10. what's next?
this is for all my 27 year old teenagers that still have no clue wtf is going on, I see you, I feel you, I am you.
WOW, okay hi. How are you? I feel like it’s been so long since we just talked. But, I have some news so I’ll just cut to the chase. I’ve decided I’m going to be hopping off the cake train. Or, well for now I’ll just be switching cars on the train. I cannot mentally (and most days physically) sustain making cakes in this capacity. The aim is to shut down at the end of this year. So August will be my last month doing off the menu cake orders as usual. Then Sept through Dec 31st I’ll only be doing custom cakes and letting things fizzle out after that. Fret not, for now pastry boxes will remain.
That is well- the only plan. So don’t ask what’s next- because I honestly don’t know!! I know what I want, and I know what I’m working towards but how it’ll actually manifest in my life? Who knows!!
But, why? I think a lot of you would see going out of business as a sad thing- or maybe even as a failure? It’s not though- it’s okay for things to not last forever. Here’s the thing, I never wanted to do have a cake biz. It just HAPPENED. When I lost my job in 2020, I did what I had to do to survive financially. It’s what a lot of pastry folk turned celebration cake makers had to do. At the start, this was just something to tide me over until things returned to “normal”. I thought I’d sell a few cakes, keep myself afloat and by 2021 I could be back on my merry way. NO. This grew in a way I never could have anticipated- for that, I’m eternally grateful. There is not enough words in the english language for me to be able to express my gratitude for the support y’all have given me over the last THREE YEARS. But, I’ll start with thank you.
Prior to 2020 the goal was to become a recipe developer. At the time, I was working at Mr. Holmes as a recipe and flavor developer. This job is what originally brought me to LA. Which, I’ve never stopped being a recipe developer. It’s still such a huge part of what I do in my cake life. But I want it to be everything. I want it to be my full-time gig. Not something I work on “when I have the time to”. Because, right now, I don’t have time. I’m constantly answering cake inquiries, baking cake, shopping for cake, revolving around CAKE. Don’t get me wrong I LOVE CAKE. But, cake isn’t the only medium of baking I enjoy- I love it all. Now that the world has “returned to normal” it feels like the time for this to end as well. It’s time for me to get back on the path I was working on.
The cool thing about recipe development is that it manifests in so many different ways. Right now, a lot of R&D is happening for this newsletter. Which is cool because there are no rules. I can make what I want, when I want and share it with you. I’m very keen on only sharing recipes that I’d actually want to make and eat. Another way is through brand partnerships- where a brand/company hires me to develop a recipe highlighting their product(s), also cool because I make a point to only partner with brands I actually fuck with ya know. Once again- only want to make food with the ingredients I love to make things I want to eat. Far more lucrative, but right now few and far between. The last way, for me that is, is by doing some consulting for kitchens. Helping to revamp and update their menus, implementing some new flavors to their classic etc. But, I could also pitch recipes to magazines. Develop recipes for cookbooks. There’s a lot of ways this could work out for me- or you if you also want to follow the recipe developer path.
There is also a part of me that wants to stop baking professionally period. But, this is so intrinsically tied to who I am. You can’t think Kassie, without thinking of baking. We kinda go hand in hand at this point. Literally have “BAKE LIFE” tattooed on my knuckles. That’s commitment.
But, if I just go a job in another industry… I could bake… for?? fun?? I could just have a cute little hobby? I could love what I do again? A CONCEPT. A FUCKING CONCEPT.
What would I do though?? I have no marketable skills outside of the kitchen. I’ve literally been doing this my whole life. The thought of going back to school makes me want to puke. There’s always this little thought in the back of my head “drop off the face of the earth. Move home. Start over” This might all just be a quarter life crisis as I creep closer and closer to 30? pleaaaassse tell me life makes sense after 30. PLEASE.
For now, we’ll just take life as it comes. I’ve made it this far winging it without a “5/10/15 year plan” Im sure it’ll be fine. The point of all this is, it’s okay to still be figuring shit out even when you feel established. Change is cool. No need to sweat it. I think. Check back in about a year- we’ll see what I have to say then lol.
From the bottom of my heart I do want to say thank you a million times over for at the support of the cake hustle. This has been a wild ride but, I am truly ready for it to be over. We’ll have a lot of fun and make some sick shit these next couple of months. I may be exhausted, but Im ready to give it my all and go out with a bang.
Once the “final” cake has been stacked and frosted, I’ll be leaning into doing more events, pop-ups, collabs with friends too. I still want to connect with folks through food. So, don’t think you’ll never have my pastries again ♡
Wow. I cannot tell you how much I needed to read this today!!!! I’m not alone I have another 20-something teenager on my side to freak out about the future with 💖 I admire you so much can’t wait to see what’s ahead!
It’s your Saturn Return - all you can do is ride the wave and see where it drops you off.