Today we’d like to introduce you to Kendra Sanders.
Hi Kendra, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
If you’ve been to Dallas Farmers Market under the Shed anytime from Summer 2016 until 2019, you have heard the phrase “Would you like to try The World’s Greatest Pudding?” and you were lucky enough to sample it, you knew at that very moment it was created to bring back memories of nostalgia of family, and it was indeed the best Pudding you’ve ever tasted with so many different flavors to choose from. I am back with my amazing thick and creamy Pudding recipe that made your toes curl. I have always had a deep passion for Pastry arts. Every creative has its medium and for me creating delectable treats that not only looked good but tasted amazing was mine. I created this particular recipe in 2008 after being at a family function for the 4th of July, and my Aunty made (experimented) a cooked jello Pudding with ginger snaps that were just not the best thing on the table. Now I’ve tried banana pudding a few times before, and it’s never just wowed me or had a consistent consistency anytime I’ve tasted it. So, I went to work on what I wanted Pudding to taste like, and that’s how I created the recipe that day. The first person to sample it was my Aunty and she loved it later after a tragedy with my boyfriend’s mom at the time he missed her Pudding and I made it for him and he also loved it. From there, I took it to family events and work potlucks and had it on my dessert menu at my first bakery “Mygis Bakery Cafe,” and it was always the talk of the day and the first thing to go on the table. It was at that moment I knew I had a recipe like none other.
Fast forward to 2013, Life happened, and I found out I was pregnant with my first child. As I went through the first trimester, I found out I had early onset pre-eclampsia and lupus anticoagulant, so I was placed on hospital bed rest for about a month and gave birth to my amazing micro-preemie princess through emergency C-section the day after Christmas she was born at 24 weeks, 11oz and underdeveloped lungs. So, pivoting to a full-time hospital mom at Cook Children’s, all my time and energy shifted to the survival of my baby girl. After almost a year in the hospital, she was finally cleared to go home in October 2014 with a tracheostomy and a g-tube, beginning our New Normal way of life.
Fast forward again, Lol to 2016, life progressed; my Princess surpassed above and beyond all the limitations through different therapies, amazing home nurses, and foot braces to learn how to walk. I wanted to reignite my passion for Pastry, and as I revisited my menu, I wanted to give my Pudding a whole new direction. I always thought why couldn’t Pudding have different flavors like every other dessert ie Ice cream & cheesecake I wanted to make it happen, I wasn’t sure if it was going to work, but I definitely wanted to make it happen. There wasn’t anything on the market in Texas at the time. So, I wanted to sell my product at the Dallas Farmers Market, but I was more of a behind-the-scenes leave me to creating kind of gal. So, my princess’s father and husband at the time were the faces, and we started selling grassroots at the Dallas Farmers Market under the Shed on Saturdays & Sundays. The product spoke for itself; we had unique Pudding flavors like Red Velvet, Triple Cookie, Matcha, Coffee, Cookies N Cream, and many more flavors. We grew faster than expected and started in our first Grocery store which was Royal Blue Grocery in Highland Park Texas in 2017 then many other Mom & Pop Grocery stores then before you knew it, we were on the shelves at the Heb Specialty Store Central Market in 2018. We grew faster than we understood and didn’t have the financial capacity to withhold that growth. Due to the financial strain, we closed abruptly in 2019 with the hopes of reopening in 2020. Then, Lol, 2020 happened 😂 at this point since we’re past it I can laugh to keep from crying. The world shut down, we were displaced again, and we went through a tumultuous divorce! We’ll just end that there.
So now here we are in the present 2021, rebuilding from the ground up. Allow me to reintroduce myself as I Re-ignite my passion once again, coming to you with the same mission of bringing joy to family time through dessert. So, join me in welcoming Dainty Puddings to the Dessert World, where I will create all things Puddings and desserts. I am excited to be back doing what I love and sharing that through my desserts with you all.
MYGI- Magical, Yummy & Gifted Individual
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Definitely not a smooth road. Re-opening anything that was on its way to its peak when closing takes a lot. After shutting down Pudding on Smiles which was the previous company, and going through a divorce during the pandemic was hard, but this is definitely love and something that I wasn’t ready to let go of. It changed my life just to see the smiles on people’s faces when trying the pudding for the first time and all the people who were waiting for me to bring it back that came out to support me. That alone made it worthwhile throughout all of the challenges and obstacles that I had to overcome.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I would say my artistry is food. Prior to doing only puddings, I did desserts. Period. I love to create different recipes and create new things in the kitchen. What sets my pudding apart from others is the taste, texture, and recipe itself. I love using this medium of food to create.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I don’t really believe in luck. I know that back in 2008 when I created the recipe for my version of banana pudding and everything that happened in my life from that point, whether it be me being laid off in October 2013 to me being on hospital bed rest in December 2013 to having an emergency C-section which brings forth my micro preemie the day after Christmas to my family being displaced in 2015 which is when I started to create the flavors to the first day of us being at the market in July 2016 some may call some of that bad luck or some may view it as good luck I just see it as a series of events that had to happen in my life to make me who I am today and to place me in the position I am in today. I wouldn’t have been able to restart if I didn’t have the knowledge and tenacity to go through everything I went through.
Pricing:
- 8oz – $9.99
- 16oz – $19.99
- Custom orders – Price Varies
Contact Info:
- Website: www.daintypuddings.com
- Instagram: daintypuddingsbychefmygi
- Facebook: daintypuddingsbychefmygi
- Twitter: daintypuddings
- Youtube: KMcfarlane
