We were lucky to catch up with Jessica Castañeda recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jessica , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Parents play a huge role in our development as youngsters and sometimes that impact follows us into adulthood and into our lives and careers. Looking back, what’s something you think you parents did right?

My parents did a lot of things right, for which I’m incredibly grateful. One of the greatest values my parents instilled in me was to follow my dreams and to expect it to be hard work, but well worth it if I loved and cared about what I did. That sure has proved to be true in my own life as I’ve pursued my career in food. Growing up, I watched both of my parents hustle! They both worked full time jobs and somehow still found the time to run a food truck, selling soul food at festivals and on the corner of University Ave in St. Paul, Minnesota, where they had a line formed around the block countless times. This was back in the 90’s, much before the food truck trend swept the nation. They were cooking family recipes and formulating their own style on soul food favorites like chicken wings, hush puppies, and collard greens. I was a toddler, eating anything I could get my hands on while also learning valuable lessons in things like food preparation and customer service from my older siblings who were of age enough to lend a helping hand and actually helped in the truck. I as the youngest, just looked on fondly and enjoyed the fun. Quite frankly, these memories are some of my first in knowing that I would forever love to cook for people. They showed me the value of audacity and grit. Special thanks to my grandparents, on both of my parents sides. From farmer and fisherman, to a lawyers’ secretary and electrical engineer, they instilled in all of us the value of working hard and going after your goals.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a private chef and cottage baker who lives in Fort Worth, TX. After finishing culinary school in Minneapolis, MN- where I’m from and where my culinary career began. I moved to the Dallas Fort Worth area in 2015. Here I continued working in a myriad of different positions in the food and beverage industry, while intentionally gaining more specific skills and knowledge in topics such as chocolate, baking, making ice cream, slinging craft coffee and cocktails, pastry chef and executive chef duties. I gained my first executive chef role at 27 years old at an incredible non-profit farm and cafe in Dallas, TX.

Gathering from these past experiences, I launched my own cottage bakery and private chef business here in Fort Worth in 2021. Chef Jess Bakes. My current offerings include: customized in-home dining experiences, as well as freshly baked sourdough bread, cakes, quiche and pastries all for pickup from her cottage bakery. Back in 2016, she was named one of Zagat’s Dallas 30 under 30 while in 2020 D Magazine referred to her as a “Renaissance Woman”

I think my wide range of interests in all areas of the hospitality industry has set me apart from other chefs and bakers. I’ve taken time to focus on individual skills in both the savory and dessert realms, as well as worked every front of house position you can imagine. From hosting, to being a server, bartender, barista, pastry and executive chef, I’ve learned so much from it all. It has in turn made me a well rounded cook when it comes to serving people delicious food with care.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

There are a couple of lessons I had to unlearn in my career. Kitchens can be a free for all when it comes to trying to move up in the ranks. Even this ranking system was something I had to unlearn. It was very normal for coworkers to sabotage something you were working on or even hide your stuff, rude comments yelled across the kitchen that you had to put up with, and even situations of blatant sexual harassment that I witnessed or was forced to deal with myself. Anytime these things were brought up with coworkers or management, there was always an heir of “no big deal”, like it was normal, or almost excusable. Disrespect and harassment are often overlooked in certain restaurant environments, and that should NOT be considered normal or just a part of the industry. I had one boss (who was the business owner) who handled a sexual harassment situation on the spot and with such care and I was SHOCKED. He asked what happened and listened to me after noticing something seemed off. He got up to leave his office, he went and immediately fired the guy who was making gross remarks about my body while I was working. This allowed for unlearning in me, my boss did not think this was acceptable in his business or in general, so the guy was fired and I still remember how bad I felt, for this guy to lose his job over “some” remarks. Why did I feel bad for him? I did nothing wrong. Thanks to this boss for reminding me of such truths. I will always remember this. This was the first time I saw someone actually DEAL with these kind of situations that happen all too often in the hospitality industry. This was an unfortunate skill that I learned that day but I distilled it into my own leadership style moving forward. To deal with what needs to change and must be dealt with.

I had to unlearn these sad standards that are set in so many different environments. When I left working as a Chef in a traditional kitchen in 2021, I had to remind myself that this standard I had become so accustomed to dealing with, just to survive, was no longer needed. Shoutout to my therapist for helping me unlearn that. I am thankful for the hard raw lessons I learned in those kitchens over the years. They gave me the backbone and grit I needed to not be easily swayed, it allowed me to find confidence in myself, my skills and my perspective, regardless of anyone else’s behavior. I have been forged through the fires of what I endured, in order to bring my own vision to life that now allows me to cook for whomever I choose, with love, intention and great care.

Have you ever had to pivot?

2020 was a world altering year for everyone, and for the first time I had gained an Executive Chef role that I was really excited about. I tried my best, did what I could, and had to leave in 2021 to prioritize my heath and wellness. (No surprise that restaurants foster very unhealthy environments and lifestyles for those who work there.)

I started my cottage baking business as an intentional pivot to get out of the restaurant industry. I felt ready for a change from the rat race and needed to do things differently. Plus, I always knew I wanted to work for myself. My parents cultivated that entrepreneurial spirit from a very young age.

I decided to pivot, but to what I was already doing, just differently and on very unique terms. I would cook and bake for people. This time, on my own, and in my own way. My husband encouraged me and invested in me, he purchased my domain, found a host site for me to start a website, and told me to share my offerings with my local community. Texas has cottage laws that allow you to start a baking business direct to consumer, from the comfort of your home kitchen. Utilizing my website, social media, and good ol’ word of mouth, I started by offering assorted pastry boxes on the weekends, holiday pies, custom cakes for celebrations and baking sourdough bread weekly. Both for pickup in Fort Worth or delivery in the greater DFW. It took off slowly, mostly being supported by close friends and family but its grown into something much more. I now offer hands on baking and cooking classes, as well as custom private dining experiences, along with my original bakery offerings. All of these things have helped me connect more and grow with my community.

Contact Info:

• Website: chefjessbakes.com
• Instagram: @chefjessbakes

Image Credits
Elizabeth Lavin Dave Shafer Elizabeth Jordan-Flight