Thank you to all of our customers for being so kind and patient as we sprinted through the hectic Christmas season that came so quickly on the heels of the hectic Thanksgiving season! We hope you all had a cheerful holiday and enjoyed any goodies you bought or received from us. 🙂

The most exciting part of this post is that we are at last updating our Meet the Staff section, thanks to my Mom’s relentless lobbying for this to be done!  I’m so glad she kept at it because I think you’ll enjoy learning about this wonderful group of people.

If you’d also like to hear about the new stuff we’re offering at the bakery, be sure to scroll down below the section called Meet the JennyCakes Staff.

Stay tuned on Feb 1 for information about Valentine’s Day, King Cakes for Mardi Gras, and our Annual Cupcake Sale.

Jenny

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Meet the JennyCakes Staff (Recently Updated)! 

Jenny’s mom, Bev Stearns, used her remarkable writing and photography abilities to interview and take photos of our staff.  Below are her blurbs about each, together with Jenny’s additions.  The M is for Mom and the J is for Jenny! 

Taylor!
M: Taylor strikes one as being reserved, confident, responsible and poised. She grew up in Prince George’s County and now commutes from Bowie. She loves Selena Quintanilla, the hugely popular Mexican American singer, songwriter, dancer, model, and fashion designer who passed away at the young age of 24. Taylor is quite a dancer herself and especially enjoys performing the Salsa and Bachata. What is she proud of? Her younger sister who is very independent, a characteristic Taylor regards as one of her own strengths. Being creative is another of Taylor’s strengths which comes through in the gorgeous cakes that she decorates at the bakery. She volunteers that she loves Jenny Cakes cheese muffins and Italian cream cupcakes. 

J: Taylor is an amazing decorator, baker and manager.  She has done a great job at helping with the management of JennyCakes during our transition to a whole new staff.  She will be heading off to greener pastures soon. Among other things, we will miss her sense of humor, and especially her buche jokes. 🙂

Jen!
M: Jen is an inspiration, not only because she is an amazingly gifted cake decorator but because she’s the healthiest and most physically fit JennyCakes staff member EVER! She has been a vegan eater since she was 6 and she runs marathons – 12 so far – and intends to keep running one a year until she’s in her eighties. Low-key about her accomplishments, she’s friendly, outgoing and smart. Jen’s the proud owner of a house she bought in Frederick last year.

J:  Although her commute from Frederick is a challenging one, Jen has yet to miss even one scheduled shift! Of course I so appreciate the amazingly creative and beautiful decorated cakes she makes, but I also appreciate the pragmatic advice she gives me when I occasionally get over-wrought about any drama at the bakery! 

Ellee! 
M: Ellee is a Jenny Cakes staff member you might not see because she’s usually in a random bakery nook or cranny decorating cookies. But if you’ve ever ordered decorated cookies, it was likely Ellee who decorated them for you!  Ellie goes to Blake High School and was just 15 when she was hired.  She will continue her studies, especially biology, in college next year. 

J: I was immediately blown away by Ellee’s maturity when this 15-year-old asked about direct deposit two days after she accepted our job offer!  She works incredibly hard (decorated every single Christmas cookie we offered this year!), is delightful to be in the kitchen with, and has a conscientiousness that has made her an absolutely wonderful employee. We  will miss her terribly next year when she heads off to college. 

Chie!
M:  Kind, smart, friendly, loyal and knowledgeable are just some of the traits that come to mind when you get to know Chie.  She’s from Tokyo, where she met her husband when he was teaching English there.  They moved here when he sought a Masters Degree at GWU.  Like the other staff members at Jenny Cakes, her talents and passions are fascinating.  She’s a connoisseur of wine and can give excellent advice on which wines are best to serve with sweets, particularly chocolate.  She is also a musician who plays classical and jazz pieces on the piano.  Recently her favorite composers are Chopin and Elton John.  She and her husband have two children, a daughter, aged 7, and a son, aged 10. Several in Chie’s birth family still live in Tokyo.  When asked for her strengths, Chie said, “Being responsible.”

J: It has been an absolute joy to have Chie work at the bakery! She is not only remarkably skilled at baking but she is one of the most conscientious people I’ve ever known as she tackles every task at the bakery, from waiting on customers to putting orders together to teaching someone a new task to decorating cookies.

Mia!
M: Young, gentle, and hardworking, Mia is a student at Montgomery College where she studies nursing when she isn’t working at JennyCakes. She was pulled to nursing because of her mother’s stories about her work in a nursing home. She is proud of the values her mother has ingrained in her.  Her strengths are that she’s “pretty compassionate and gets along with people.” Outside of work, she loves to read, especially biographies, and likes to run – – in high school she did cross country for two years. She has lived in this area all her life and has two brothers and a sister.

J:  I always breathe a sigh of relief when Mia cruises through the front door for her shift because I know she will quietly, calmly and competently whip things under control. She gets along with absolutely everyone – customers and employees. It’s been fun watching her grow from a JennyCakes newbie to one of the employees with the most experience here!

Emily D!
M:  Emily is full of surprises.  She strikes one as a happy-go-lucky young woman, but my, does she have a variety of interests and talents. She’s fluent in Latin, majored in classics and fulfilled a pre-med track at Tufts University, enjoys weaving and making wall hangings, and is planning to go to medical school. She is an alum of both Blessed Sacrament and Stoneridge. 

J: I have known Emily’s family (including her mom Martha, who works at the bakery on Saturday afternoons) for Emily’s entire life, so I’ve been lucky enough to watch Emily grow from an itty bitty baby to the terrific young woman she is today. I especially appreciate Emily’s sense of humor, cheerfulness, frequent laughter and down to earth attitude at the bakery!

Eric!
M: You will frequently see Eric at the front counter, ready to serve you, but you might also glimpse him doing a multitude of things in the kitchen as well. He sports a nice mustache and doesn’t seem to miss a thing.  He has been at Jenny Cakes a little over a year.  A life-long Kensington resident, Eric has an interesting hobby: live streaming on an internet platform. If you already know what that means, that’s great! He explained to me that he does AMA (Ask Me Anything) in a podcast scenario.  He has podcast followers in California, Florida, and Maryland.  

J: What I appreciate most about Eric are his somewhat sarcastic sense of humor and the meticulous care he uses when preparing anything at the bakery. 🙂

Sam!
M:  If you listen to Sam for 2 seconds, you’ll realize she’s British. She’s from Derby, England, a beautiful British city (check it out on the internet). Sam, perky and bright, exudes good cheer with her quick laugh and happy demeanor. She has lived in the area only two years, moving to Chevy Chase when her husband took a position in the British Embassy. She’s another amazingly young looking mother at Jenny Cakes – – her son is 21, at UDC, and her daughter is 17, at BCC. During their 25 years of marriage, she and her husband have moved about a lot, living in Nigeria, Botswana, and Tunisia.  Discovering Jenny Cakes was fate for her. What are Sam’s strengths?  She regards herself as honest, trustworthy, and hardworking.  Her loves are baking, animals (she has a dog and a cat), tennis, and reading.

J:  One of my favorite Sam stories happened when she came in for her working interview.  I kept asking her questions and she kept giving me cryptic answers as if to say, “Back off! I’m trying to work here!”  She’s super quick and productive and, for better or worse, has become my primary source for good and bad TV. She feeds my Love Island obsession but she has also introduced me to some great British dramas. We will miss her (and the great British treats she brings in) when her time in DC is up and she heads off to her next adventure! 

Vincent!
J: Vincent has been kind enough to mop our floors four times a week and fold our cupcake and cakes boxes four times a week. He is almost single-handedly responsible for the fact that our customers can leave the bakery with their cupcakes or cake in a box!  He is cheerful, kind and incredibly easy to work with and we are super lucky to have him work here.  🙂

 

Henry!
J: Henry is one of our truly treasured employees. Every Thursday and Saturday morning, we all walk into the bakery and say “Ahhhhh” when we see how beautifully he’s mopped the floor. He is incredibly consistent and conscientious and goes the extra mile by reminding me when I’m out of something. We are so grateful to him for the work he does!

 

Jim! 
M:  Quiet, polite, responsible and quirky, Jim Gordon has a distinct style. Jenny and her neighbor Frank (of Frankly Pizza) discovered Jim early on, and both have benefited from his steady help since.  You’ll see him frequently hauling ingredients into the bakery from a Costco run and on Saturday mornings at the front counter cheerfully waiting on customers. When not working, one activity that Jim especially enjoys is cosplay, which involves creating costumes and going to cosplay conventions.  Jim was born in DC but he has also lived in Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

J:  I so appreciate Jim’s calm demeanor, conscientiousness and his long-term commitment to the bakery. We are so lucky he’s been willing to work here so long! 

Martha! 
M:  You will usually see Martha Deale at the counter on Saturday, steadily and efficiently handling orders in the midst of the frequent crush of customers. She regards Jenny Cakes as her “fun job.” Her other job is being an occupational therapist, a career she has engaged in since college.  She has known Jenny for 25 years – since Jenny moved to a house next to her in Kensington. Her daughter Emily, who also works at Jenny Cakes, says that Martha’s strengths are that she’s “patient, pragmatic and loving, and she is good at remaining calm.” Martha’s family (her husband and two daughters) appreciate her baking talents, with her pies being their favorite dessert. Martha is passionate about doing needlepoint, quilting and sewing, and is an ardent fan of Washington sports, especially the Nationals and the Capitals. 

J:  I of course love the way Martha so adeptly manages the front counter on crazy Saturdays, but I also love her wicked sense of humor. Nothing makes both of us happier on a Saturday than giving each other grief!

Emily C.!
M:  Emily moved to Wheaton from West Virginia when her sister came to the area as an NIH scholar. She misses her garden but has lots of houseplants. Growing up, Emily enjoyed working in her parents’ bakery and was drawn to the similar family atmosphere of Jenny Cakes. What is she proud of?  Her family, especially her parents who participate in foster care. Outside of work, she writes poetry and short stories, focusing on nature and the people she encounters. She also likes the outdoors and hiking.

J:  What a stroke of luck it was when we hired Emily C.!  We call her Carter (that’s her last name – not just one we made up!) because there are so many Emilys working at the bakery already.  Not only does she have tons of experience working in a bakery, but she is also remarkably helpful, pragmatic, patient and calm and catches on to things very quickly.   

Chelsea!
M:  Chelsea is one of Jenny’s gifted cake decorators. She moved to the area from her hometown, Pensacola, Florida six months ago when her fiancé was drawn here by a work opportunity. They married in November.  She commutes to JennyCakes from Fairfax, Virginia.  Chelsea’s an artist at heart and loves drawing and “working with different color palettes.” What does she do for fun?  Play the ukulele and go on hikes or play video games with her new husband. She has six siblings: five sisters and one brother. 

J:   I so appreciate Chelsea’s beautiful, crisp, clean cake designs and the lightness and positivity that Chelsea brings to the bakery that rubs off on each of us and makes it difficult for us to be grumpy or negative!  

Emily M.
M: Emily is usually at the counter, serving customers, stocking the shelves, and moving quietly about to assist others.  She came to Jenny Cakes when she felt it was time for a change from selling technology. Baking is her passion – “It’s why I’m here.”  She’s married and has two teenage sons, a freshman at Catholic University and a junior at Bethesda Chevy Chase High School.  She has lived in Kensington since 1998.  She loves to travel – has been to Japan, Australia, and Europe a few times.  Recently she traveled to Romania and Germany for a wedding.  Her strengths?  “I like people and am good at listening.” Surprisingly, this gentle and deep woman has a Brown Belt in Karate! 

J: Some of my happiest moments at the bakery are when I can get Emily M. to bust out laughing. She has the greatest laugh. I try to stoke the fire a bit on the old WJ v. BCC rivalry, but so far she maturely won’t bite. Probably for the best given the whole Brown Belt in Karate thing. But seriously, I love having Emily’s calm, reliable and cheerful presence at the bakery.

Susie!
M: It’s hard to believe that this young-looking woman with a quick smile and high energy has four fairly old children – – two daughters in college, one daughter in high school, and a son in 8^th grade.  She always seems to be on top of things and happy.  She is at Jenny Cakes because of her “love of baking,” which she gained as a child baking with her mom and later baking with her kids.  Susie lives nearby in Chevy Chase.  She regards her strengths as being very organized and creative – she loves arts and crafts.  What is something unusual that others might not know about her? She is one of 16 children, 9 girls and 7 boys! Her oldest sibling turns 70 this year. Twelve of her siblings live in the local area.  Just imagine their family reunions!

J: So lucky to have Susie working at the bakery!  Not only does she thrive on being super productive but apparently she knows pretty much everyone in this area.  I get a kick out of overhearing her quick conversations at the front counter with people she hasn’t seen for a while!   

Lily!
J: Lily, my daughter, who is now age 20, helped convince me to open the bakery way back in 2012 when she was 12. Our brains are scarily in sync. When we work together at the bakery, I’ll say, “Lily, can you…” and before I get any further with my question, she’ll say, “Yep, I did that” and she has! She appears to have inherited my organizational gene and is great at keeping track of things and figuring out what needs to happen next.  Although she is away in college at the University of Wisconsin, Lily still occasionally makes an appearance at the bakery when she’s craving underdone chocolate chip cookies. 

Geneva!
J: Geneva, my daughter who is now age 17, was the second accomplice in convincing me to open the bakery way back in 2012 when she was 10. She knows how to do literally everything at the bakery from checking the oven to doing dishes to making batters to answering the phone to running the front counter. But she won’t let me pay her. Her reasoning cracks me up: she doesn’t want the pressure of keeping up with her bakery work at the expense of being able to chat with everyone there!

 

Doug! 
M: Doug is the perfect husband for Jenny. His humor, wisdom and calm nature fit well with Jenny’s adventurous drive and passionate spirit.  You will get to know Doug best by watching him.  He is definitely a man of action not words.  His peaceful spirit, quiet kindness and responsible manner reflect his Quaker beliefs.  His know-how and no-nonsense response to decisions and challenges are always on target.  Though working full-time as a busy attorney, he willingly uses his weekends to help at the bakery. I think he secretly loves it!

J:  Doug has helped in every difficult aspect of owning and operating a bakery — from negotiating the initial lease and acquisition of equipment from the old bakery to dealing with a long-term incredibly-frustrating plumbing problem (which appears to at last be resolved) to figuring out how and whether to expand into the space next door. But most importantly, every three months or so he has found a way to calm down a wife who periodically falls apart because she is having trouble figuring out how to own and operate a bakery! He works every Saturday from 4 on, pretty much single-handedly washes and folds the millions of aprons and rags we use at the bakery, hauls nearly all of our recyclables home every week and does many more things around the house than I do even though he’s a full-time partner at a law firm! Obviously, JennyCakes would not have happened and would not still be here today without the incredible amount of support he’s given it. Thanks, honey!

Jenny!
M: Jenny has always loved organizing things: in 3^rd grade it was a Jerry Lewis Carnival for Muscular Dystrophy, in 5^th grade it was a makeshift library in the basement of the apartment complex where she lived, in high school it was a variety of activities including Homecoming , in early adulthood it was birthday bashes (including lots of cakes of course) for her friends, as a mom it was guiding her young daughters in delivering homemade bread to the residents of Circle Manor, a nursing home that used to be across from Noyes Children’s Library.  So it’s no wonder that as her four children grew, Jenny stopped practicing law and instead organized events that mattered to her family and her community.  For a decent stretch of time, she organized countless sports teams, the Kensington 8K Race (which benefits local schools), the Kensington Labor Day Parade, and many events at her kids’ schools like International Night and the Holiday Bazaar. 

But the activity that captured her heart the most was planning and organizing JennyCakes Bakery.  Her children pushed her into it, but launching JennyCakes tapped into her drive to organize and her desire to create a place that would play a small part in the many celebrations of the people in her community.   

J:  What do I do in my role as owner and manager of the bakery? Everything from creating recipes to crawling on my knees to try to fix the plumbing to doing payroll to keeping track of each order that comes in. What do I enjoy most at the bakery? Creating a recipe and having someone say that’s the best __ I’ve ever tasted! What do I do for fun when I’m not working at the bakery?  Watch the Caps with my family.  Enjoy our new puppy.  Read read read – especially mystery/detective novels. Watch good TV, most recently The Stranger. Watch bad TV: Love Island, the Bachelor / Bachelorette.   

New Fun Goodies at JennyCakes!

All of the following goodies are mouth-wateringly yummy and super popular with our customers, but next January I have GOT to find a way to add a bit more color to this month’s new stuff!