- 2 days ago
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00I'm really excited about this next conversation. So as you know, New Voices family brings in
00:05entrepreneurs that look like me and you who are doing amazing things from inspiration,
00:12from ground zero, from few resources and making it work. So this next entrepreneur has made it
00:17work and she's got something really special to share with us. So I want to bring to the stage
00:22Ms. Azareas Bellamy, founder and CEO of Blondery. Y'all give it up for her. Thank you. Yeah,
00:32let's chat. So tell us about yourself and what is Blondery? Well, I feel like the cake kind
00:39of speaks for itself, right? I think our mouths are watering. It's so beautiful too. I'm just
00:45going to show you guys this right now. This is a display cake that I've used several times
00:49now. Really? Did you make this? It is real. Like we don't really make this and we ship
00:54it all over the country. Because I just want to be like. Yeah, you could, but it's been
00:58outdoors. Yeah, we're good. It's okay. I just want to. I won't. I'll control myself. But
01:05yeah, tell us about you and Blondery. Okay. So Blondery is a bakery based in Hudson Valley
01:11and we ship all over the country. My background is in fine dining. So I was a pastry chef at
01:16Bouchon. I started at the French Laundry, Perse, Danielle, all the five-star restaurants.
01:22Yeah. And started this company out of a need. I felt, I saw in the baking community, which
01:28is, there wasn't any fine dining things that were shipped to you. And I love getting things
01:33in the mail. That is so true. I never thought about that. Yeah. Wait a minute. So, okay.
01:38And this is pre-Gold Belly. So how, so when did you start? What year did you start?
01:422018 is when I formalized the business, but I've been making our pecan and salted caramel
01:46Blondie for over a decade. And where did the name Blondie come from?
01:51The word Blondie in a factory. So Blondery. And Blondes are. Blondies are. That's a great
01:57question. Yeah, I'm curious. I love this. Blondies are kind of like brownies, but they're
02:02more of a butterscotch base than a cocoa base. Oh. That's how I describe it. Okay. So we start
02:07every single one of our Blondies with a butterscotch base, no matter what it looks like. So even
02:12if it looks like a brownie, it's a Blondie. Wow. And you can go see my Blondies. I have
02:17a pop-up on the other side right after this. Right after this. Yes. Can they taste test?
02:21No. Sorry. But follow me on Instagram. I know somebody wanted to ask that, so I figured
02:27I'd just ask for you. That's okay though. That's okay. So you were in fine dining. Yeah. And
02:33were you, were you, was this a personal problem that you had? Like you wanted something on the
02:38spot? I would say yes. Like it started with me actually making pie dough. Okay. Because I wanted
02:43to make something that I could buy at the grocery store that was easy and an easy cheat code for
02:50someone with a refined palate. Okay. Because I personally don't like Pillsbury. Okay. That's fair.
02:57If you asked me to make a pie, I wouldn't go get Pillsbury. Okay. I would like make the pie dough,
03:01which takes a day. A day? Yes. Yes. If you're a professional, you let your dough sit overnight.
03:05This is definitely fine dining. Save my pie dough. Okay. Keep going. Yes. Yes. So you would let your dough sit
03:12overnight and then you would make the filling. And then the third day you would make the pie. Wow.
03:16That's a long process. So at first I started with thinking like, how can I shorten this? I'll make pie dough.
03:21Kind of. But I wasn't any good at shipping. Okay. How did you start? Like I know you, your background,
03:28but how did you start the baking, the marketing, getting your name out there and letting people
03:34know, look, I'm here. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's do this. So it all started with the pecan and salted caramel
03:39blondie, which is one of the layers in this cake. Okay. And it, yes. It's our 11 layer cake.
03:46Closer? Okay. Okay. Sorry. I didn't know you guys couldn't hear me.
03:50Okay. Um, this is our pecan and salted caramel OG 11 layer cake. Okay. I started with just the
03:56blondie. Okay. And I sold over 500 orders within two weeks. Oh my God. Was this just through social
04:02media, friends and family? It was literally my family. I come from a very large family in the
04:07Bay Area. They own barbecue restaurants in the Bay Area. Awesome. And they have a lot of friends.
04:11I was always making these blondies and bringing them to family celebrations. Okay. Just like everyone.
04:16We all have like a baker in our family who makes something that we all like. Right.
04:20Yes. And that was that. That was the pecan and salted caramel. Okay.
04:22And it was that for me. Okay. And me being an overachiever, I was like, oh, I'm going to start
04:27a website. Oh, I'm going to start shipping them. Yeah. I did it.
04:29Because I moved to New York. So it was like, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's amazing. Thank you.
04:34What were some of those early challenges you had specifically with the business? And I know you
04:39mentioned shipping earlier. Was that a challenge? Yeah. Shipping perishable goods is very hard
04:45and expensive. Okay. So if you guys have ever ordered something in the mail, you know how tough
04:51it is for it to arrive on time. And it's just 10 times that with a perishable good, especially this cake.
04:58Okay. But it took seven years for me to really master it. Wow. We got it down. So that's perfection.
05:04Yes. Seven. Mastery. Yes. Okay. So that was a challenge early on. Tell me what have been some
05:11of the biggest lessons you've learned through entrepreneurship? Yeah. Well, servant leadership.
05:17Like I have, in order to be a good leader, you have to follow. I feel like I work for my team. They don't
05:23work for me. Um, and just being open, saying yes to things. Yeah. Say no to things. Amen. Um, and then
05:32just standing your ground. Like if you guys look at my social media after this, you'll see we're going
05:37through a little transition with laundry. Um, but I'm very like 10 toes down. Like, no, this is what I
05:43want to do. Absolutely. And I'm standing on the fact that this is needed and I can do it. Absolutely.
05:49I think also something about fine dining is that we don't see a lot of brown faces in it. Now,
05:53maybe a little more, but when I was coming up, there were no brown faces leading fine dining.
06:00And from my understanding, that's hard work. Yes. Like the bear, apparently. Have y'all seen the bear?
06:08I don't know. I can't watch it. It looks intense, right? Like I, I don't think I would survive it. I can't
06:13watch it. In anybody's kitchen, let alone professional like that. Um, what are some of
06:18the lessons that you took from those experiences and brought into entrepreneurship? Yeah.
06:25Making an inclusive space. So I always give the example. I have short hair now, obviously, but I
06:30used to have grades and I remember being at a Thomas Keller restaurant group. So at the French
06:36Laundry in Napa Valley, and they made me go home because I couldn't put my hair under my hat.
06:43That little bitty, like, I don't know if you guys have ever seen the chef hats, but not the tall ones,
06:48like a ratatouille, like the smaller ones. Okay. Um, I couldn't fit my hair under that hat. And
06:54I just felt like I was the only black girl in the kitchen, only black person in the kitchen.
06:58Right. And I'm just like, you guys ostracized me for that. Right. So when I got my bakery,
07:03I worked with a lot of young women later, like 16, 17, the hairstyles are always changing. Wow.
07:08So I actually partnered with Curlcap. Are they here, by the way? I'm not sure, but okay.
07:12They probably are here. Curlcap makes caps that are satin lines. Right.
07:16And she did like a custom embroidery of our B logo. That is amazing.
07:20And it has like the back out. Right.
07:23So my girls can wear the cap. Right.
07:25And also not mess up their hair. And express their hair.
07:27Right. Tell us more about that. Do you have other
07:29partnerships that you are working on or have worked on that have kind of helped elevate your business?
07:34Oh yeah. Well, right now, if you guys, if you own a Lincoln car, you can go on the app and redeem
07:41your points, I guess you get, or I guess you get your car service. I don't really know.
07:46That's awesome.
07:47They buy blondies from us and then we ship them out on their behalf. Wow.
07:51And then we also do a lot with Louis Vuitton. So we did their corporate cater. We do a lot of
07:55corporate cater with them. And then JPMorgan Chase is another big client of ours as well.
08:00Okay. So when you transitioned from working in someone else's kitchen, I guess.
08:08Yeah. So you're owned. Did you go through any different types of training programs,
08:14accelerators? Oh yeah, I went to culinary school.
08:15Can you tell us a little bit about that journey?
08:17Yeah. So I went to Johnson & Wells in Providence, Rhode Island. I studied food
08:21service entrepreneurship and bacon and pastry art. Wow.
08:25I got my bachelor's in food service entrepreneurship. And after that, I went and worked for Aramark at
08:32United Airlines and I hated it because there was no pastry at all.
08:36Yeah. And that's when I like... Your passion just is like...
08:38Yeah. Exactly. Exactly. So again, I'm from the Bay Area. So my parents actually drove me to Napa
08:47Valley. We spent the night at a hotel nearby. I had a stage, which is basically, it's kind of like
08:53a training you would go through before you get the job. So it's a part of the interview process when
08:57you work in a kitchen. I had a stage at like 5 a.m. at Bouchon. Wow.
09:02And I just remember being so enamored with just the... When you watch people in a fine dining
09:08kitchen, it's like watching a ballet. Yeah, the choreography. Like how they move, how clean they are.
09:13Because it's usually small, it's hot, it's high stakes, high pressure. Yeah. And I just was enamored
09:18with that. I was like, I want to do that. I want to work for the best so I can be the best bakery.
09:23So knowing that and putting together your own team,
09:26how has that been? Amazing. Really? I attract some really good people. That's great to hear.
09:32I mean, there have been some fires, I mean. And we all learned that lesson, right? But I attract so
09:37many good people and they're usually customers. Really? So how does that happen? They just fall
09:42in love and they're like, I want to work for you. I have a girl that I'm considering bringing on as my
09:46business partner. Hey, Alec. She was a customer. She worked at Amex and she would do corporate catering,
09:53corporate gifting through us. She is now, it's five years in now. And now I'm thinking about
09:58making her my head of marketing. Wow. Right. That's awesome. Crazy. What advice would you give
10:04anyone who wants to go into, I want to say food entrepreneurship, but anyone who wants to do what
10:10you're doing? Yeah. You have some stiff competition if you're trying to do what I'm doing.
10:16Not specifically. Certainly not. I love competition, though. I would love to see it,
10:24actually. But anyone who wants to be a food entrepreneur. Food entrepreneur. Yeah.
10:28Start at home. Go to the farmer's markets. Get your name out there first. See if people will pay
10:33what you want to charge. That part. Okay. And do it at a low stakes. Like,
10:38don't come to Essence your first year. Like, you know? Like, do the farmer's markets where it's $55.
10:43Yeah. Get that feedback. Yeah. And write it down. Like, every flavor I have is because
10:50customers were asking me a question about it, or it's like a flavor memory for me. So I'm like,
10:56chasing a flavor memory. Interesting. A flavor memory. Yeah. So you're getting to the heart. Yeah.
11:02This pecan salted caramel blondie is actually inspired by the praline. Is that how you say it?
11:06Praline or praline? I say praline. Praline? Okay. It's inspired by the praline candy,
11:11because in California, they're Southerners, but we don't have a strong Southern culture. Okay. But a
11:18lady at church brought them like when I was young, like eight years old. And I was like,
11:23what the heck is that? Uh-huh. And I've just been chasing that flavor memory ever since.
11:27What are some of your other popular flavors? Brooklyn Blackout is a triple chocolate. So
11:31it's a Coco Noir base with a 64% chocolate ganache on top. We also have a birthday cake,
11:37which is kind of like an Oreo without that waxy mouth feel. We have a strawberry rosé. We have
11:41a new box actually. It's our ice cream inspired collection. So it's all, it's basically New York's
11:47inspired ice cream. So we have a strawberry shortcake, a mint chip, a chip witch, and lemon chiffon. And
11:54where are you shipping all of these? Everywhere. Everywhere. We ship everywhere.
11:57Blondry.com. Yes. That sounds all very, very delicious. And free shipping right now.
12:03Free shipping? For how long? I don't know. Today, y'all. So go ahead and put your orders in today.
12:08Where can we, where can we follow and support you? At Blondry on Instagram. Okay. Blondry HQ on TikTok.
12:15We've been featured by Keith Lee, if that matters. Um, and Blondry.com. Blondry. If you,
12:22it's not, it's not a common name. No, we got it. You can put it anywhere and it's going to come up.
12:27And anything that's coming up next that you want to share, promote? Yeah. Our ice cream inspired
12:33collection right now is out on our website right now. Like I said, and I will say right now,
12:39this is not cheap. So don't come to my website like, oh my God, it's so expensive. This cake is,
12:44I think, $175 on our website. Yes, it is. And it feeds 12 to 24. And I stand behind that.
12:4912 or 24? 12 to 24 people. Because you don't, look at it. You don't need like a big piece.
12:55I know. It looks very rich. It's very rich. We use European butter and everything.
12:57Are you doing wedding, special events, any of that? I don't do a lot of custom. Okay. Okay.
13:02But we could figure something out. Just asking in case someone has a question,
13:06because it looks amazing. I don't do like custom cakes. I don't do custom cakes,
13:09but I'll do this cake. Right, right. Ooh, it looks so good. Okay. Well,
13:14y'all please give it up again for Azaris. This is amazing. Thank you.
13:19And we will definitely be following, sharing, and purchasing. Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate it.
13:25All right, y'all. Thanks again.
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