Today we’d like to introduce you to Ally Barrera.
Hi Ally, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My culinary career began about 11 years ago but was inspired from a young age. My grandparents owned numerous Mexican restaurants and food was always at the center of what we did. I attended and graduated from the Art Institute of Houston with a culinary degree in 2011 wanting to be a chef, but quickly turned my attention to baking and pastries. Growing up, I loved to paint, draw and create art. I was even named “Most Artistic” in high school. Little did I know that I was going to fuse two passions, art and cooking, into a career.
Early on, I worked as a line cook, hostess, waitress, catering staff, cake decorator, baker, pastry cook, and even as a cafeteria lady for a little while (that was short-lived). I left the kitchen for a few years to pursue other endeavors but returned with an even bigger urge to find my niche. In 2019, I had an opportunity to work with one of the best pastry chefs in the world and his sous chef in Miami, Florida (Antonio Bachour and Karina Rivera). I packed up on about a two month notice and moved from Pearland to Miami for what was supposed to a three-month internship but turned into a nine month venture. I learned all about the world of viennoisserie, which is just a fancy word for yeast-leavened, rich doughs/breads, and completely fell in love with the techniques of it all. The croissant quickly became my focus – mostly for the fact that it was such a technical pastry that requires so much attention to detail. So many things have to be right for it to work properly – the dough, the butter, the temperatures of the room, the proof, the bake, the time, baking temperatures and more.
Fast forward to 2020 and Sweet Bee Bakehouse was born out of the hardships of Covid-19. When lockdown began in March 2020, I was out of a job and needed to make ends meet. I didn’t want to give up the momentum I had from Miami, so I decided to start baking from home and sell to friends and family. Overtime, I noticed that I was doing pretty good and business just kept picking up. I used social media to help boost my presence and get my name out there. It’s been a steady year and half running a cottage bakery and I continue to focus my business around my favorite things to make – croissants, cakes, and macarons.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It’s been a winding road to get to where I am. I started and stopped so many times. I worked and quit so many jobs on a constant search to find what made me happy and fulfilled. I took a major detour for about three years which looking back helped motivate me more.
I struggled with working in restaurants as a woman in a male-dominated industry. It was hard to be taken seriously sometimes and even harder to get paid what I knew I brought to the table. On top of that, I felt I was on the rat wheel working crazy long hours, working nights, weekends and holidays for a small paycheck and not much to show for it. I wouldn’t trade those years in at all, but I find that running a business my way and how I want to allows me creative freedom, time to also enjoy life, and the beauty of making my own schedule.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I make delicious and beautiful baked sweets, specifically croissants, macarons, cookies and cakes. I decided on these particular items because its what I enjoy making the most. The world of baking is so vast and there are endless types of baked goods and pastries, but sticking to what I do best just works for me. Croissant are my outlet for technique, precision, and patience. Macarons are my outlet for delicate and colorful design. And cakes are my canvas for edible art.
I am most proud of my croissants. It was one of the last things I learned how to do, but it’s been the most rewarding. Even now, even when people already love my croissant, I am continuously trying to make them better… better looking, better tasting, better baked. The constant and persistent pursuit to improve and not be the same as everyone else is what sets me apart.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Another one of my great passions is health and fitness, and the three-year detour I took in my career was me pursuing bodybuilding, powerlifting and personal training. Health and fitness doesn’t always align with my baking career but I find that it brings me balance and pushes me in my business.
I currently train Jiu-Jitsu and it’s been one of the key aspects that helps me in my business, not for any specific training reason, but because it simultaneously allows me to step away from what I do for work and draws me back to my work. I believe it’s important to have more than one passion and for me, that means physical activity. Moving my body via Jiu-Jitsu takes my mind and energy away from the kitchen, even for just a small amount of time during the day, but then afterwards, I’m ready to bake things again and be creative in the kitchen.
Pricing:
- 6/$24 Variety Croissant Box
- 12/$24 Macaron Box
- 6/$14 Macaron Box
- $50 – 6 inch round cake
- $ 75 – 8 inch round cake
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://sweetbeebakehouse.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sweetbeebakehouse/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sweetbeebakehouse
