Meet Gabriela Sanchez of Gabriela’s Sweet Treat’s in Cypress

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabriela Sanchez.

Gabriela, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
So, at the very beginning of 2017, I was completely lost with myself (career wise) and that really stressed me out, even though I am 20 years old, I know it is okay to not know what you want, but to me it was just always a big deal because that’s just who I am, I like knowing what I want.

I was attending Lone Star College just for my basics and I went to college wanting to be a nurse because I truly loved science but it turns out I wasn’t very passionate about it. So, I changed my major to media production because I can easily spend hours on social media, editing a picture or editing a video but I caught myself not really loving it and I instantly panicked, because I had no idea what I wanted to do. Growing up, I always loved to bake, it’s what I spent my weekends doing, and throughout 2017 my friends and family told me they thought I would go to culinary school. And, in the back of my mind, I thought to myself “yeah… me too” but I kept telling myself baking is just a hobby, it was always a dream of mine to bake but just keep it as a hobby.

I finally came to my senses around December and decided not to go back to Lone Star, and in the meantime I worked 2 jobs as a receptionist at Sportclips and worked at Madewell in City Center and I began to bake more than I have ever in the past and I started to post what I would bake on my personal account on Instagram. I would always get the greatest feedback ever from my friends and family telling me I should sell my cupcakes so thats when it hit me and I told myself “I want to go to culinary school”. So, I googled: “Culinary schools in Houston” and LeNôtre popped up so I applied and got accepted right away! And, I was extremely happy and excited because I had done this all on my own with the support of my amazing parents.

Late January of 2018, I got a direct message from a friend saying: “Hey! I have noticed your baking posts, and I wanted to know if you ever take orders for them? if so, how much do you charge?…” I had a huge smile on face because it was nice to know that someone had noticed my work, so I told her “I’m not really selling cupcakes, but I would be more than happy to bake you some cupcakes!” so she asked for a dozen cupcakes for the following week. So, I had begun to bake and an hour later, my mom gets home from work and asked me what I was doing so, I told a friend of mine ordered a dozen cupcakes for her mom’s birthday and my mom says “so you’re going to start selling your cupcakes now” and I paused what I was doing and thought to myself, “YEAH, WHY NOT! I can totally do this!” and I told her, “you know what heck yeah, I’ll start selling my cupcakes!”

As a “joke” knowing this is what I really wanted to do. I made a post on my personal account saying “Support your local business” and within that hour I was filled with messages asking for cupcakes and telling me that they support me 100% and I was filled with so much joy I couldn’t believe it I did not expect this much feedback. So a couple weeks go by and I decided to make a separate page for my business and I made my very first post on February 6, 2018. Valentine’s day was right around the corner and I became completely booked it was insane I had no idea that many of my followers would order from me but they did! Valentine’s day was the most stressful week of all for me because I had so many orders I realized I had to quit both my jobs because I was taking on my own business and I would soon start school in March, I wanted to be able to focus on school and my own business. And since then I have been so happy and proud of myself with how far I have gotten.

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?
There has been a lot of bumps in the road with starting Gabriela’s Sweet Treat’s, but after every storm, there’s a rainbow!

I am 1 person, I don’t have an assistant and I don’t have a third hand, although I wish I did because I could really use one! But I do want to say thank you to my parents if it wasn’t for you guys I would be a mess.

On the week of Valentine’s day, there were nights where I would be up baking until 2 o’clock in the morning and the worst part of it was cleaning at 2 A.M. But in the end, I knew all of it was worth it because I knew I was going to make a lot of people smile.

I order majority of the things I need off of Amazon such as boxes or just anything I prefer to get online, but I noticed I was running low on boxes so, I went to check out the supplier that I bought them from and it said they were no longer selling them, I was so devastated because they were my favorite kind! So, I had to go to The Amazing Cake Supply store until I found the perfect boxes.

Majority of all the cupcakes I make they come out with this perfect dome shape but they don’t always come out that way! Sometimes they deflate but it could easily be an ingredient has gone bad, you over whipped, you didn’t add the EXACT measurement (adding the exact measurement is very important!) the temperature and constantly opening the oven door has a lot to do with how your cupcakes turn out BUT you can’t always tell what exactly could be the problem. I have thrown out about almost 3 dozen cupcakes because of one of these problems, it’s the worst feeling having to start over but I’ve managed to learn from my mistakes!

I have learned so much from my obstacles I wouldn’t be where I am without them and again thank you to my parents who always helping me when I need you guys and always teaching me new ways.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Gabriela’s Sweet Treat’s – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I started my business by selling your basic cupcakes and specialized cupcakes. After a while, I got asked if make cakes and at the time I didn’t but I really wanted to venture into making cakes, so I decided to practice on decorating a cake not so much on the making because it was just as easy as making cupcakes. So, I practiced my buttercream skills and my first cake came out so cute I was very pleased with myself because it was my first time ever decorating a cake. After decorating my first cake ever, I became more excited and iced another cake and gave it an ombre effect and it turned out so beautiful.

My third cake was my first trial and error (the buttercream was firm enough) if the buttercream is not firm enough to decorate DON’T USE IT trust me! But I want to leave a smile on peoples face when they see/taste what I’ve made for them, I want them to get what they paid for. I am such a perfectionist when it comes to the decoration part of my cupcakes and cakes.

I’m very passionate with what I do, I love when my mom or just anyone in general ask’s me what I’m doing or why I am doing what I’m doing (technique wise) and I just love being able to explain and help people understand why I did what I did!

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I plan on graduating from culinary school in 2 years and once those 2 years are up I would love to open up my own bakery and have MY own personal space in the kitchen. I am hoping to reach more followers and gain a lot of customers, hoping they see my passion for what I do. Opening a bakery here in Cypress would be super ideal because there’s not many shops and restaurants down here like downtown has so much to offer when it comes to these kinds of bakeries and I would love to include my own in the Cypress area.

Pricing:

• 6 Cupcakes $19
• 12 Cupcakes $36
• Specialized cupcakes: Price varies
• Cake: $40-Up : Depending on size

Contact Info:

• Phone: 832-289-8217
• Email: galisa98@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gabrielassweettreats/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gabrielassweettreatss/

Image Credit:
Melissa Morales

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