Today we’d like to introduce you to Monique Pham.
Hi Monique, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I have been baking and cooking for almost half of my life. I should’ve seen the signs when I was glued to the TV whenever Martha Stewart or The Barefoot Contessa was on or that one of my favorite toys was an EZbake oven. My mom bought these cake decorating books to learn herself, but I ended up using them. Baking started off as a hobby-I made cream puffs using a recipe I got from AllRecipes.com, and brought them to school one day. I got such a positive reaction from my friends and teachers- I wanted to keep creating things that would make people happy. Most of the time it was baked goods, sometimes a craft project, jewelry, or a painting I worked on.
Throughout college, I contributed baked goods to various organizations to help them fundraise. I still didn’t think that this could be something I could do as a side hustle or a full-blown career. This gets said a lot, but growing up in Asian culture, you’re expected to study something “traditional” that would get you a high-paying job. I would daydream about owning a cafe or a bakery while studying for an accounting final. I would get a few orders from family and friends throughout the years while working full-time as a tax accountant.
Since 2020, however, with so many social injustices and issues around the world coming to light, baking has become my way of helping those causes. It started off with baking dozens and dozens of cupcakes each weekend to raise money for different non-profits working to make their communities a better place, and now working with local bakers to create a curated dessert box to also raise funds for local organizations. With all of that practice, I began to refine my recipes and my style, and I was forced to think about how big of a role baking would take in my life.
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 hasn’t been smooth by any means. I’ve “quit” and “started” baking so many times that I don’t even know what my baking or business anniversary would be. I’ve changed my bakery name dozens of times, only to go back to what I originally had in the first place. Struggling to find a balance between a full-time job and then what is essentially another job has been the most difficult. My plate is full of responsibilities and I keep taking more because I don’t want to disappoint anyone, but I end up burning out and then being very hard on myself. I also want to be there and present for my friends and family and also find time to actively volunteer. One of the biggest challenges I’ve had is saying no- to projects, to things that didn’t serve me and that I didn’t want to do.
For baking, I have a bad habit of comparing myself to other bakers and putting myself down for not being as successful or skilled as other bakers and businesses on social media. It’s a habit I’m still working on. With something so subjective as food and desserts, not everything I make will resonate or be loved/liked by everyone, and the same goes for anything else out there, and it’s perfectly okay. I just have to work on actually believing it for myself.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
momobakescake is a cottage-licensed bakery. I specialize in custom buttercream cakes, macarons, cream puffs, and other sweet treats. I use the best ingredients possible- including organic eggs, and I also try to incorporate sustainable practices, such as composting fruit scraps and eggs and recycling any packaging. I aim to create cakes and desserts with delicious flavor combinations- from delicate to delectable, and my goal is to create something not only beautiful to look at but also something with amazing texture and flavor.
What I am most proud of is being able to use my skills to raise money for different organizations working to make our communities, country, and planet a better place.
How do you define success?
What I try to remind myself- is that at the end of the day, if you can look at your words, your actions, and your contributions to yourself and to the world and be happy/ proud of yourself- that would be a success. Another way I look at success is being able to take care of yourself while also being able to help others.
Contact Info:
- Website: momobakescake.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/momobakescake
- Facebook: facebook.com/momobakescake
Image Credits
All images copyright momobakescake, llc.
