We were lucky to catch up with Jill Sublett recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jill, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s something crazy on unexpected that’s happened to you or your business
My worst fear as a new bakery business owner came true last December 27th. I was highly recommended by a good friend to a friend of hers that was getting married. Her favorite cake is red velvet, and my friend told her my recipe can’t be beat. I was definitely nervous about making a wedding cake, especially delivering one! I knew it was going to be extra challenging since the recipe is very moist- not the best choice for a tiered cake. I did my research online, asked about supports in the baking supply store (I neglected to tell them about the flavor, which was my first mistake!), and thought I was well equipped to successfully stack and deliver the cake to a location that was approximately an hour away. The decorations were fresh greens and sugared cranberries- perfectly suited for the holiday season. In my mind, it was going to be absolutely beautiful with the white cream cheese buttercream, the red cake, the pop of green and the sparkling cranberries.
On top of my anxiety about this cake, my husband just came home days before from Duke after open heart surgery to replace a defective valve. I was worried about him being alone while I went to deliver this cake.
The cake baked perfectly, and everything came together like a dream.
Until I put it in a box and placed it in my car. That December day was more humid than usual, and the first thing I noticed was the sugar on the cranberries was melting! As I started driving, blasting the air conditioner, the cake started drooping, my worst fear. I didn’t think to bring extra supplies in case something went wrong, so you can imagine the panic I felt. I watched it tilt as I turned a corner and my heart sank. I didn’t know how I could remedy this situation. When I arrived at the venue, it was not immediately clear where I had to go, and it started drizzling, so I gingerly carried the heavy box with the drooping cake until I found the door to the reception room. I placed the box on the counter in the kitchen where the caterers were, and it just came apart. I held back tears as the sweet caterers asked me what they could do to help. One said “This is why we don’t bake!”. They cleared room in the refrigerator for the cake to see if it could firm back up a bit. At this point, the bride and groom were next door in the church starting the ceremony. I didn’t have time to speak to them about what happened. I had to do the best I could to get the cake on the designated table and get back home to take my husband to a follow up doctor’s appointment since he couldn’t drive.
I was late getting home and he missed his appointment, to add to my stress! I felt so horrible about everything that happened that day.
I wrote a heartfelt apology email to the bride when I arrived home, and told her there wouldn’t be any charge for the cake.
I was extremely fortunate to get a phone call from her a couple of weeks later, saying everyone thought the cake was delicious, and she now has a great story to tell! I will be forever grateful for her grace.
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 fell in love with cooking at a young age. I was not the type that was in the kitchen with my mom, she preferred to cook by herself. I still watched, however, and learned some things from her. I started cooking breakfast for my dad, and he liked it, which sparked my eagerness to learn all that I could. I loved watching Julia Child on TV and couldn’t wait to have my own kitchen. My journey to where I am now took a lot of detours, since I didn’t have a clear goal of owning my own business while raising my kids. I was a makeup artist, worked in retail and was a daycare teacher taking care of the youngest babies in Massachusetts. We moved to Knoxville, TN 10 years ago and I worked first in daycares and then non-profits. All along, friends would encourage me to open my own food business, as they enjoyed the food I made. Cooking for others was a way I showed love, whether it was chicken soup when someone was sick, to a birthday cake for their celebration, I always hoped they could feel the love I put into cooking for them. The Bad Mood Bakery name came to me in 2014. I love funny and interesting business names that make me want to know more about them. I envisioned a space where people could come, enjoy some delicious treats and be themselves. The thought of having a safe place to share their feelings, talk freely and leave feeling better than they came in appealed to me. I also work with assistive technology to help people with disabilities, so if that space ever happens, it will be designed by people with disabilities for accessibility and comfort. Too often that is overlooked, and I would make that a priority. Some people think the name sounds negative, but we all have moods and bad moods can be lifted by many things. For me, good music, being in the woods, conversations and a tasty little slice of cake. I have never been in a bad mood eating a delicious slice of cake!
I sell scones, cookies, cakes, cupcakes and seasonal pies and I love when customers ask for treats that are nostalgic to them.
I honestly don’t remember how I came across making scones, but I know that my husband’s grandmother who was from England would have absolutely loved them. I’ll bet her favorite would have been my blueberry lemon scones. My scones are soft, fluffy and moist and I have savory as well as sweet flavors. I did want to make baked goods that not everyone else was making, and people are enjoying them. I created a garden veggie and cheddar scone after a dear friend Peg passed. She and I spent many Saturday mornings cooking together at Ijams Nature Center and I learned a lot from her.
I love incorporating fresh fruits and vegetables in my baked goods, and always bake with love. I think you can taste the difference with good ingredients and care!
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
I was fortunate to find and join a shared community kitchen called Real Good Kitchen. The connections with the other members along with the support of the Real Good Kitchen staff (especially the owner, Bailey Foster). She helps by referring my bakery to businesses and organizations looking for food for meetings and events and word of mouth happened after that. Being a part of a group or an organization that has been building and growing a reputation for providing good locally made food has helped my business a lot. Of course, providing a quality product is essential, and that speaks for itself! I also sought out the influencers in the community that promote their favorite foods on social media and made sure they were able to try my food!
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
When I was first starting out, I had a goal to have my food in coffee/ tea shops. I was contacted by Tonya, who owns Tonya Rea’s Teas and Remedies. She received my name from contacting Real Good Kitchen. She has local bakers food in her shop to sell along with her very delicious tea. I brought samples to her of different baked goods, such as cupcakes and cookies. She tried different items, but none sold very well. I knew scones and tea went perfectly together, but she didn’t have a good reference of scones to want them in her shop. I kept trying hoping they would catch on since I believed this would be the perfect fit, and it’s worked out beautifully! She is wonderfully supportive, as well as her sweet customers and I am thankful I didn’t give up!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thebadmoodbakery.com
- Instagram: @thebadmoodbakery
- Facebook: @thebadmoodbakery