From Warm Flavors to a Warm Welcome

an interview with Jenneh Kaikai of Pelah Kitchen, the Bedstuy-Based Micro-Bakery Specializing in Cakes

by Jordan Perez

Why did you decide to start your bakery?

[Baking] is something I’ve always loved, almost like a hobby. It’s something I’ve always been really passionate about. My background is urban planning. I was working at City Hall at the time, and with the pandemic and being at home, I just needed a creative outlet. And when I got a lot of positive reception to my baking, that’s what led me to want to actually start to sell items and make it a business. You didn’t go to business school? Tell us about that.

Yes, 100% I didn’t go to culinary school. I didn’t go to business school. I literally learned from YouTube University. Skillshare was another app, another website that I used a lot to learn technique. But really, a lot of it is trial and error, you know, and experience does tend to be the best teacher. If someone gave me a blank check to go to culinary school right now, I probably would [go] because I think there’s some things that are beneficial to learn. But, so far, it’s just me learning on my own…TikTok, and so many other things.

You’re originally from Massachusetts, but now you live and work in New York. Can you talk to us about that cultural shift, and what it’s like to be in a place like Brooklyn?

I’m from a town called Lowell, and it’s a really diverse town. After school in New York, you know how people get dollar slices? For us [in Lowell], we’re getting empanadas from the Colombian spot. We had Brazilian communities, we had a lot of Southeast Asian communities. Because of that exposure, it really opened my eyes to different flavors. I was always adventurous with trying new things.

I didn’t grow up with a lot of Caribbean people... now being in Brooklyn, I have [a better understanding of] the differences [between those cultures]. When I was growing up, I knew of Jamaican food, but I didn’t really know Trini food and culture, or Guyanese, or so on and so forth. I’m definitely inspired by Caribbean culture. I’ve done a collaboration with a friend of mine who has a pop up—she’s a chef—and we did a Caribbean and AfroCaribbean dinner and brunch together last year. That was really great. I’m just inspired by the people that I meet here who also love food.

How does your own heritage inspire your flavors?

I’m from Massachusetts, but my family’s African...from Sierra Leone. Granted, I’m making baked goods, so I wouldn’t say [all] the flavors are necessarily inspired by that part of my culture, but I think there’s certain flavors I’m drawn to because of that. I really love to work with warm spices: nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, things like that.

I do love working with cardamom.

It’s so good. It’s so versatile. I just love it. My signature cake is a cardamom-spiced carrot cake that people love. It’s really good.

Speaking of your bakery. It’s right here in New York, right?

Yeah, I live in Bed-Stuy. I have what they call a micro-bakery, which means I take orders online and I work out of a kitchen, depending on the size of the order. I was a finalist in a pitch competition with Hot Bread Kitchen. Through that program, I was awarded kitchen space at Nimbus Kitchen, so I have access to commercial space. But, I’m also friends with a lot of people in the industry. For example, I’m doing an event on Thursday, and I’m renting my friend’s studio for some hours to bake out of there and store things. I don’t have an actual storefront you can come to, but you can email me or you fill out an order on my website and then we coordinate pickup.

Do you plan to have a storefront?

I would love to, my dream is to have my own little (nothing crazy) place. I have a niece who’s seven and came to visit last weekend. We were walking around the neighborhood and I was like, “You know, it’d be so nice to just be able to go somewhere and get a fresh pastry, a piece of cake.” That’s my dream. My friend that I rent from has a studio where she does her baking. Customers come and do orders. It’s a really cute space. Sometimes she does classes and things there. I would want something just like that. I think the only difference is that I would want it to be where people are able to come in and purchase more in the cafe. I’ve always had a sweet tooth. But I’m someone who will go out of their way for a piece of cake. You know what I mean? When I used to take the train to Massachusetts, I would make sure I would go to Magnolia [Bakery] and get a slightly bigger slice of cake. Having a background in terms of urban planning and working with small businesses, did that help you manage your own business? Did that knowledge and experiences that you had from your prior jobs help you be successful in your company now?

Yeah, for sure. When I was at City Hall, I worked a lot in economic development, and I was working with small businesses with recovery in the pandemic. I think that definitely inspired me, because I saw just how resilient the food industry was. So I started my business in 2020, but I started my role at Hot Bread Kitchen this year in January. I already had been running my business for a but Hot Bread Kitchen is helping me so much in refining my business. What I’m doing, basically, is building a program to help other women entrepreneurs with their business planning. As I’m putting the curriculum together and thinking about tools and resources, I’m putting myself in the shoes of the entrepreneur and thinking about what could be helpful, what I’ve needed to navigate their challenges. And that’s been really, really great for me. Because as I’m learning, I’m also taking those things back and implementing some of those tools in my own business. Where do you see yourself in your business in five years?

Ah, asking me the hard questions! I definitely see myself working out of my own cake studio. I also want to refine my brand. One thing that I’ve been going back and forth with is whether or not I should really focus my effort on wedding cakes. As a business opportunity, financially, it’s a little better. It’s a little more predictable. For example, people have reached out to me for wedding cakes for October already. I can plan out a lot further in advance. [In five years I hope to be] really refining whatever it is I’m working on. That’s it, but I think in a studio. I definitely see myself having a spot in Brooklyn for sure.

I’ve always asked this question: how do you deal with customers that want a cake last minute?

That’s actually a wonderful question. Literally as we speak, it’s something that I’m going through. Being a new business, a small business working from home, sometimes I think that you have the tendency to want to say yes to certain things. But a friend of mine gave me some great advice and I’ll give it to you, too. “As a budding entrepreneur,” she said, “make sure that you’re running your business and don’t let it run you.” A lot of other bakers I know, if you order a cake, anything less than seven days, it’s a rush cake. And there’s a fee or they have strict windows. I’m starting to implement that because I think there was a time where I was just taking on more orders than I really could handle and not really having the time to really plan what I’m doing. It’s a process. Like, how many weeks out [should people order]. People don’t really understand how online ordering works. Sometimes they think I’m a Magnolia Bakery and it’s like “come over.” If you tell me, “Okay, I want a carrot cake with pineapple filling,” I’m going to make that cake for you. It’s not something that I’m taking out of a freezer, you know? I want to get there…it’ll make my schedule a lot less crazy.

How was your experience in high school?

Yeah, oh gosh, high school. High school was very hard for me. I feel I didn’t really know what I wanted. I was very hard on myself about it. Like, I felt like I needed to have a plan. Looking back now, it’s like: how would you? I graduated high school at 17. I was very influenced by what I thought my family wanted or what other people were doing. So yeah, high school was a big challenge not being sure of myself, which is normal. You’re supposed to not be sure at 17.

The name of your company Pelah Kitchen. “Pelah” means “home” in my language [Mende.]

Why did you decide to use that name?

I’m the kind of person that’s making brunch, I’m inviting people over, I’m cooking, so that’s where the business really came from. From that desire to bring people together. I love the idea. One thing that I really love about my cakes, and pastries, in general, I feel like they actually taste homemade.

Yeah, I get it. That’s what will make you feel like it’s homey. You don’t feel a taste of chemicals or stabilizers…

Exactly. That’s why I’m so particular. I don’t make any cakes that I don’t think are good. Even the type of frosting; I hate super, super sweet frosting. There’s certain things that are trendy, but I want cake that tastes good.

So you grew up in a very diverse town. What is the difference or similarities between living here in New York and where you grew up?

Well, I think it’s a mentality. Anyone who’s grown up in a smaller town, there are limitations around what you feel like you can do. But in New York, I really do think that it feels like anything is possible. I really appreciate the creative spirit. I’m not saying that my [hometown] is not creative, but here, you feel it. It’s a different energy for sure.

Also, about social media: You promote a lot of your business on Instagram, right?

Mostly. Instagram is honestly where I get a majority of my business!

Does looking at others’ content influence your cakes or your menu?

Oh, for sure. Instagram is one of my favorite teachers. I go to Instagram for so much inspiration because I follow some crazy talented people. There are people who are doing so many cool things on Instagram, and I get a lot of inspiration from them.

You can follow Jenneh Kaikai at @pelahkitchen