We recently connected with Lori Parrett and have shared our conversation below.

Lori, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear a story from back when you were an intern or apprentice. What’s a memorable story you can share with us?

I have to jump into the way back into machine for this one.  When I was fresh out of college, I had the incredible opportunity to work with former First Lady Michelle Obama in a new program called Public Allies. The program aimed to create civic leaders who would make the world a better place through service. I was one of the lucky ones who got to learn from Mrs. Obama herself, as she was the founding executive director of the Chicago chapter. Turns out that we were “Becoming“ together. 

Even then I was in awe of her leadership, charisma, and vision. She taught us how to leverage our skills, passions, and talents to serve our communities and create positive change. She also taught us how to be authentic, resilient, and courageous in pursuing our dreams.

But I had a problem. I didn’t know what my dream was.

I realized that I felt lost and confused among my peers, who seemed to have clear goals and paths in their fields of interest. They were working on issues such as violence prevention, health care, and environmental justice. They were making an immediate impact and finding their purpose.

But where did I fit in? What was my purpose?

I had always loved teaching, so I started my career in education, working with young dropouts who wanted to get their high school diplomas. I enjoyed helping them learn and grow, but I also felt something was missing.

I know that my talent is in teaching and identifying solutions – so I created a small business whose mission is to help home cooks thrive by leveraging my industry knowledge and experience to their benefit – supporting them with essential tools equipment and coaching – helping them to grow their home based baking businesses.

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?

Well,   I’m Chef Lori, award winning pastry chef and founder of Cakewalk Chicago and I have created work that I love leading a 5 star reviewed business that supports and mentors ambitious home bakers.

I learned to cook from my grandmother, who taught me that taking care of others is how we take care of ourselves. She showed me how cooking can be a way of expressing love, gratitude, and joy. She also showed me how cooking can be a way of empowering ourselves and others –  as every good thing has its foundation in the kitchen. Then it fuels the change.

It was fuel to nourishing and funding the civil rights movement, It fuels the family dynamic, It fuels change in individual lives.

I shifted my teaching career to follow my passion and become a pastry chef. I enrolled in culinary school at night and taught during the day. It was hard work, but it was worth it.

Eventually, I left that teaching job and started a career in food service that allowed me to travel the country starting in Maine, then Colorado and back to Chicago to serve women living in and transitioning out of homelessness. I later became the first chef instructor of a flagship program that provided restaurant job training to underemployed adults to assist them in starting careers in the food industry.

I was really good at teaching the skills and techniques of cooking and front and back the house skills, and seeing graduates find jobs in restaurants, bakeries, and catering companies was extremely satisfying. Then I moved on to serving youth in after school programs, older adults and congregations as the food service manager and caterer for a large metropolitan service organization.

While growing in my career I was still connected to individuals working towards pastry businesses and seeking out my advice. One of the challenges that many home bakers face when starting their businesses is finding the right support and resources to help them succeed.

So I opened Cakewalk Chicago, an award winning 5 star community that celebrates the craft of baking and sugar artistry, the diversity and richness of cultures, and the potential and power of collaboration. This is a community that strives to make a difference in the world, one baker, one cake decorator, one candy maker, one sugar artist at a time. A community that provides support, education, and empowerment to home bakers who want to turn their passion into profit.

At Cakewalk Chicago, we offer a variety of services and programs to help our customers build confidence, learn skills and techniques, and make money from their kitchen gifts. Some of these services include:

– Online and in-person classes on baking, decorating, and business skills
– Networking events and social media groups to connect with other bakers and potential customers
– Mentorship and coaching from experienced pastry chefs and business owners
– Marketing and branding assistance to promote your products and services

I believe that home bakers make a difference in the world through sharing their creativity and talent. My job is to make baking for business a cakewalk for everyone. 

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

In addition to starting a business without traditional means of support like loans or outside investments or an early advisory board one of the biggest challenges that I continue to face is overcoming the bias around viewing Black-owned brands as primarily providing products for Black consumers. This bias has the potential to narrow my audience and make me shrink from sharing that my business is proudly Black Woman Owned.

Baking is for everyone across nationality, ethnicity, traditions an identity.

But I do not let that stop me. I embrace my identity and my vision, and I use the strength of who I am to power me.

I believe that championing equity, and inclusion are not only moral imperatives, but also business imperatives. They are essential for innovation, creativity, and growth. They are the values that drive my business and make it stand out from the rest.

Cakewalk Chicago is powered by authenticity and connectedness, values that everyone should get behind. When you enter our doors, you know that all are welcome here. You will find tools and ingredients that reflect different cultures. You become part of a community who share a passion for food and learning.

My work in supporting business owners who look like me in this historically Irish catholic neighborhood caused me to start a campaign for local Black-owned businesses for Black Business Month with the result being a new online directory of nearly 60 Black-owned Beverly neighborhood businesses, which are divided into about 10 categories.

Being public about who I am has been scary but necessary.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Unicorn? Dinosaur? Connector? YES!  All of that!  I’m doing analog baby!

Unorthodox in this digital world Cakewalk Chicago focuses on an In Person Shopping experiences that offers rich opportunities that the online shopping could never. Our in real life combination of industry specific personalized project recommendations, and real-time face to face support at the point of service is part of the secret sauce for generating 5 star reviews and shareable stories that our guests tell through word-of-mouth and social media.

Not only do we know your name but we provide an experience that balances safety, excitement, and convenience closer to home with no need to travel to downtown or the suburbs.

Cakewalk Chicago is leveraging real time human connections to bring a customer centered place for micro entrepreneurs and cottage bakers to level the playing field.

We ask our customers to share their positive experiences with us with the world. Sometimes it is a phenomenal 5 star Google review, Sometimes it is a video hug expressing why they shop with Cakewalk Chicago and sometimes its telling a fellow baker that we exist!  That personal touch is making the difference in helping Cakewalk Chicago grow into a much loved beautiful community that I am grateful to be a part of.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cakewalkchicago.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/cakewalkchicago
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chef-lori-p-a502261b5/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRg4p_Le_gDsAVM44NTLp2g

Image Credits
Cakewalk Chicago