Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Wetsch.
Hi Michelle, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for sharing your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I’ve always had it in my head since childhood that I wanted to grow up and be the next “Cake Bossette.” I always knew I’d want to do it, even as a young girl. I remember saving pictures of cool cakes resembling sushi and makeup on my parent’s computer.
Fast forward to 2011, I entered culinary school at the Culinary Institute of Virginia, thinking I would get all the cake experience I’d ever need. But since I was in a Culinary school, I learned techniques about everything and all in the culinary industry. It was awesome. I learned so much.
When I started working in the culinary field, I started as a cook in Convention Centers and eventually moved to Country Clubs, working my way up to becoming a Sous Chef. While I enjoyed training with and working with savory food, I still craved that sweeter side of life. Thankfully I could gather experience with every job working with and under other extremely talented culinarians. Eventually, I worked in the hospital field as a Sous Chef and focused on working with kids and adults with eating disorders.
I started baking and decorating cakes for friends for their birthdays or random life events and practicing my cake art in my kitchen at home. Eventually, in 2012 I bought myself a Kitchen Aid mixer and a huge cake decorating kit from Michaels. Then I just started watching videos on YouTube and looking for cake techniques on Pinterest. Over the months and years following that, I just kept making cakes and posting pictures on social media. Word of mouth spread, and I started having friends reach out to me to make cakes for them or their friends. I was finally doing what I had dreamed of since I was little.
Leading up to now, I kept my cake hobby as a side business. With every cake I would do and post, my experience and skill kept growing along with my clientele. I still worked my regular job, but then I would come home and work my business through the late night hours and sometimes into the morning before starting the next work day. Even though things were exhausting trying to balance the work/mom/home/baking life, I still powered through. Once I had my second child, I decided to quit my corporate job and focus more as a stay-at-home mama, where I could also focus more on bettering my cake business.
As my children were getting older and my business was getting bigger, I wanted to finally take it to the next step and legitimize my brand. I work out of a commercial kitchen commissary out of Flavor District in Wake Forest, NC. I now have my own official cake business. I am insured, ServeSafe Certified, and inspected by the NC Department of Agriculture. My childhood self would be so proud of me. I’m living my dream!
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Not at all. As a working mom and business owner, I’ve struggled to balance my work/home/wife/mom/friend/
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I like to call myself a Cake Artist. When I decorate cakes, I love to collect all my clients’ ideas and make them edible. Sometimes people throw me a random list of words, colors, interests, and pictures and ask me to turn it into a cake. Those are my favorite orders. Somehow my head knows how to take that info and make it fit creatively onto my cakes, but also make sure things taste delicious. I enjoy working with fondant. As a child, I’ve always loved playing with play-doh or clay and creating things with my hands. Now in my adult life, I can do the same thing but with edible clay called fondant. I do my best work when clients grant me creative freedom. As an artist, that alone can typically result in a finished product that keeps both my client, and myself happy. When I think of a design, I always end up surprising myself when my cakes turn out exactly how I envisioned it in my head before I started. My favorite thing is when clients tell me they were shocked that everything was edible, or that they were too scared to cut into the cake because it’s too pretty. Cut the cake!
We’d like to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you.
Blind faith, if you will. I have worked extremely hard to get where I am. The luck in my life has just been me taking advantage of the opportunities that show up in my face and jumping on them, even if I’m not always sure of the decision or outcome at the time. If we want to call that being lucky, then sure, call it what you will.
Pricing:
- All my work is completely customizable, so that means that prices will rely heavily on the details. How many people does the order need to feed? Do you want fillings? Are there any allergies I need to work around? How much detailed work would the order require me to do? Pick up or delivery? Etc. I tend to be on the higher price range because I consider my business a luxury cake business. I am proud about the fact that I typically make everything entirely from scratch. I always use the freshest ingredients, and when I’m able to support and collaborate with other businesses on an order I really love that.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.Facebook.com/chellewetschcakes
- Instagram: ChelleWetschCakes
- Facebook: ChelleWetschCakes
