Today we’d like to introduce you to Rumana Chowdhury.
Rumana, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
There was nothing sweeter for me as a child than a vanilla scented kitchen on days when my family were baking!
Nothing would excite me more than the walks to the grocery store with Miss Rag, my teacher, along with fellow kindergarteners, carrying back brown paper bags filled with the ingredients needed to make the all-important cupcakes at school! Those simple pleasures of life brought so much joy to grow up in my hometown of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, UK, during the mid-eighties and the nineties. With baking and decorating high on the list of my interests, I was also very passionate towards art, design and architecture. I loved staying inspired and occupied through exploring art galleries nationally and internationally, participating in art and craft exhibitions in my free time during school life. It was essential to my creativity to always remain inspired this way!
Joining the University of Manchester, UK, to study Architecture was indeed an experience to treasure. It was only meant to be that along the way, a major turn of events would lead me to settle all the way across the Atlantic, here in Texas! Embarking upon marriage, I continued to study for some years until I was graced by motherhood. It was now time to take a step back in life and dedicate time to family and friends. Here was the opportunity for me to rekindle the love I had for baking once again! Friends named me “The Perfectionist” for the taste and artistic efforts I delivered to my baked goods. Their feedback and encouragement was of course invaluable!
In the recent years, I had the opportunity to return to study Architecture at the University of Houston. Committing myself as a fulltime student, semester after semester, to the amazing discipline I was so passionate about did, however, come at a high cost.
The long hours of study after lectures and studio left me continuously exhausted with very little time for rest or for the family. Eventually, it compelled me to reprioritize investing my energy into the upbringing of my two young children. Considering the break from study again was not easy as I was entirely consumed by the love of being in Architecture school. I was reminded though, that I had something special to fall back on! Incredible Cakes & Delights was formed, as my own custom bakery in March 2016! This is where baking meets art, allowing me to stay inspired, stay creative, making me the committed and passionate Architect of the edible structures I take so much pride in creating! Thankfully, the reception my work has had in the last two years has been spectacular! Now, considering all my blessings, nothing makes me happier!
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?
Of course, with every new endeavor there comes a little struggle or apprehension, a little uncertainty, some ups and some downs.
The transition to delivering on a larger and a more professional platform requires a lot of research and learning. Knowing the clientele to whom I should serve, and how to get the word out initially required time. But as I knew my work was of a more distinguished quality from all the feedback from friends, I knew I could cater a higher end product- so I learned first how to be my own greatest critic! With that, the more work I could exhibit, the more I overcame struggles as far as advertising since the work itself would create interest for me.
In producing custom baked and designed goods, the effort, time and high costs involved are generally immensely underestimated. Although I maintain a system of pricing that makes it worthwhile for me, like any truly dedicated artist who takes pride in what they do, I would say that the struggle was in accepting the amount of labor that remains unaccounted for. Undoubtedly, I am grateful to those who do reach out to me and appreciate the value of my items both by taste and aesthetics over others who may also be serving in Houston.
Please tell us about Incredible Cakes & Delights.
At Incredible Cakes & Delights, I offer fully customized cakes, custom desserts, and even design and create dessert table décor with backdrop and photo booths. My clients are usually provided with rendered visuals once designs have been discussed. Every edible item is made from scratch with the highest quality of ingredients. I use the best recipes from around the world, adding my own secret adjustments to ensure my flavors are most mesmerizing and unique! I specialize in fondant cakes and love to create coordinated desserts to those, especially for elegant events! I absolutely love coming up with my own designs, however, will always welcome inspirations brought to me by my clients.
I am known for always trying to come up with original ideas whenever my clients will allow me. I am also known for understanding exactly what is most personal to my client and paying the greatest attention to detail to achieve a high quality of finesse in all that I deliver. I am proud to remain noted for these values. By February of 2017, I was booked with orders for all but one or two weekends until June 2017. Some weekends were double, or even triple booked! The immaculate completion of these overloaded weekends with custom cake, dessert and décor orders, certainly gave me a wonderful feeling of accomplishment. Interested clients from Dallas, Austin, and even New Orleans have asked to place bookings with my company for events at their locality.
Although logistics currently limit those possibilities, I’m certainly inspired to keep growing so that I may soon consider! Pre-booked orders during the Hurricane Harvey period were not lost either! With my own home flooded too, I shifted my kitchen and workspace temporarily, but held my head high and continued to deliver! While I humbly say, all these moments have given me greater confidence and have kept me working with pride, I’m most proud for every smile, for every compliment, for all the gratitude that each of my clients have come back to me with, telling me how my efforts had made a difference to their event, creating priceless memories. That is what matters to me most. With an honest and earnest attitude, my outlook is to provide a high-end product for my clients.
I am genuinely passionate and thorough about what I do, working with utmost sincerity and never compromising on a high quality of output that is set to stand out! Incredible Cakes & Delights is proud to stay driven by these values. It’s the care taken to make a difference that sets Incredible Cake & Delights apart from all the rest.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
The Sheffield Botanical Gardens was just yards away from where I lived on Thompson Road. What a magical place it was to be! It’s where I remember seeing my first rainbow, and where I first heard the music of an ice cream van. It’s where in the spring I saw my first bed of daffodils, and whereby winter I made my first little snowman. I’d only ever heard a Scarlet Macaw speak here in the birdhouse, and only ever seen an ancient bear Pitt, bare of course but perfect for playing hide-and-seek.
Discovering the many secret nooks, among them the secret Japanese goldfish pond was another little wonder. And however, could I forget climbing that Peter Pan statue in the rose garden section! Being there each time, every time whether just riding my bike after school or on weekends, it’s left me with memories to treasure for life!
Contact Info:
- Phone: 512 7738305
- Email: rumana05@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/incrediblecd/
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