We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rhonda Jones a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Rhonda, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

In 2004, I went on a cruise and brought back a lot of rum, so I decided to bake a rum cake. A family friend in Philadelphia, who I called Grandma Hagans, always baked rum cake for me. My Mom baked every chance she had and I stayed in the kitchen watching her along with using my EZ Bake Oven. Friends & family suggested I start a business because they loved the cake so much. I officially started the business in 2005 as a hobby. I named my business Chez Moi which means my place/my home, because I grew up learning French words from my Dad since the age of 2, lived in France my junior year of high school as an exchange student and my business is out of my home. From 2005-2012, I primarily baked only during the holidays. In March 2013, I finally decided to take the business seriously and launched a dessert food truck. This was all while working a full-time job and baking for a local coffee shop weekly. I resigned from my corporate job in June 2015 to work the business full time. I knew I was supposed to leave my job almost a year and a half before I resigned and finally took that leap of faith. My only regret…not doing this sooner! I am still enjoying this entrepreneurial life and so extremely thankful for the continued vision.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a self taught baker who grew up baking with her mom. After baking the first rum cake following a cruise, I officially started the business as a hobby in 2005 and added a dessert food truck in 2013. Depending upon where you live, it can be hard to locate a made from scratch rum cake and a rum cake that is all about the flavor. I ship nationwide to help with this! The majority of the alcohol content burns off during baking so my rum cake isn’t as strong as some. There is a rum soak that’s applied once it comes out of the oven as well. I feel it’s more about the flavor coming from the rum vs. the alcohol content of the cake. My signature cake is Brown Sugar Vanilla Rum Cake. I offer 6 flavors of rum cake with the signature also offered as an ice cream cake made with local ice cream. There’s even a Black Cherry Bourbon Cake. I also offer lemon curd and lime curd made with just 4 ingredients and no additives/preservatives. I primarily sell these unique items, but also offer things like lemon cake and carrot cake.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Prior to the pandemic, Chez Moi Bakery operated as a dessert food truck for 7 years with a schedule of monthly lunch & dinner shifts, food truck rodeos and events. These were canceled one by one at the onset of the pandemic and I had to figure out a way to pivot. I decided to offer complimentary, contactless, home delivery within my city in place of my primary way of doing business – food trucking. I officially “retired” from food trucking as of January 2021. I still ship nationwide, offer local pickup & delivery and wholesale to a select number of local vendors. I also created retail packaging for one of my food truck items (lemon curd & lime curd) which is now sold in 9 retail outlets. An added bonus in 2020, Rhonda Jones Photography was born. I create greeting cards from my macro photography and they are sold in 5 retail outlets.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

My business has always grown simply by word of mouth. While operating as a dessert food truck for 7 years, I gained quite a few new customers and followers on social media. In March 2015, I was approached by a TV producer who was working on a special for PBS called A Few Great Bakeries. The special aired in August 2015 and I gained so many new customers nationwide! PBS frequently replays this special across the country and it can still be found on YouTube and at PBS.com.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.iloverumcake.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chezmoibakery/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChezMoiBakery/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/chezmoibakery
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/chezmoibakery
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/chez-moi-bakery-durham

Image Credits
All are from Chez Moi Bakery.