We recently connected with Camelia Rodriguez Camara and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Camelia, thanks for joining us today. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?

Through my small business Camelia Bakes, I aim to bring visibility to the Filipino culture and our cuisine. I make desserts primarily using popular Filipino flavors such as ube, pandan, mango, and calamansi — flavors that I grew up eating and loving. I would hope that people recognize the genuine pride I have in being a Filipina American and that I tried showcasing the beauty and uniqueness of Filipino cuisine to the best of my abilities.

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 Camelia Rodriguez Camara and I am a Filipina American pastry chef based in the Chicagoland area. I grew up watching my grandmothers, mom, and aunties (all self-taught bakers) bake delicious cakes and pastries from scratch for holidays, family parties, and sometimes just a weekday dinner.

Initially a self-taught baker as well, I decided to switch careers and pursue my dream of being a pastry chef. I am a graduate of the L’Art de la Pâtisserie program (2018) at The French Pastry School in Chicago.

I feel very fortunate that I am able to make a career out of my passion for baking and aim to show off popular Filipino flavors (like ube, mango, pandan, and calamansi). I offer custom cakes for any special occasion and other popular desserts I offer are macarons, crinkle cookies, and alfajores cookies. I’m also the creator of the Ooey Gooey Ube Cake, which is my best-selling dessert for special orders and at pop-up events.

It’s my goal to share my love for my culture and ancestry with my desserts as I strive to help grow the Filipino food community in Chicagoland. I’m proud to be a part of the collective of Filipinx American small business owners in Chicago that hosted and participated in several pop-up events last year (2022) that showcased AAPI entrepreneurs.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

The best source of new clients for me has been referrals and word-of-mouth. I’m constantly getting emails for order inquiries where people say that they had one of my desserts at a friend or family member’s event and really enjoyed it. I’m truly grateful for my clients who order from me frequently for all of their milestone events and share about my small business with their network.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I believe the quality of my desserts and the unique flavors that I offer have helped me to stand out among other similar businesses in the Chicagoland area.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://cameliabakes.com
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/cameliabakes
• Facebook: http://facebook.com/cameliabakes

Image Credits
All images are my own.