Today we’d like to introduce you to Belinda Longoria.
Belinda, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started my career in the field of Psychology, wanting to help others. I never made cookies or cakes, but my son Sebastian was turning a year old, and I wanted to try my hand at making his cake and cookies, The year was 2011 and making decorated sugar cookies was not a “thing.” This was my first attempt at making decorated sugar cookies, and I had no idea what I was doing. What I did know was that I had the confidence given to me by some amazing strong Hispanic women, my grandma and my mom. They could craft up anything, and boy did it look beautiful. Being raised in the Latin culture, I was taught to believe that when we bake or cook, one’s emotion should reflect in your food, So I knew my cookies would be made from love. As a single mom at the time, I was working and making cookies for fun and as a hobby, so at first, it was easy, but in 2012, I took a break from the cookie world, to be a full time mommy and focus on my career, there are times that I look back and think to myself “I should have kept going” but I believe everything happens for a reason.
And with the support of my husband Orlando, I chose to take a step back from my counseling career. Here is why I say this, going back to 2000, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease (a thyroid disorder). I was always tired, as my antibodies would attack my immune system. This diagnosis altered my life in more ways than one. Jumping to 2015, having my daughter changed not only my life but also my body. She took so much of my thyroid that it shrunk completely and was no longer functioning, so the stress would cause me to become seriously ill, So how does one work full time as a school counselor, a housewife, mommy of four and cookier? Well, it wasn’t easy at all, and I chose to take a step back from my counseling career and pursue my passion of making cookies for others as it fulfilled a part of me that made me happy and as I found it therapeutic in many ways. Making cookies has become my stress reliever, and being in a mental health career, this is important for me and my body. In 2019 B’s Cookie Chateau reopened, and this time, I have been able to spend my days as a part time school counselor helping children between the ages of 3-14 at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School and part time making cookies for every age and every occasion. I am also an instructor at my local Hobby Lobby, where I teach cookie classes, I call it “theracookie”, a cookie class where we can talk about life and release stress by my decorating and eating cookies. My passions as a mommy, wife, counselor and cookie artist is who I am today and it is a perfectly blended balance of life greatly appreciated.
Has it been a smooth road?
Life will always throw curve balls, and one’s reactions to these situations is either going to make you or break you, Its how you chose to react to the situations, is what gives you strength. It hasn’t been a smooth road to get to where I am today, and I’ve had to make some tough decisions. Putting myself out there, allowing myself to be vulnerable to change and grow was a challenge because I didn’t know what the outcome would be, but this process has made me stronger. I believe this journey has allowed me to face some of my struggles with grace.
Tell us more about the business.
I call myself a cookie artist, and I take pride in creating different cookie flavors such as Texas Pecan or Strawberry (made from real strawberries, not an extract), B’s Cookie Chateau specializes in handcrafted sugar cookies for every occasion. My business is all about making sweetly decorated cookies. That is my tag line, “sweetly decorated cookies, so I focus on making all types of cookies, and I don’t just make one flavor. I like to offer many flavors from vanilla bean to strawberry lemonade. I think that sets me apart from the rest of the cookie businesses put here. I am proud to say that my Hispanic roots and artistic talents from my grandma Maria Elena and my mom Maria come out in every cookie I make. I hope that as I continue to bake and decorate cookies, I can pass down all that I have learned to my daughter Ale.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I currently practice under the Texas Cottage Law, but my goal is to own a storefront shortly. I want to be able to have a cookie shop where I can offer cookies of many flavors all day. I would like to have s cookie studio where I can offer cookie classes multiple times within the week. I plan to be able to make cookies full time rather than part-time.
Pricing:
- Basic custom decorated sugar cookies start at $36
- Detailed custom decorated sugar cookies start at $48
- Elaborate custom decorated sugar cookies start $60
Contact Info:
- Website: Bscookiechateau.weebly.com
- Email: bscookiechateau@gmail.com
- Instagram: Bscookiechateau
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