BAJAN SUN MAGAZINE
The story behind
Debbie’s Sweets N Treats
H
ey Friends:
To let you understand how I got to where I am now I need
to tell you my story. From the age of seven years old I was
in the kitchen with my grandmother and mother on separate
occasions baking a wide variety of cakes and other baked
goods for family gatherings and family friends. Having
been in the kitchen with my Gran I found out that she, not only made delicious
cakes but she also covered them with a sugar dough "dyed, played with the sugar
mass then piped it onto the cake using a small metal tube" to make pretty things
like flowers. Soon after discovering this very fascinating art named "Royal Icing
Design or Sugar Craft", I made it my business to be present in her kitchen to take
in all her techniques and tricks about sugar craft. From then with the help of my
grandmother of course, I started baking and icing my sibling’s birthday cakes and
hosting my own birthday parties between the ages of 8-9 years old.
As I got older I had the unforgettable task of helping out another neighborhood
Cake Decorator to only ice an anniversary cake for the Chief of Police in Trinidad
and Tobago. I was extremely elated because I had the opportunity to work alone
with my gran only popping in to check on the progress. From that job, which
lasted almost 8 hours, after I got finger bruises from using the small metal icing
tubes, I earned $50. My eyes opened wide knowing that I not only made art but I
got paid for it too, I got excited and started to charge for my work. At 13 years old
I started baking sweet breads on weekends and selling them to church members,
baking and icing celebration cakes off and on until I reached my late teens. I
decided then my art needed a name of some sort. Most people called me Debbie
and not by my first name, which is Deborah and occasionally called me Nicole,
which is my middle name. So sitting on my bed with pen and paper in hand I
mixed and matched the Nicknames and came up with "Debbie's Sweets N
Treats", which means Debbie's sweets Nicole's treats.
In September 2008 I was working and at the time the job wasn't paying me much.
I sat down and was praying one night and just like that my long term goals started
popping into my head. One of them was becoming the owner of a bakery/
restaurant by 30 years old. From that very night, the day afterwards I spoke with
my son's father about my goals. We traveled to town and bought a few baking
pans and a hand mixer and to this day I am still working towards my dream. With
the long nights into mornings in the kitchen working on orders, experimenting
with new recipes, seeing smiles on satisfied customers faces and Debbie's Sweets
N Treats name being mentioned as a reference I am not going to give up until I
reach where I want to be and Debbie's Sweets N Treats is a household name.
www.bajansunonline.com/MAGAZINE/ | [email protected] | @BajanSunOnline
OCT 2014