We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mary DeCicco. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mary below.
Mary, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How do you think about cost-management? Growing a business is always exciting, but often businesses run into issues when costs grow faster than revenue – have you experienced such an episode? Any advice for other operators around how to keep costs in line?
As a home baker, I am not purchasing ingredients at wholesale prices like at the former bakeries where I worked. When buying in bulk, you’re able to save a little more than if you were shopping at a local supermarket. With that said, I have seen firsthand inflation at work this past year. Ingredients that I regularly use such .as eggs and butter have soared in price. These basics have nearly increased by 50% since last March. With this in mind I have had to increase pricing on all products such as cakes and cookies. Not only that, I have had to increase delivery charges as a result of the higher gas prices. It has not been easy explaining the new pricing to my base customers, as they are used to the previous pricing. Fortunately, KayCie Cakes continues to grow despite the higher costs of my products.
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
I am a home baker in the moments when I can sneak away from homeschooling and juggling extra-curriculars. I am the mother of two precious daughters and previous to full-time mommy, I was a pastry chef in various bustling bakeries in NYC. It was here in these bakeries that I learned mixing cookies, decorating cakes, shaping croissants, filling macarons, glazing chocolate tarts, toasting beautiful meringues, piping endless royal icing, and the list goes on. But the one skill that I learned and now value the most, is time-management. As a chef, every minute is valuable. You are constantly up against the clock to tackle the long production list. And now as a home baker/mommy, I am always thinking about what is next on the list that never seems to end. Right now in life, I am so blessed to have a beautiful balance happening between two of the things that are very important to me. Previous to becoming a pastry chef, I changed colleges three times and changed my major four times. For the longest time, I did not have clarity on what I wanted to do with my future in terms of career paths. It was not until I majored in Hospitality Management that I started getting excited. I took several pastry classes and once I graduated, I started working Front of House in restaurants. It quickly became clear to me though, that I was happiest working in the kitchen. My first job as a pastry chef was at Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery in NYC. There was a certain craziness about arriving in the kitchen at 5am and working often until 4pm that I absolutely craved. I was always moving and I got to see firsthand what my hands could create and that was so gratifying. I learned so much during those years as a pastry chef. After three years, I walked away from the industry and decided to become a full-time mommy.
Since then though, I have never put down my rolling pin, piping tips, and offset. I have over the years, with much patience and many setbacks, been able to start KayCie Cakes and have seen it grow. My small business provides its customers with custom shortbread cookies, cakes, cake pops, pies, and various other home baked goods. I use quality ingredients and strive for excellence in taste and presentation. I happily meet gluten-free requests and I love working with the customer to bring their vision to life. My customers know me for my beautiful balance of flavors, such as lemon ginger, and also for my buttercream, which is “to die for”.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I am proud of where KayCie Cakes came from. It was solely a creative outlet for me when there were many tears and sad days in my life. My oldest daughter has been battling cancer since before she turned two. At the second reoccurrence of her brain cancer, the girls and I had to relocate to NY from Miami, for six incredibly long months. This was so that Mikayla could receive some of the best treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering. I had plenty of family available to help out with Gracie who was a baby at the time. I am forever grateful for their help and grateful to God who sustained us during those difficult times. God allowed me to channel these sad emotions into something beautiful. I started to make birthday cakes for the family around me and it caused me to realize that maybe I still had it. I had not baked as much in my home kitchen for the past two years since I left the industry. But creating these birthday cakes sparked in me a desire to do more. From there I started an Instagram account and started posting content. That is how KayCie Cakes all started and I can honestly say that my daughter’s perseverance through her treatments has motivated me to try this crazy side business. KayCie Cakes is named after Mikayla and Gracie.
Have you ever had to pivot?
My two daughters are a very intrical part of what I do on a daily basis. I have been very fortunate to enjoy their early years by their side. My career as a pastry chef had ended when I became a mom. I realized that the crazy hours in the kitchen would not be compatible with what I also wanted to do as a mom. I never have regretted that decision to walk away, albeit the adjustment was very difficult and lonely at times. Over the years though, through this small home business, I have been able to hone my pastry skills and fulfill my creative side. I’ve been blessed to have the best of both worlds.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: kaycie.cakes
- Other: orders.kayciecakes@gmail.com