Today we’d like to introduce you to Vanessa Benoit.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I come from a family of excellent cooks – starting with my gram. I can remember coming home from school to a house filled with the most wonderful scents…. walking over to the pot and sticking my face right close and just breathing in the deliciousness…. everything she made was amazing! I long for her cooking now. My mom has also always loved to cook and bake… so I was no stranger to the kitchen and scratch cooking and baking growing up. While I grew up surrounded by this wonderfulness, cooking and baking was never the plan for me as I wanted to be a marine biologist and swim with sharks and whales…
When I was 17 my cousin bought a small breakfast and lunch restaurant and almost immediately I started working there, both out front and then eventually in the kitchen. I loved being in the kitchen! I loved cooking for our customers! I loved making muffins and other baked goods! I started experimenting with specialty breakfast items and eventually dessert items for our lunch crowd. After a few years the restaurant sold and I worked various positions from a server to counter/prep help in local bakeries. In my free time I started making desserts and decorating them at home for fun. My experimenting led to far too many items for us to consume at home, so my mom started taking baked goods to work. One of these days a co-worker saw a decorated cake and asked if she could buy one to bring to an event. This quickly led to more orders and in turn led to the start of “Cakes by Vanessa” – my first business venture. The more I baked, the more I loved it! The more I decorated, the more techniques I wanted to learn. My mom and I would stay up to all hours of the night crafting these labors of love (which I think back and cringe at now…lol). She would hover over me with every line, flower or ruffle I piped offering guidance as I struggled to build my skills and get just the right look for each cake. She officially deemed herself my Direct Supervisor!
After a few years of working and “Cakes by Vanessa” running on the side, I decided to go back to school to further my education and get the fundamentals of baking and pastry under my belt. I started at Cape Cod Community College in their Advanced Culinary Program and their Hotel Restaurant Program. Once I completed these I transferred over to Johnson & Wales Baking and Pastry Program and finished out my Bachelors in Food Service Entrepreneurship. I love to learn!!!
Upon completion of my degree, my husband and I bought a house on beautiful Cape Cod and moved our family here. I took a Pastry Chef position at The Regatta of Cotuit and spent 4 wonderful years there. While at The Regatta, I was given a ton of freedom which allowed me to blossom and grow in so many ways! In addition to creating all of the desserts, garnishes, and plate designs, I also ran Garde Manger and eventually spent a good portion of my time on the line – my favorite position being Saute!! I loved learning and growing and my experiences helped me build technique and define my style as both a Manager and a Chef. The one downside to the restaurant was that I was no longer spending time on my first and true love in baking…my cakes! After much deliberation I made the decision to step away from the restaurant and start The Chocolate Rose! This was both the scariest and most exciting professional decision I had ever made.
Fast forward and here we are!
After 6 years of working out of a licensed commercial kitchen that was a build out on my property, we are beginning year 7 in a brand new – very visible 🙂 – location in Mashpee. We will be expanding the business to include a small retail shop where we will serve our cakes and desserts as well as breakfast pastries and coffee! These items will be offered in addition to our regular custom wedding and occasion cake orders. I couldn’t be more excited!
My mom has continued to work with me through the years and is my “Direct Supervisor” part time and my husband – after years of behind the scenes work – will be joining the team full time this year taking care of all of our front of the house operations. My two daughters are professional box makers, egg crackers, and napkin embosserers. And finally, my two brothers also play part time roles as “On Call Chef Consultant” and “Taste Tester Extraordinaire”. We are a family of “Foodies” and look forward to welcoming you into our new Chocolate Rose home!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
For the most part it has been smooth – I found what I was meant to do and absolutely LOVE and have pushed to pursue my dream of owning my own business!
Struggles:
Time – there is never enough!
Attempting to have a Work-life balance! Trying to grow a family and a business is very challenging!
Trying to set myself apart from others. Identifying what makes me different and who I am as a business professional and edible artist.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
The Chocolate Rose is a boutique bakery specializing in cake artistry and fine pastries for weddings and events. We are known for our fabulous variety of delicious cake flavors (we have about 30 options), our personalized cake designs, and our beautiful dessert tables. We are detail oriented and pride ourselves on incorporating the individuality of each client and their event into the dessert scene. As an added convenience we provide an array of fanciful linens, decorative stands and eclectic items that complete the look of each desert presentation.
What makes us proud and sets us apart:
Successfully pairing delicious confections, unique designs, and an intimate client experience.
Reducing our foot print by composting our waste, recycling our paper and plastic products and moving towards using recycled materials in as many ways as we are able.
What were you like growing up?
I loved the ocean – still do! I was shy and would prefer to go unnoticed. I was active in many areas – swim team, field hockey, dance, and cello
Contact Info:
- Address: 628 Main Street (Route 130) Suite A
Mashpee, MA 02649 - Website: www.ChocolateRoseCakes.com
- Phone: 774-238-7020
- Email: Info@ChocolateRoseCakes.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/chocolaterosecakes
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/chocolaterosecakes
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/chocrosecakes
Image Credit:
Scott Zuehlke Photography – Pink Sequence Linen Dessert Table Photo
ShoreShotz Photography = Ivory Linen Dessert Table
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