Hidden Gems: Meet Jennifer Nguyen of Bánh by J

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Nguyen.

Hi Jennifer, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
This has been a dream of mine since I was a kid. I remember in elementary school; I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up – of course, my answer was a baker. Throughout my childhood, I was baking any chance I got – holidays, birthdays, a random Thursday night when I was craving cookies. I was known in my family as the one that would always supply the desserts.

As I got older, I didn’t necessarily follow my dream, but I kept up with baking whenever I could. Two very dear friends were kind enough to gift us with a KitchenAid stand mixer, and after realizing that I had extra time on my hands, I thought – why not now? That was honestly the start of Banh by J – realizing that if there was any time that I should kick this dream off, it was now.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Oh, definitely not. There is so much that goes into not only owning a small business but owning a food-related small business. And an extra fear too – what if someone gets sick? What extra precautions do I have to take into consideration? There has been a lot that I’ve had to research and figure out on my own while also realizing that I have to step out of my comfort zone when it comes to asking others for help.

There is also a struggle of time. I work full-time, so Bánh by j is a side business for me. And while I’m forever grateful for this opportunity, there are days that I come home and immediately have to start prepping for an upcoming event or order and after a while, it can be very taxing. So, learning to find a good balance has been something I’ve been working on since the beginning.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Bánh by J?
Bánh by J is a homemade, Asian-inspired dessert business. I am a self-taught Vietnamese-American baker, and being able to share Asian flavors is a dream come true for me. While I specialize in cookies, we also offer pies and bars, and am working on expanding my menu as we go along! We offer seasonal flavors every quarter, so be on the lookout for those on our Instagram page.

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
I’m lucky enough to have a lot of memories growing up baking – baking days with my bestfriend when we’d make tons of sweets & desserts for our friends, days where my mom would just sit and watch me as I’d bake and offer suggestions from time to time, etc. But there’s one memory that I think back to and laugh about now that I’m older. It was Thanksgiving, and we were hosting my aunt and cousins for dinner. My parents and sister were planning and cooking the meal and of course I was in charge of dessert. What is better for a Thanksgiving dessert than Apple Pie! I was so excited to show off to my cousins that I ventured out this time on making a lattice crust with some cutout leaves on top. The pie came out just as they arrived, and it was perfect. We all were just hanging out in the kitchen while my mom finished making dinner and she said she needed some salt and took it from this jar. I looked at her and said, “You know you just scooped sugar, right?”. She looked at me all confused and said no. I looked at her in horror, rushed over to the jar, and tasted it for myself – yup, that was salt. Which I put into the pie, thinking it was a jar of sugar. I lightly tasted the pie and got beat red when all I could taste was salt. I was so embarrassed. Needless to say, I now always triple-check my sugars and salts before I add them to a batch of cookies!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.banhbyj.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/banhbyj
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/banhbyj

Image Credits
Lupe Juarez Photography