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

Katherine, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

One of the most fulfilling things in this life is to not only follow your dreams, but to help others along the way. Life is a series of choices and the more we can lean into one another, the better. I think a lot of times following the “American Dream” means striving to be at the top, but we lose others on our journey towards the peak. One of the most harrowing quotes I have read stated: “People may spend their whole lives climbing the ladder of success only to find, once they reach the top, that the ladder is leaning against the wrong wall.” It is possible to take on a task or a job and find purpose in it, not just for the sake of “making it” but for bringing others alongside you as you go. And from there, it becomes this beautiful thing, to not find yourself at the finish line yelling “I DID IT!” but to reach the end and say, “Wow, that was an adventure and look at all the beautiful people who I was able to touch and impact and be with and they are here with all those who helped me get there.”

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.

Hello! My name is Katherine and I often say I am passionate about three things: people, pastry, and my faith. It is those three things that continue to guide my life and nonprofit, The C. Love Baking Academy.  As a professionally-trained pastry chef, I took what I knew (pastry) and attached it to a mission I was passionate about, highlighting immigration and supporting those who found themselves in an entirely new country.

In our current world climate, simple joys matter. I started my career in pastry because I really loved how a baked good could cheer-up someones’s day. I operate C. Love with the same spirit of simplicity but with focused intention. I wanted to see women from all over the world get to know one another and have a safe, welcoming space to exchange stories and be creative. The C. Love Baking Academy (CLBA) is a fully professional pastry training program for immigrant women. We bake, learn, and laugh together. The heart of C. Love has always been to uplift immigrant women to their highest potential while recognizing and highlighting the innate talent, beauty, and confidence that already exists within each of these women. It is a step-by-step process but for me it is all about taking the time to invest in these women and their futures, whether they stay with pastry or not. We regularly see one another outside of the kitchen and I check-in often to know what’s going on in their lives. As part of student learning, we also provide wholesale baked goods to the community. Our product is not only made with so much Love, it carries a story with it. We are a bridge between the community at large and these incredible women that have bravely and boldly stepped into the kitchen space. I still love how a humble treat brings happiness to so many customers. It is this familiarity and simplicity that makes C. Love so powerful, because it is a reminder of all of our humanness. It will forever be a way to show the world that people matter.

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

As a chef, you’re constantly pushing yourself towards being the best in the industry. C. Love shifted that for me, and helped me shake my perfectionistic tendencies in a lot of ways. I remember working in a pastry kitchen in Paris, France, of a pastry chef that I had long admired. To be in that kitchen felt like the pinnacle of my entire career, and this was years before C. Love was even an idea! I remember showing up to work and trying to do and make everything perfectly, but still feeling like I could never quite get it right because in France pastry is at a whole other level and this kitchen produced some of the best. In a way, it’s what drives creatives and artists – to constantly improve, morph, and get better. In pastry, there are new industry trends all the time so we’re constantly wanting to add that “perfect touch” to whatever it is we’re making. I remember having a day in that Parisian kitchen decorating an ornate pastry, and the entire sheet tray was sent back from the front of house because of the placement of a flower. I re-did the entire tray, but as I’ve grown and gotten older, I have realized that being perfect is not the end goal. I never want a woman to feel like she is not good enough or perfect enough to be in C. Love’s kitchen space. This has been at the forefront of shaping C. Love’s “kitchen culture.” I want the students to know that it’s okay to make mistakes, and in fact, beautiful things can come from them. They say that even chocolate chip cookies were made by accident! Anytime a student makes a mistake in class, I always look for a way to correct it and still make something beautiful from it. If it is too far gone (such as burned chocolate, my least favorite smell), I simply say, “Toss it and give it another go!” To me, that’s what makes a great chef.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I feel like my life has been a series of pivots, and that’s what makes it such an adventure and a journey of faith. God has asked me to do some pretty incredible things along the way, including multiple moves that have coincided with C. Love’s journey to continue supporting women from all over the world, and in a lot of ways it still feels like it is just the start. Each year brings new changes and challenges, but the more I have said “Yes” the more I have gotten used to the fact that my life is not linear, but a curvy path that has led me to meeting some of the most incredible people.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.c-lovebakingacademy.com
• Instagram: c.lovebakingacademy

Image Credits
photographer (all images) : Kamryn Miller Photography