Today we’d like to introduce you to Leesteffy Jenkins.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’ve always baked. Even when I was living in the desert in Jordan and Syria doing Archeology, I baked cakes–even when I had no cake pans. Throughout law school I baked bread. While a law clerk and later at a big New York law firm, I baked cakes for people’s birthdays. So when I decided to move into business, baking was a natural for me. I had been diagnosed with Celiac in 2005, so had already begun the process of converting my recipes.
Originally, I wanted to open a gluten free bakery in France. It would have been the first. I came back to Cambridge for a summer and decided to do a famers market and got such overwhelmingly positive response, I decided to open the business here. That was 5 years ago now.
At Violette, we use natural, organic and locally-sourced ingredients. We use only organic, vegan sugars because we don’t think chemically processed sugar is good for the body. (Note, most commercial sugar is NOT vegan–did you know that?) Our breads, cakes, cookies, tarts and pies are hand-made from scratch.
We use fresh fruits, edible flowers and seasonal vegetables in almost everything we make. We use no chemical dyes. We hand-mill much of our own flour. We try to use organic olive oil or sunflower oil rather than butter because we think it is better for you and more humane, although we still have a few items that use dairy. Most of our baked goods are dairy free, and some are vegan. We use no soy. Our chocolate contains No soy lecithin. We use nuts: pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds and peanut butter — and are not a nut free facility.
We aim for a product that’s not just “good for gluten free,” but rather, that’s just plain good. We welcome you to taste and enjoy!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Ha! A small business is never a smooth road. 1. Rents are expensive in the Boston area. We had to move from our first location when our landlord raised our rent from $2500 a month to $8500 a month. It took 15 months to find and build out a new place. 2. It is hard to find good bakers. Our starting pay is $15hr plus the employees share house tips, so they make between $3-5hr in tips. Yet even with this higher than average wage for a bakery, it has been hard to find professional bakers. Everyone is looking, few are finding.
Please tell us about Violette Bakers.
We are a dedicated Gluten Free bakery. We use mostly organic and humanely sourced ingredients. Also, the bakery is the hub for our non-profit, Americans for Refugees in Crisis (ARC). We have raised tens of thousands of dollars from customers to support refugees… That makes me and our customers feel good. They are eating a good product and contributing meaningfully to make the world a better place.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My grandmother’s pizza.
Contact Info:
- Address: 407 Concord Ave., Cambridge, MA 02140
- Website: violettegf.com
- Email: orders@violettegf.com | info@violettegf.com
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