Meet Trailblazer Erma Cuenca-Price

Today we’d like to introduce you to Erma Cuenca-Price.

Erma, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I am the Pastry Chef at Zed451. I am also a Solopreneur, accepting orders on the side such as wedding cakes, Filipino pastries and custom made cakes.

I am proud to say that I am self-taught in baking and cooking, although I went to college for Hotel Restaurant Management back in the Philippines. My love and my passion for cooking and baking and being a business minded person are where I got to where I am today.

Before moving to Chicago with my family six years ago, we lived in Boston for over ten years. And my first job in Boston is at a Non-Profit Organization called “Haley House.” I worked there for almost five years teaching underemployed individuals skills in basic baking and cooking.

The program is so unique, it’s a free course for people who are recently released from jail, come from abuse shelters or otherwise having a hard time. We teach them in basic baking and cooking for almost six months. And after they graduated from the program, our Director will help them apply for a job, such as independent bakeries, restaurants, cafes, and hotels.

Since then, I have worked at many bakeries, cafes, restaurants, and hotels. Each time, I learned a new type of food to become a well-rounded pastry chef.

After five years of working at Haley House, I finally decided to resign and started applying in Hotels. I know if I can work in the Hotels, in the kitchen department I will learn more in any type of dessert and food. I remember when I applied at Seaport Hotel And Convention Center in Boston. The Director of Human Resources read my Resume and ask a question about why I applied in a Hotel especially in the pastry department that in my resume I do not have a culinary education. But because of my perseverance and also, I said to the Human Resources Director that if they gave me a chance to do a work interview, then I can prove to them that I am qualified to work in the kitchen most especially in the Pastry Department where I want to apply. So, the Executive Pastry Chef give me a stage interview. And when he saw me that I am very persistent and willing to listen, follow direction and accept criticisms he gives me a job offer as a line pastry cook.

I work hard and write down everything I’ve learned in that hotel. Basically, in my mind, I felt that I went to culinary school for free and at the same time, I got paid in what I am doing because our Executive Pastry Chef he also teaches Baking and Cake Decorating in one of a Culinary School in Boston. I know I am a very lucky person to land a job in the Hotel without a culinary degree and on top of that in every Hotel almost all the Executive Pastry Chef and Executive Chef are French. And we know that they are very precise. Presentation and Quality of products are very important to them, not just the look but also the tastes.

Working in the Hotel industry and working side by side with very high-end Executive Pastry Chef and Executive Chef gives me a lot of experienced and broaden my knowledge in the culinary world and in the food industry.

Back in Boston, I got to experienced working at Ritz Carlton Hotel as well, now it’s a Taj Hotel. And also, I got to experienced working as an Assistant Pastry Chef at Harvard Business School for Restaurant Associated. Where I got to explore more variety of any type of dessert. And on top of working at (HBSFRA), I work in a family-owned Italian Restaurant in Boston, name “La Morra.” The Executive Chef which is the owner taught me a lot in authentic Italian dessert and pastries.

Once I gained all the experienced in the baking world from working in the Bakery, Restaurant, and Hotels. I gained a lot of confidence that if I start selling my own products and accepting orders on the side, such as cakes, pastries, and dessert people will buy it. And that’s where I started selling and accepting orders on the side while working full time as a Pastry Chef.

When we moved here from Boston five years ago. I work at the Trump Hotel. But because of the very hectic schedule and very political, I decided to resign and look for a job in the restaurant that I can have a very flexible schedule so that I can start selling and accepting orders on the side while working full time.
Luckily, Zed451 give me those kinds of flexibility to work as a Pastry Chef full time because of Zed451 only open for dinner service in the weekdays, and only Saturday and Sunday we open for brunch. And because of my wide variety of experienced in the dessert world, Zed451 totally given me a freedom to created dessert in any type. And Zed451 totally given me a freedom to changed our A la Carte seasonal dessert without waiting for Corporate approval.

Has it been a smooth road?
Well, any type of jobs or any type of business that you enter with it’s not an easy journey you will always have struggles along the way. And it’s very challenging. But if you’re willing to listen, accept those feedback and criticism from your customers or your boss in no time you will overcome all your struggles. And for me, if you believe 100 percent in your products, you sell and you genuinely have amazing customer service, people will love you and you always have a repeat customer even if you do not have a space of your own.

I am lucky enough to grow up in a business world, growing up back in the Philippines, my parents owned a convenient store. Most of the time, I was the one who watched our store after school. I remember my Mom always asked me to watch the store because we always have a lot of customers because of my friendly personality. And I believed if you have very good customer service and plus, you have awesome products is a bonus to your business.

Owning a business is not that easy, just because you know how to bake, you know how to decorate, and you think you have products to sell, you think people will buy it right away. Not really. You need to do a lot of research first in order to operate a side business of your own. Number one is getting a license, liability insurance, etc. And you have to do a lot of taste tests first in order to gain rave reviews in your products. This is especially true if you’re an immigrant and you want to establish your unique products from the country where you came from. Like me, even though I have a lot of experience in the baking world, I still try to gain inspiration from the Philippine products.

I am very thankful for my non-Filipino friends, and my daughter of course who believes 100 percent on my products and loves my baked goods so much. And I am very thankful for my husband for being very, very supportive in my journey.

My biggest advice to women and everyone who wants to start a business is doing it not because a lot of your friends telling you to. First of all, you have to do a lot of research, owning a business here in the US is a lot different owning a business back in your country where you came from. Owning a business is very tough and very competitive, but if you have a unique product and that you believe in and you know how to hustle then go for it. At the end of the day, it is very rewarding when you receive phone calls from the people who want to order your products because when they went to a party or any type of events and tried your products and love it. I know I did a great job and all my hard work and sacrifices paid off.

We’d love to hear more about your work and Tropicake Chicago.
I am a full-time Pastry Chef at Zed451 as well as I sell my Ube Donuts (sweet purple yam) every Thursday at Daley Plaza Farmers Market through A Taste of the Philippines booth. And I also accept a side order of Wedding Cakes, Cupcakes, French Macarons, Pastries, and Custom made a cake.

I named my business TropicakeChicago. And the logo of my business is my one and only child. Tropicake means is a touch of Tropical/Asian/Filipino infused ingredients. It is a very unique flavor combination just like my Ube Donut, Mango Cake, Pineapple Coconut Cake and other unique flavor combination in my products. And the best thing living in Chicago is Chicago is known to be a food capital in the US, people nowadays willing to try a different variety of flavor. The more unique you are and the more unique your products are people will eager to try your products.

I love my brand and business because still a lot of people are the intrigue of Philippine products. And now, I notice that people started to know more about our food, our dessert, and cake.

My goals in a year or so are to open a small to go place on my own, that people can grab and go before going to work or even after work. I’m so thankful for my friend Kathy Vega for introducing my Ube Donuts to the Farmers Markets. Next year, I am planning to have my own booth at the South Loop Farmers Market. Who knows my side business will take off and I can finally resign in my full-time job and focus on my business.

We’re interested to hear your thoughts on female leadership – in particular, what do you feel are the biggest barriers or obstacles?
I feel the biggest barriers today in female leadership in our industry is maybe because most people who work in the kitchen are almost all men. And we have to compete with that individual, and they said women are not being tough enough.

But I am very lucky to work at Zed451 that almost all the managers, chefs and corporate managers are all women. And they believe that women can get everything done just like any other men.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.tropicake-chicago.com
• Email: erma@tropicake-chicago.com
• Instagram: tropicakechicago
• Facebook: @ermatropicakechicago
• Twitter: @chef_erma

Image Credit:
Copyright Erma Cuenca-Price

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