Today we’d like to introduce you to Destinee Wright.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I loved being in the kitchen with my mom as a kid. As soon as I was allowed to cook on my own (around age 13), I started using my allowance to buy things like flour and eggs instead of toys and candy.
I began looking through my mom’s recipes and watching youtube videos of people cooking things that I wanted to recreate. So, I would pick something to bake every month, and since then, I haven’t stopped.
I attended a high school that offered a culinary program. Then, attended The Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts in Austin, Tx.
After graduating from there in 2013 with a certificate in Baking and Pastry, I started working in kitchens at varying locations around Austin. Gaining more skill and knowledge as I went.
But after going vegan in 2017 (for health-related reasons), I began to notice the lack of vegan dessert options in my area. So, I started making my own. I worked really hard on my recipes so that the things I made didn’t taste “vegan.” As a recent convert, I still remembered what the non-vegan desserts tasted like and I didn’t want the things I made to seem like they were lacking anything.
It took over a year, but once I created some delicious and foolproof recipes, I started making them just for friends and family. And then my church. And then, my coworkers. And everyone kept telling me the same thing!
“Girl!! This is so bomb!! You need to sell these!” or “Oh, my God! If all vegan stuff tasted like this, I would convert today.”
So, in 2019, I launched ‘The Vegan Beggar’s Kitchen’ as a way to share my love of veganism with the community, in the form of cake, cupcakes, cookies, macarons, and brownies.
It’s been a journey and a struggle trying to understand the business side of running a business, but getting to bake and decorate almost every day and getting to see the faces of the smiling customers and excited children with dairy allergies makes it so worth it!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It’s been pretty smooth, but definitely challenging.
My advice: Read some books on running a small business and ‘Google’ the crap out of everything you have questions about!!
Make sure you budget properly and figure out your Cost of Goods so you can be absolutely sure you are charging enough money for your services!
And lastly- long nights and early mornings will be worth it in the end!
What should we know about The Vegan Beggar’s Kitchen LLC? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I sell vegan birthday and wedding cakes and decorated cookies. I also sell macarons, brownies, and standard cookies (chocolate chip, snickerdoodle, sugar, white chocolate macadamia nut, etc.).
I decorated cakes for four years through bakery jobs I had and I decorated cookies for two years. I found that I like the decorating just as much if not more than baking!
My most popular item is definitely the chocolate chip cookies I make. My friends and family call them ‘ The Vegan Gateway Drug’ because they don’t taste vegan and they are addicted to them. Eating them makes them more open-minded about veganism. Vegan does not mean gross.
I am most proud of my recipes. It took over a year, lost of time, tears, money and trash bags to create products that I loved and were proud to share. Making chocolate chip cookies every day for three weeks may seem like a blast, but after the 10th time, when you don’t have the result you want, it can be frustrating and discouraging. But I didn’t give up! Because I knew I had the knowledge and I knew it wasn’t impossible to make vegan desserts taste like ‘regular’ ones. And so, I kept trying. Adding more baking soda, less baking powder, more salt, less sugar, more vanilla, testing different brands of the exact same ingredient, making the same recipe over and over until I could make it consistently three times in a row, and failing on the 3rd try! It was a struggle, but I am so proud of myself for sticking with it!
Do you have any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general? What has worked well for you?
I did most of my networking through Instagram! Commenting on people’s posts who have a business similar to yours to build a relationship, and then asking them questions. Following people who put on events that would allow me to be a vendor or just hand out cards and samples!
I love baking but not much of a talker, so I had to push myself outside of my comfort zone and speak to… strangers! *gulp.*
For the first few events I attended, I brought one of my family members along to help me set up and talk to customers. It definitely made it easier for me to put myself out there and converse with people since I knew I had a friend nearby.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.veganbeggarkitchen.com
- Email: info@veganbeggarkitchen.com
- Instagram: theveganbeggarskitchen
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
