Today we’d like to introduce you to Alyzza Suarez.
Hi Alyzza, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
It all began at age 16 while decorating my first cakes at a local Dairy Queen. Being able to provide something sweet and delicious, yet make another person feel happy and special, brought me so much gratitude. A few years later, I was working as a jewelry associate at Swarovski Crystal. Out of my boredom, I knew I had to do something that brought me joy. I thought back to that feeling of gratitude that came from making cakes for others. I decided to tour Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School, and immediately I knew. “This is exactly what I want to do,” I told myself. I enrolled in classes and a year later, I passed with a 4.0 GPA in Pastry and Baking. After graduating culinary school, my friends and family began asking me to make cakes for them on the side. This had marked the beginning of my small baking business called, “Home Sweets by Alyzza”. A year later, I was a manager at the jewelry store, and I decided to take a one-week vacation to visit my sister in NYC. Unknowingly, I missed my flight back to Las Vegas. I called my parents and my exact words were, “Mom, Dad.. I missed my flight back to Vegas and I’m going to stay here in NYC.” My parents responded with two words, “Go ahead!” I was 21 years old and I had nothing to lose. My belongings consisted of a suitcase and a few outfits. None the less, I immediately began searching for pastry jobs and I applied to everything that I could. I hopped on the train relentlessly looking for something that could sustain my life in NYC. A few days later, I got an email back from Bouchon Bakery in Rockefeller Center to do a stage. Since my culinary background was in French training and techniques, I felt right at home. I was offered a starting position as a commis where I was in charge of basic fillings such as buttercream, pastry cream, whipped creams, and more. My day would start by prepping morning pastries such as tarts, filling and dipping eclairs, and assembling cookies. I would wake up at 2am, to get on a train by 3am, to make it to work by 4am. It was the greatest feeling ever.
After a few months, I was promoted and got a mid-day shift where I learned more production such as mixing, shaping, baking croissant doughs, mixing cookies, assembling macarons, and baking off pastries such as muffins and danishes for the bakery. I was absolutely in love with my job. After gaining great experience, I decided it was time to return home to Las Vegas to be with my family and also, continue with my baking business. I was able to get a referral to Bouchon Bistro Las Vegas where I was able to gain even more experience. There, I learned about how to run a pastry line for dinner service and plating desserts in a timely manner. Bouchon Bistro also was in charge of three bakeries in the Venetian Hotel so I got to further my bakery experience with an even higher production volume. Not only did I fall in love with the restaurant and plating desserts, but I also met a man named, Lenny who later became my husband and father to my son, Julian.
Later, I moved to the Wynn Resorts where I maximized my experience. I ran the pastry line for two restaurants there, SW Steakhouse and Lakeside, where I got to practice my pastry production skills. All while working full time, I was continuously making cakes and sweet treats on the side for my own business. I would work around the clock, staying up late to complete the tasks I needed to do for my orders. It was then I decided it was time to fully commit to my own business. I fully licensed the business in 2019 as Home Sweets Bakeshop. We are now a 24/7 production bakery continuing to grow and make its mark here in Las Vegas. We hope to open a storefront bakery and eventually multiple locations to provide the best-baked goods and share all the wonderful experiences that I’ve gained working in many different restaurants.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I am grateful for my experience being nothing less than amazing and exciting. I have loved every bit of it. I believe the some challenges has only been lack of sleep from working countless hours and learning to balance your personal and business life effectively but we will always do what it takes to succeed.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are dedicated to providing quality baked goods and spreading joy all over Las Vegas. We specialize in custom cakes and creating the perfect treats to match the theme. We have a variety of specialty desserts that all taste amazing and I believe that’s what our clients love. It’s the overall creativity, amazing taste, professionalism, customer service, and it makes people feel happy and special. We aim to spread joy through the creativity of pastry arts. We personalize our products by adding edible image photos such as family photos or company logos. We are able to create desserts in high volume production so people will order dessert packages in large amounts because they know they can trust us to in quality and consistency!
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The most important lesson I have learned is to never give up! We will not always be able to please everybody, but we can only try to do our best each and every day. I’ve learned not to be too hard on myself if things don’t go as planned because sometimes you can put 110% effort but life obstacles can still get in the way. We can only learn from each bump in the road and always keep moving forward.
Contact Info:
- Email: homesweetsbakeshop@gmail.com
- Website: www.homesweetsbakeshop.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homesweetsbakeshop/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HomeSweetsBakeShop/
Image Credits:
Photo Credits: Mimi T
