A Pastry Chef with a Big Heart

Paola Velez, Co-Founder of Bakers Against Racism, shared inspiration behind the organization’s efforts toward Racial Justice

by Natalia Garcia

“I saw that you did a month-long pop-up for undocumented immigrants, and I was wondering if you wanted to do one more to set up relief for bail funds?” “I [asked] her, “Is that enough? Is this worth doing? Is anything gonna change if we do this one thing?” I told her, “Give me some time to think about it, and if I can participate, I will.” Throughout that time I was ranting to my husband, “How could the world be like this? Don’t go outside. I can’t believe that people would choose to hate each other during a pandemic...when does it end?” Finally I thought, “I wish there were more people like me who would do these bake sales,” and I realized, if Willa and I team up together, then we double our efforts, and if I do a call to action, we could quadruple, we could [multiply] it by a hundred.

transparency, I don’t want people to just look at the amount raised, but look at the impact. At small business owners who were able to use these [resources] to open up their own shop. People who were able to utilize their businesses to donate and give back to the community. Organizations like Auyda D.C. who were able to go national, as opposed to the localized platform they’ve had for years. I consider Bakers Against Racism a lighthouse organization where we vet and point people that want to do good, to organizations that are boots on the ground.

Tell us a little about your background.

I’m from the Bronx. I was born and raised there. My mom is an immigrant from the Dominican Republic. I currently live in D.C., but I went to culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu, worked many years in New York, and my family owned restaurants in Manhattan called Mary Ann’s in the 80s, the 90s, and the early 2000s. Other than that, I’ve won many awards for being a pastry chef, although I’m not classically trained as a pastry chef. I went to culinary school for savory and only took two courses in pastry. So when you put your mind to it, sky’s the limit.

It sounds really cool. What inspired you to start Bakers Against Racism?

The organization was founded in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd. It was built out of a lot of frustration, anger, and helplessness within myself. My husband and I are Afro-Latinos; knowing that we live below the Mason–Dixon line, it scared me when I saw that happening to George Floyd.

Chef Willa [Pelini] reached out and said,

So I charted out everything that I’d learned throughout my pop-up...I created all these documents and forms to help people understand how to do what I did, [and do it] themselves: how to partner with chefs, how to accept payment when you’re a home cook, what laws you should be looking out for. I reached out to Rob Rubba, and I was like “Hey, you know how to do scrappy design, and I want to get some graphics from you,” and he was like “Yes!”

I said, “Not only do I want graphics, I want you to stand with me as a co-founder of Bakers Against Racism. And he was like, “This is totally rad, I love it, yes.”

I gathered everything, and I sent it over to Willa. “I know you wanted to do just one thing, but what if we did this instead? Are you willing to participate and do you want to be a co-founder?” And she was like “Yes, absolutely.” And then she (as a white woman) went [out] and started giving resources to people who were not people of color. Because I can speak through my experience, you know? I don’t know how to relate [to white people] like that. She was able to spearhead podcasts, make documents about how to be an ally, how to be kind, how to be introspective.

We launched on a Thursday and went completely viral. Probably one of the biggest viral movements in the baking community. We grew exponentially overnight, and by the time that we launched the actual bake sales, we had raised over $1.9 million. In the spirit of

I really admire that. As someone whose parents were also undocumented immigrants, it’s good to see that there are people out there willing to give others a chance.

Of course. If we’re being frank, the restaurant industry wouldn’t be what it is without the undocumented workforce. If we don’t take care of the undocumented workforce, and not only help them have a better quality of life, but have pathways to citizenship, the industry won’t be around for much longer. That’s a very big, uphill battle that a lot of chefs, especially Latino chefs, are fighting right now.

What obstacles did you encounter when starting out? As a woman of color, I know it had to be difficult.

Very difficult. I was told when I was starting culinary school that I’m too shy, too nervous, too small to make a dent in the industry. I was told [by some] that I would be a good housewife with the skills I was learning. It was, from the jump, very difficult to exist in the culinary industry. There were moments of sexual assault, things I wish I would have never encountered. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve been able to insulate and protect myself, but one of the biggest challenges was protecting my mental health. I would say the biggest hurdles have been believing in myself, taking a chance on myself, learning how to tune out the rejection, to keep moving.

Totally hear you. I go to a high school focused on cooking, so it’s hard to stand out when everyone’s always trying to do something. But we have to try.

If it’s any consolation, there’s a lot of my peers that ask “Why you?” and the fact is that I have absolute resolution within myself. I’m confident in myself and my ability. I’m not confident with my persona or with how I present it to the world, but what I can do with food and with butter, flour, and sugar: I can’t deny that. I can’t ever let anybody take that away from me...I’m able to kind of shield myself through my food.

I love that. What advice would you give to Women of Color who are just starting out?

Be kind to yourself. Society teaches us that we have to have very thick skin because the world is cruel to Women of Color. Society teaches us to be strong and to be powerful and to endure, but I wish I was told early on to be kind to myself. To let myself understand that in that moment, I might feel sadness or I might feel grief because I am not participating in the world the way that my friends are, who have a traditional nine-to-five lifestyle. I It’s tough. What has been your biggest learning experience?

You can be small and be mighty at the same time.

I like that! Where do you see your business in a few years? Where do you see yourself going?

Honestly, I don’t have markers anymore. I had very pointed career paths up until eight years ago. I was almost 100% content with being a sous chef, with being second to somebody’s vision, because I thought that’s what society would afford me as a Woman of Color. Then I started being daring and I didn’t chart out my life anymore. I was more open to different possibilities within the industry. While I still cook all the time in restaurants, I think that there are a lot more opportunities within the industry than what we know of and what we can understand. I stopped focusing on the endgame and, all of a sudden, awards started coming. I started growing my platform. I’m on TV now. I’m very grateful for all of the opportunities and the visibility that this gives to Women of Color, especially people that grew up in the New York City, in the public school system, with parents that might have been single parents or that came here from a different country. I’m still on that journey of learning what it means to be American...

If I ask my mom, she’s like, “What? I’m not American, I’m Dominican!” I’m hoping that through my journey, especially my cookbook that I’m writing now, people can use me as a marker for what it can look like to be on a journey of learning through

Americana and pop culture. You’re planning to write a book?

Yeah. Tentatively, the title is called “Life is a Bodega”. I’m really hopeful that people understand that this book is an ode to first-generation, immigrant children and immigrant households in New York City. I love the title, I think it really does represent New York City. Hopefully it sticks. But, we’ll see what happens.

What’s something you would never compromise on?

Integrity. Folks rely on me to be honest with them and cut through all the nonsense. A lot of people don’t operate like that because they want to be successful by any means possible. I’d rather be in a batita [robe], minding my business with cafecito [coffee], than to propel myself forward at the cost of others’ trust in me.

I really admire that, especially in the cooking industry. A lot of times people will step on you to get up the ladder.

Yeah, I haven’t needed to do that yet. I hope people can see my trajectory and see that you can be kind and still be successful. But, a lot of people don’t want to wait that long. It’s been 16 years in the making. Slow and steady.

You’re making it. You’re big, you’ve won all the awards, too.

I wouldn’t consider myself big, but I am grateful for the opportunities that I’ve had, even down to this year [when] Food Network named me on their Hot List. Every time people are like “You should be used to this by now,” I’m like...first of all, I am from the Bronx, sometimes skipping meals because my mom and I couldn’t afford it. I grew up in the inner city where I saw all of my art programs and all afterschool funding get cut while I was in it. I still have to stop and be like, “That’s a long way to come from.” I’m grateful.

Where did your username “Small Orchids” come from?

My name is Paola Orquidea. Paula means “small” and Orquidea is “orchid.” My maiden name was De La Cruz, so all together that’s “small orchid of the cross.” All of our parents’ names were something religious. My last name now, Velez, is “victory” or something like that. My mom was the reason my platform is called “Small Orchids.”

Do you take a lot of inspiration from your mom?

Yeah, my mom was a single mom when she came to the U.S. She’s my inspiration, and my grandmother, all the women in my family. Mainly, my recipes are based off of my mom and my grandma. And now that I’m married, I base a lot of my recipes off of my mother-in-law and my husband’s grandmother who just passed [at] 101. How do you define and find success?

I work hard. I’m working on a book, pitching TV shows, recipe development, and working with brands. So for me, finding success is putting different eggs in different baskets and letting them hatch on their own. And then maintaining. When I know that I no longer have the bandwidth for something, I stop doing it. But for me, the beginning of my success came from dedication. I chose to be at work all the time, I chose to stage at different places in New York City so that I could learn. I sacrificed back then [by doing a lot of unpaid work]. I chose different pathways, and then I chose to stick with it even when I wanted to stop. Was it easy? No. I don’t advise that you do what I did. I don’t know if I regret it. But, I also have a lot of fruits of my labor. So, I don’t know. There’s no right answer. But I think choosing what you think is best for you is what’s really important.

Thank you, you’re a really big inspiration to me, and to a lot of other people. Take it from me, you can be whoever you want to be in this world. As long as you have drive and motivation. You don’t have to hurt other people, you just have to be yourself.

You can follow Paola at Instagram: @smallorchids & @bakersagainstracism

TikTok: @chefpaolavelez

Twitter: @smallorchids

Paola Velez is a DominicanAmerican Pastry Chef born and raised in the Bronx. In 2020 she co-founded Bakers Against Racism, an organization that raises money for racial justice through baking. To date, Bakers Against Racism has gained more than 3,000 participants across the U.S. and raised over $2 million for organizations that fight against racial injustice. Paola has won multiple awards and appeared on TV shows, including Chopped, Selena + Chef, and The Today Show