We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rochelle Williams. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rochelle below.
Rochelle, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
When I first started my company, I simply wanted to create high quality baked goods. As time went on, I realized I lacked a sense of purpose. So I took a step back and thought “what would little Rochelle have loved to see growing up?” As a child I rarely saw myself represented in daily life. From Barbies to cartoon characters to the types of foods available at the grocery store, nothing felt like it resembled me. I never saw princesses that looked like me, I didn’t appreciate my natural hair, and could only experience certain Jamaican treats the odd time my family was able to vacation in Jamaica. I can even remember watching a wedding show, and the Black couple would have a white couple as their cake topper simply because that was the only option. Never feeling like I truly belonged in my environment had a huge impact on how I viewed and carried myself for years.
I do what I do so that other Black people don’t have to go through life feeling like they never see themselves in the world by creating characters that look like me. Whether it’s “Black excellence” cookies that highlight kinky hairstyles and positive messaging like “Black boy joy” or custom figurines that will properly represent a Black client. As well as items from my heritage like Petite Jamaican Patties. A sugar cookie with a Black face and giant afro or a food item that brings back memories of home can have an immense impact on someone’s life. I know it has on mine.
The Dessert Artist isn’t looking to be simply “another bakery”, but a place where consumers can purchase bespoke items and where it’s known that one can find Black centric designs, personnel, and culture.
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?
The Dessert Artist is a baked goods and confectionery producer, based in Kitchener ON, that is addressing the lack of black representation in the baking industry with unique, artistic, and edible products. The Dessert Artist provides a fully customizable multi-sensory edible artistic experience for a variety of occasions (e.g., weddings, holidays, etc.) that is influenced by the founder’s Black heritage. The company regularly includes designs and flavors that will resonate with the Black community and those looking to explore and experience Black culture. The main offerings can be broken down into the following categories:
• Custom sweets (i.e., special occasion cakes, decorative sugar cookies, etc.)
• Corporate orders (branded items, catering, dessert platters)
• Caribbean treats (Petite Patties, bun & cheese, rum cake, etc.)
I the founder, Rochelle Williams, am a pastry chef with 8+ years of working experience in the hospitality and food industry. I have always had a bit of a sweet tooth and valued a dessert’s appearance as much as its taste. This led to me taking the Baking & Pastry Arts Management and Advanced Chocolate & Confectionery Artistry courses at Humber college. Through my formal education and managerial roles at various baking establishments (such as the Shangri-La Hotel, Lady Glaze Doughnuts, Nadège Patisserie, and Sobeys), I discovered my passion for the decorative side of “baking” and recipe development. I specialize in creating elaborate cakes, edible figurines, detailed sugar cookies and experimenting with flavour combinations. I have passion for delicious food and creating items that are a pleasure to the eye and I am blessed that I am able to do both through my company.
I know one of the biggest thing that sets me a part from my competitors is my artistic ability. A lot of places will use edible images or buy decorative pieces to accent their designs, I make the majority of things by hand. I will pipe out logos, sculpt designs (i.e. cartoon character) out of buttercream and create figurines out of modeling chocolate. I just find it to be so satisfying making, essentially, an edible work of art.
I’m really proud of a lot of things that I’ve done this past year. I was filled with so many good “firsts”. I recorded a baking segment through the Baking For Change Show for a local cable channel. I was filling in last minute so I wasn’t able to prepare the way I normally would (only had a couple days notice) and yet everything went soooo well! When you’ve been working in the same field all your life, it’s really easy to miss how much you’ve grown. Doing the show really highlighted for me that I know my shit lol. I am able to not only create incredible baked goods but can also show people how to recreate them for themselves. I have also learned that I’m good at storytelling and explaining my brand through pitch competitions I’ve done. I have only competed in four and have walked away from each one a winner. The biggest one being the Rise Up pitch competition where there were over 1700 applicants across Canada and I managed to be one of eight selected for the grand prize. A common point of feedback I’ve gotten from judges is that I exude confidence and passion when I speak. I love being a pastry chef and I love what I am able to do through my brand and it truly shows.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
The biggest thing I’ve learnt from being active on my socials is that consistency is key and people want to know the person behind the brand. In a week, I typically try to make two posts (one picture, one reel) and be in my stories three times. That can look like resharing a post, highlighting events I’ll be at, me talking about a win for the week, or even something as simple as taking my followers through the process of me making a fancy dinner for myself. I often “get real” with my audience in my stories. I will tell them when I make mistakes or when I’m having an off week. I find that when people are reminded that you too are also human and not just constantly selling something to them, they are more likely to get behind the brand. If I only post pictures of products I’m actively selling, I’m not going to get people organically interacting with my content. If I’m vulnerable and tell them that the business isn’t always going well/ struggles I have as a Black entrepreneur or post a creative project I did just for fun, people will leave comments or send me a DM. People respond to people, not to a faceless brand. And the best way to get people to get to know you is by being yourself and showing up as often as you can.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
I don’t have any fancy stories for this one. I saved up some money that covered the majority of my start up expenses, worked a variety of jobs when revenue was non existent when I was in the building phases, and I secured funding from various pitch competitions. I also got support from family to help cover personal expenses.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thedessertartist.ca/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedessertartistinc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedessertartistinc
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rochellewilliams98/
Image Credits
Ariana Del Mundo