Have you ever met a wedding cake baker who is as sweet as the treats she bakes? Our March Leading Lady is Odette D'Aniello, Founder and CEO of Celebrity Gourmet Ventures Inc; mom, entrepreneur, and baking aficionado. When I first met Odette, we were both attending a convention in California. Her warmth and authenticity glowed and I knew that she was a gem.
It wasn't until I found out more about Odette and her ventures that I realized we knew many of the same people in the confectionary industry. Her daughter was by her side as well and we spent a few days enjoying conversation and talking all things women in business, especially the baking business.
Odette and her sister started Celebrity Cake Studio, years ago while adding on Dragonfly Cakes® in 2016. Both serve as a sweet success for Odette and her family so let's dive into the story behind her journey.
Can you share the story of how you started your wedding cake bakery business?
"I grew up in a bakery compound in the Philippines until I was 10 years old, and then my family moved to Guam to work in my Aunt’s bakery there. Being in the bakery industry is basically in our blood at this point. My grandfather, Lolo Tinong, first made ice cream cones out of American war rations during World War II, and it grew to be a family business that’s three generations long; four now, if you count my kids and nephews!
I first started decorating cakes when I was 10 years old on Guam. My first job was slicing bread, and on a tropical island with no air conditioning, it was pretty hot in there with all of the ovens going and 100% humidity.
The cake decorating room was the only room in the bakery that had AC, so I started practicing so I could decorate and escape the heat.
When we first moved to Washington, we opened a cafe. We had no idea what we were doing and we sold unlimited sandwiches for $5. People loved the cafe and loved our sandwiches and whatever else we made but we were making no money. I went to my first wedding show a year or so after we opened the cafe and I met a couple, and all they made was wedding cakes. I didn’t even realize you could do that!"
Since you grew up around the sweets industry, what was it that made you take the path of wedding cakes?
"I talked to the host of the wedding show and he promised me that if we signed up, we wouldn’t have to worry about money anymore. I paid for the wedding show on my credit card, made a brochure of cakes I knew I could decorate, and sold wedding cakes at our first show.
The next week, we closed one day as a cafe, and reopened the next as a bakery! We still sold coffee, but our customers were a little confused.
We haven’t looked back since."
Getting married is such a big moment in life and then to plan the ceremony and celebration afterwards! How do you ensure a personalized and positive experience for couples choosing your bakery for their wedding cake?
"There’s so much external pressure, personal expectations, family pressure, and all-around just luck and circumstances to deal with for a couple getting married that we just want to make sure that whatever we have control over, we make as positive and seamless as possible.
It’s our job to bring a couple’s vision to life. We have examples, but because we not only bake the cake we design it as well, we can give you unique guidance on what works best for the specific venue the wedding will be held in. For example we can guide you on how it will look with the colors and flowers, and even how it will look for the time of year and the season for photographs.
It’s never about us selling a wedding cake. The process of ordering a wedding cake from us is a conversation of what our skills and design expertise are and how that best fits into a couple’s special day."
What are the most important things to know before you select a wedding cake?
"Your style, we can help you design your cake down to the very last detail, but there are just so many options. Deciding between a cake that’s very glamorous or minimalist is the biggest piece that we can’t give you much advice on. Both styles are absolutely gorgeous, but it’s about what fits your style and atmosphere that is most important. From there, we can help you iron out the details, determine the size, and figure out logistics and it’s all so much fun.
We also like to tell people to keep an open mind about the flavors. In our tasting box, couples are often surprised to find that they love carrot cake or an interesting flavor combination that they might not have been open to before the tasting experience."
What kind of wedding cake did you have at your wedding? Did you make your own?
"There’s an old wives tale that it’s bad luck to make your own wedding cake!
My whole wedding was 'Under the Sea' themed because my husband and I were big divers and we had a BIG wedding cake with pillars and ruffles and clear bridges that my family gifted to my husband and I. We had a giant cake for our big wedding, and it was fun, but I really just wanted to get married underwater."
How did you come up with the idea of Dragonfly Cakes?
"In 2016, we found Dragonfly Cakes for sale in Sausalito, California. My sister and I met Brooks, the former owner and we got along with her instantly. We saw the potential of Dragonfly Cakes, especially in our production facility in Washington which wasn’t being utilized to its full potential at the time.
It was quite a learning curve adding pallets and pallets of tea cakes to our production of bespoke wedding cakes but it was such a fun and interesting process and it’s been an amazing addition to our company."
I love the dynamic you have working with your daughter. Tell our readers how you came to work together and what are your favorite things about working with her?
"Milana was always excited about the bakery. I remember her in elementary school, strolling into the bakery with her little school uniform looking at what everyone was doing. I was always worried about my kids, especially because I had a rather negative experience growing up in the bakery and I never wanted them to feel like I did.
Milana was always so curious and proud. She learned how to make fondant roses as a kid and as a teenager, she worked customer service and all sorts of jobs in and around the bakery.
We’ve always just worked really well together. We have complementary working styles and attitudes so even on long stressful days, we stay focused on our shared goals and always have fun with jokes and we’re good at communicating when we need rest or a break or if we’re good to soldier on."
How did you balance being a mom and wife while also being an entrepreneur?
"It was always my number one priority to be the primary caregiver of my children while also running my business. It wasn’t easy, it took a village. My husband, sister, and cousin all worked with me in both the bakery and in making sure the kids were taken care of."
What are you doing today to stay creative in a business where there are so many designs already?
"There’s always an endless flow of creativity and inspiration. I think that sometimes creatives can be scared of comparison or being derivative of someone else’s work but it can be a limiting mindset. When I think about inspiration for cake, I don’t look to other cake designers. What inspires me are flowers, gardens, venues, fashion, really anything honestly.
My passion is gardening so I’m always inspired by amazing gardens and flowers. Design work and art of any kind can spark something new and innovative that has never been applied to a specific situation."
Running a business is no piece of cake (pun intended), especially in a competitive industry like baking. But Odette faces each challenge with a sprinkle of optimism and a dollop of resilience. Let us look to her journey as a reminder that you can make your own path of success and that it isn't just having a dream but making that dream become reality that let's us shine the most.
Written by,
Sarah Jacobs
Where you can find Odette D'Aniello
