Today we’d like to introduce you to Jenny Bui.
Hi Jenny, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Jenny’s Bakery was founded July 3, 2004. We’ve been in business for over two decades. We are a small, locally owned business right of Nasa Rd 1., across from the Johnson Space Center. In 2009, we expanded to the Friendswood/Pearland area. Our original location is still fully operating and our second location is nestled in Downtown Friendswood! My mom, Jenny, started baking cakes in 1980 back in Vietnam. Growing up, there were six sisters, nine siblings in total. She wanted to learn baking so that she could make cakes for all of her sisters. This would allow her to be creative, bake from the heart, but to also pour into her family!
After moving to America in December of 1993, Mama Jenny was on the hunt for a stable career that could support our family. She was first introduced to a catering company located in Clear Lake at the time. Although it seems simple, Dad would drop Mom off at work on his way to work. He worked at 7 and the catering company did not open until 9. Jenny would sit outside, rain or shine for two hours (unbeknownst to anyone). One cold, winter morning the chef saw Mom sitting outside and offered her a key! Years after working in catering, she went to work for a local bakery! After working for others and over time, she realized that this was not sustainable to support herself, her husband (who went to work for Powell Industries) and four young children. This moment was when Mama Jenny took a leap of faith to start Jenny’s Bakery.
We have kept everything close-knit from the beginning. Starting as family-run business inside and out to now having staff that we consider family. Our small business consists of eight (going on nine, if you count the first grand baby who is training) family members and two bonus family members due to the longevity of being employed with us!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I can’t confidently say that anything was a smooth road. However, every trial and tribulation that my mom has been through truly shaped Jenny’s Bakery to what it is today. We’ve gone through numerous natural disasters, complete world shut downs, life happenings, and normal day-to-day struggles. No matter the struggle or the severity of the disaster, my mom has found a way to bounce back. I know it can sound very cliché but I cannot imagine anything that can stop my mom from doing what she loves. She literally eats, breathes, and DREAMS Jenny’s Bakery. This has been her heart and soul for the past 21 years.
It is hard to pin-point one particular struggle that has happened in these last two decades, as each struggle holds its own weight but it is admirable to witness my mom overcome each obstacle and end up victorious.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
There are two specialties that are near and dear to Mama Jenny’s heart. Those two are creating mouth-watering French macarons and delicious petit fours from buttercream frosting. Jenny specializes in buttercream but also does a great amount of work with fondant and gumpaste. While fondant is beautiful to work with, working with buttercream is a special niche skillset. It starts with perfecting the recipe with the proper ingredients to the techniques to pipe artistic designs. After an indefinite amount of hours spent in the kitchen both during and after-hours, she was finally able to perfect her craft of baking and filling French macarons. We are up to about thirty different flavors that have the perfect crisp to the shell and a moist, chewy center. It is absolutely divine! Another staple at Jenny’s Bakery is Mom’s petit fours. These are an absolute classic and have been around since we were established in 2004. Our petit fours consist of our best selling White Almond cake topped with White Almond buttercream frosting and finished off dipped in our decadent royal icing.
Mom is incredibly proud of Jenny’s Bakery. Being able to provide for her family and now, her grandchildren, has been everything she has dreamed of and more. Being able to create and bake from her heart for the community has kept her going all these years!
What sets Mama Jenny and Jenny’s Bakery apart from others is the fact that we are so deep in our family ties. You will find Jenny, my brother and his partner, sister and her partner, myself, aunt, cousin, niece, nephews (the grands) and extended-bakery family at one of the two locations! My Dad, my other brother and his wife are also behind the scenes doing what they can to help!
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
My mom’s most impactful childhood memory (I cannot say this is the “favorite” and you will see why!) when it comes to baking is when she baked her birthday cake for her 16th birthday. She had a big vision that ended up turning into a burnt cake not once, but THREE times back-to-back-to-back. Back then, they did not have fancy ovens like we use today. She had to bake her cakes over coal. Mom did not know how to properly time the baking which resulted in her cake(s) being fed to her dog. Though she burned her cake, she still continued on many years later to be where she is now, the owner of Jenny’s Bakery going on 22 years. If anyone can learn anything from this, no matter how many times you burn that cake…never give up! Mama Jenny continued her ambitious ways and is now a successful owner!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jennysbakery.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennysbakery/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JennysBakeryNB
Image Credits
Photo credits:
Asia Armour, Community Impact
Nhien Dinh
Nam Dinh
