Today we’d like to introduce you to Whitnie Burke Elrod.
Whitnie, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I graduated Culinary school in 2008 with a degree in Patisserie and Baking. I worked in LA for four years in the fine dining scene and eventually made my way back home to Paso Robles, CA. The fine-dining scene wasn’t as prominent there so I decided to switch gears and took advantage of the booming wedding industry here on the central coast. I started Paper Cake as a side business and it eventually grew to a place where I needed my own commercial spot and kitchen. We were doing 80+ weddings a year and functioning as a made to order bakery for everyday orders. Now I’m switching gears again to focus more on the bakery side and less on the wedding/special events. I’ll only be taking five wedding cakes next year. We’ll also be adding cake decorating classes and private baking classes!
Has it been a smooth road?
Working in the food industry is definitely never a smooth road. Finding your market, producing quality items and having great customer service is always hard to juggle all at the same time. It’s a really huge jump to take when all of a sudden you can’t keep up with the orders out of your small home kitchen. Building a commercial kitchen was a very expensive and drawn out process that came with so many hurdles. Once you get to a high level of clientele you really just have to take the plunge and know that your clients will follow. Baking is just stressful. Bottom line. It’s so precise and one mistake could make you start all over!
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Paper Cake Events story. Tell us more about the business.
This company definitely is unique in its design and taste. I was classically trained as a French pastry chef and worked mainly in fine dining. So transferring over to “sprinkles and cupcakes” wasn’t what I was used too. I definitely try to put a spin on our desserts and at least get some fun, creative flavors on the menu. I also like to think that my designs are a product of working in fine dining for so long. I think our specialty is our custom cakes and matching dessert bars. We custom make all different types of treats to coordinate with certain events like baby showers, bridal showers and birthday parties. We’re definitely known for our cake, macarons and rice Krispy treats! Our design definitely sets us apart. I’d like to think that someone could take a look at one of our cakes and say… yeah that’s Paper Cake! I grew this business from the ground up and I’m proud of what it is. I’m just really humbled that people want to buy my stuff!
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Lots of big changes for us. Pumping the breaks hard on weddings. We really want to shift the focus to a teaching environment and work more with the local population. We oftentimes can’t accommodate birthdays, anniversaries or small orders because we’re so busy with out of town weddings. I’d really like to be more of a local presence with repeat clientele than a one time bride who lives out of state. Hoping to offer 1-2 classes per month on cake decorating, baking and business as well.
Contact Info:
- Address: 8793 Plata Lane Suite C
- Website: www.papercakeevents.com
- Phone: 8054627290
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/papercakeevents
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/papercakeevents
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