176. Building the FIRST Black Vegan Bakery in Detroit & the Secret to A Perfect Pound Cake with Estella's Cuisine
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On this podcast episode, I am talking with Chantele Jones, chef and owner of Estella’s Vegan Cuisine & Desserts and Estella’s Vegan Dessert Boutique–Detroit’s first all vegan bakery and home of the vegan pound cake!
Chantele comes from a family of bakers but her own passion for baking started when she was just 6 years old, when her grandma Stella taught her how to make her first cherry pie. Chantele’s love for baking continued well into adulthood, until she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and had to completely change her diet.
After experimenting with an elimination diet–removing sugar, soy, dairy, and more from her diet, and slowly incorporating things back in–she found that eating vegan eventually naturally healed her body. Still wanting to enjoy the foods that she had grown to love, Chantele learned to make them a different way, and thus Estella’s was born.
Chantele says that her journey has really been a journey of unlearning unhealthy habits which has led her to her mission of helping people start their own journeys to better health. She is also determined to destroy the negative stereotypes associated against vegans and our food–one meal and pastry at a time.
On this podcast episode we chat about:
The secret to making perfect vegan pound cake
Veganizing your favorite meals from childhood
Why Chantele gave up meat before she was fully vegan
How the pandemic inspired a rebranding and the opening of her bakery
The behind the scenes of what it takes to run a vegan pop up
Detroit’s vegan scene and why Estella’s is based there
Tips on how to use city business resources to finance your small business
Navigating burnout as a business owner and creating time for self care
Resources Mentioned:
7 Steps to Go Vegan workshop