MICHELLE PEREZ     

      Wife and Mother of Two, Michelle Perez is using her sweet talents to make people happy.

By Tiffany Curtis

Welcomed into the Perez family’s three level home, I didn’t know what kind of kitchen I should expect from this at-home baker. At first, I imagined double ovens with a giant refrigerator. Then I envisioned flour everywhere with a big steel table and tons of mixing bowls. What I walked into was way better. The kitchen was no bigger than the average home’s. Instead of flour spilled on the floor, there were toys. Steel table? More like awesome wooden table; all the better for Alyx, Michelle and husband Raul’s 5 year old daughter, to color on. I quickly learned that, although very talented, baking wasn’t seen as a business, but rather as a hobby that she really enjoyed.

Where it all began...

            This talented baker’s story isn’t one where she picked up a mixing bowl at three and knew she was destined to own her own business. Like every other girl in America, Perez was given an Easy Bake Oven to make all the pizzas and desserts she wanted. “I was so disappointed when I realized it was a lightbulb that cooked the food,” Perez explained. It was nothing like the oven her mom used to bake all the treats for the family. The way Perez was brought up influenced not only the hobby in her life, but the childhood she wanted her own children to have. “My mom let us choose our own birthday cakes. Anything we wanted, she would make,” she shared. With two children of her own, Alex (5) and Oscar (15 months), she’s carrying on that special tradition.

All work and no play.

     Before becoming a wife and mother was even a thought to her, Perez was a high school graduate, ready to go to college. After being offered a full scholarship to Boston College, she turned it down and joined the Navy to be a corpsman. Not long after, she soon became responsible for feeding as many as 700 people as their permanent baker. When docked, the Navy had her attend various classes to learn more tips and techniques to enhance her baking skills.

            “I needed a bigger challenge to prove to myself what I could do.”

            She made cakes for retirements, anniversaries, and birthdays. An 8 hour work day, 40 hour work week for the average working American can seem draining, but to Perez, that barely touched 3 days out of her work schedule. Work soon became repetitive and not worth sacrificing time away from her family. “After working 11 years of 18 hour work days, it took a toll on me; I wanted to be home with my family,” she explained. “Every cake was the same thing: a sheet cake with the Navy’s blue and yellow colors and maybe some rope for detail. That was it. I needed a bigger challenge to prove to myself what I could do.”

The process that made it all happen.

            It’s coming up on one year since she made that decision and she couldn’t be happier. She couldn’t stress enough how important her family is to her and how she wants to be there while her kids grow up. In fact, it was her daughter Alex’s preschool graduation that began the talk of how good of a baker she was. “I made a cake for her graduation and everyone loved it. Requests for cakes have been all word of mouth since then.”

            Perez’s success comes with knowing what she would like to see in a cake as well as the ability to “wow” the people who eat it. “When you buy a cake in the store it’s basic. It’s usually just a couple of colors on a sheet cake,” she said, while I completely agreed. “I hand pipe my cakes with love,” she continued with a smile. It’s not only the hand piping that catches everyones attention, but the way she brings the cake’s theme to life. “I try to make everything edible.” No matter the age of the party, it’s always pretty cool to eat something you ordinarily aren’t suppose to. For Perez’s niece, of whom was turning three, she made a cake and put three handmade lady bugs on it. “She actually turned to her mom and said, ‘Mom! There’s bugs on my cake!’ thinking they were real.”

     “This is my hobby. I love making people happy with my cakes; it’s a sense of  accomplishment”

            With all of her cakes being homemade, including the cake, frosting, and decor, I was baffled when she said the whole process only takes about 5 to 6 days. For some reason you always expect the order needs to be placed a month ahead of time so they can prep and plan out the whole production. For Perez, it’s much more laid back and once you give her the theme, she’s imagining what she’s going to do. “I really want to get an idea of what they want. Then I’ll start thinking of things that I would like and run it past them.” The most interesting fact about her cakes is that no cake is ever duplicated. She will not copy one she has already made, making it both special and personable.

     “I won’t box it up until I feel it’s finished. Even if it’s in the box, I won’t deliver it until I’m completely satisfied.”   

 It’s a hobby, not work.

            She is a one woman show and gave off not an ounce of stress about it (maybe a little about whether or not she should make her own cake for her vow renewal with her husband.) For those wanting to have their own business, lots of readers look for a message from those who do. With Michelle Perez I think that message would be 1. No job is worth 18 hour work days, away from your family, with no challenge and 2. Think of your love or passion for something as a hobby and you’ll enjoy it everyday. I think this attitude needs to be instilled in more people so they don’t lose sight of what’s important to them and why they started doing it in the first place.