Network’s Christmas Cookie Challenge.
“Tsunami Cookies”
Season 5, Episode 7
