Meet Gabrielle Rose of BaChic Bakery in Downtown Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabrielle Rose.

Gabrielle, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Being a student was always difficult for me. I love to read and learn, however homework was a problem for me. I was unsuccessful in college (e.i. got kicked out) so after taking a good long look at myself and what I liked to do, I realized I loved working with my hands. I’m Armenian so I grew up in the kitchen, much like the rest of my family.

Baking made sense to me, it was relaxing but still challenging. I ended up going to Le Cordon Bleu and it was the best decision I ever made. I cherish that school and everything it taught me. I finally thrived as a student. My mind was gratified by the scientific aspect that baking is, everything I learned was visual and physical, my exams were cakes and bread making. From Le Cordon Bleu, I went on to work at Jon and Vinny’s in West Hollywood. It’s such a great team, our pastry chefs have taught me so much from classic Italian desserts, to bread, lamination, dessert plating, to large scale catering from the Oscars, to the Emmy’s. It’s truly been a blessing working there. When I was in pastry school, I did some freelance work that’s grown into a whole other business. I started out selling macarons and from there, the more I learned the more it grew. Bachik in Armenian means kisses, my sister had the great idea to change the “k” to a “c” for two reasons, one being so the word chic would be in the name, and two for non-Armenians to be able to pronounce it. She’s a genius at that sort of stuff. BaChic Bakery is growing out of my home in downtown, it’s given me the freedom to test my own recipes, curate an online following, and most importantly allowed for my own creative style to flourish.

Has it been a smooth road?
Finding what I wanted to do was insanely hard. I truly believe pastry found me, not the other way around. Time with my family has been sacrificed. Anyone in the restaurant world will tell you the same, its long hours of back-breaking work. Especially if you want something of your own one day. Juggling my job at Jon and Vinny’s and BaChic Bakery is always a struggle. Especially because JV comes first right now. That means I’ve had to say no to some clients, which sucks, but gaining this experience and a steady paycheck is more important right now. There’s going be a time when I have to walk away, meaning my own thing is growing and is amazing, but it will definitely be bittersweet. I recently lost someone close to me in the industry. She was my first chef, I can’t believe all the things she’s taught me. Most of all she taught me about how much your kitchen family matters and that laughter will get you through any 18-hour workday. I’ve had a few of those extra-long days, looking back on them now though I just think of us laughing together. It makes me wish I had more.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with BaChic Bakery – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Bachic Bakery is my company that really started in pastry school. Slowly orders got bigger and bigger which pushed me into becoming a legitimate business. Most of my clients are looking for cakes and decorated cookies, so I guess you could say that’s my forte, however I have had the occasional croissant and bread order. There’s a lot of talent here in LA, but I truly believe that what sets me apart is my own personal style. I prefer the darker shades, and my eye goes to anything black and moody. Give me those gemstone colors and let’s make a black wedding cake vs all that sea of pink and bubbly lettering you see out there. It’s a really fun time for pastry chefs nowadays, the rules are out the window. For example, I had a cake order for a babies birthday party. I always ask for the invitation because it allows me to see the color scheme and theme so I can match it. In this case, it was a mermaid party for a one-year-old girl. The card had pretty shades of blues and purple so that’s exactly what I did, a purple cake with ombre blue frosting. It had never occurred to me that it “should” have been pink, not until my grandma asked if they were upset that it was blue. This was after the drop off however and the family was ecstatic over the cake, they had told me it was everything they didn’t know they wanted. Granted if someone wanted a pink cake, I will gladly give them a pink cake! My point is that color isn’t so fixated on genders or events now, creativity is at an all-time high.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love Los Angeles’ openness and willingness to try new things. But Southern California is special in that way. There’s truly nowhere else like in the world. Especially in these times, I can feel it in the air, we want to grow as people leaving the world better than we left it. Although we can be a little extra… for lack of a better word. I can’t speak for anyone else but the moment I leave LA, I feel like I’m too much, from the way I talk (hello vocal fry) to what I’m wearing and even what I choose to eat, or not eat! I will say that because of all the trends that rampage through our city, it has made me a much better consumer and a better business owner through educating me. I’m really big about being environmentally conscious. I’m not the best, but I’m certainly trying to be better everyday. It affects me because it affects my product, my ingredients. Healthy soil is basis for healthy and flavorful foods. Every part of our ecosystem is vital and something to be cared for.

Contact Info:

• Website: Bachicbakery.com
• Phone: 9495312069
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @bachicbakery

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