France is known for its cuisine, and this includes its amazing selection of pastries and bakery items. Sarah Quifille-Duler is a former pastry chef and decided to use her skills to start her own business making delicious little Canelés, just like they make them in her home country. She also sells madeleines and little tartes de pomme (apple tarts), but the canelés are why you need to stop by her booth; they are a delicacy. Below, Sarah shares her insights on starting a pastry business.

Could you briefly describe your business?
I sell French pastries and especially a pastry called the canelé. Canelés are like a bite-size flan, so you can have your own and don’t need to share :)

Where did the idea come from?
So I studied culinary art in France, pastry in particular, out of a love for cakes and the passion French people put into it. I love to play with flavors, textures, colors, etc..

After getting my baking certificate, I came to the USA to work as a pastry chef in various bakeries in Washington D.C. I learned a lot and perfected my skills while acquiring other much-needed skills such as management etc. I was cruising but something was missing…

I always wanted to have my own business. I wanted to be free to create and bring my own touch to the pastry world but I also wanted to bring something different.

Then I thought of the canelé. It is a specialty of my hometown of Bordeaux, in France. You would most likely not find canelés outside of Bordeaux; it’s very localized and typical of the area. So, as I was making canelés for friends and family, every time I would introduce somebody to these pastries, they would love it. I would always receive compliments on how different, yummy, tasty they were, etc.

Bam! Just like that I knew what I was going to do! I was going to bring my hometown pastry tradition to America and introduce Americans to it!

I have been in the US for 13 years now. One thing I learned along the way is that adaptation is key. So I decided to make not only the genuine Vanilla canelés, as you would find in a typical bakery in Bordeaux. I wanted to also make it a little more American by adding different fillings to it… So now, I make French canelés with an American twist!

This business is the final step of 13 years of learning the logistics of running a pastry kitchen, learning American ways of doing things and learning how to manage a business. As I mentioned, I was a manager in DC, so that is where I learned things like self-confidence and how to perfect my business skills.

So now that The House of Canelés is up and running, I hope that down the line, I will be busy enough to add a brick-and-mortar bakery with not just canelés, but also other French pastries and other goodies.

What is your typical workday like?
I work out of a licensed home kitchen for now. We will be looking into renting a commercial kitchen as we grow. I mostly work alone, and my mother volunteers to help with the pop-ups when she has free time, but I am basically running the show on my own right now.

We work on a delivery / order-pick-up basis so people can order on the website and then pick up the order on their own time. When I get an order I prepare it fresh and arrange delivery/pick up with my customer.

What is your best-selling product?
The best seller is the Nutella canelé! It’s a very typical European product, aha! Also, Italian spread and French cake are popular. I think Nutella is a best seller because, well… who can resist Nutella? Combining a deliciously fresh canelé with Nutella, well it’s the best combination ever! The canelés are typically $4.50ea.

How does social media play a role in your business?
I mainly use Facebook and Instagram, and I find that Instagram brings the most traffic.

I also use LinkedIn, but not so much to generate traffic, but more to link with other professionals and to learn from them.

I do all the social media everything myself and I try to keep it creative. Hopefully, I’m doing a good job at it.

What are your thoughts on working with computers for the business?
I primarily use my phone and laptop. My MacBook and iPhone are always linked. I use iCloud to sync everything from one to the other to make my life easier. I prefer to store everything in iCloud.

What are your thoughts about maintaining a website?
I built my own website, it’s not perfect but I think it’s decent for a novice like me who had no notions whatsoever prior to attempting this.

What do you do for customer retention and Email mailing lists?
I use MailChimp to send a monthly newsletter. I always have a sign-up sheet at the booth for people to sign up.

How do you balance work and personal time?
To be honest, I have a hard time balancing family and work. I find myself always lurking for new opportunities, deals, and ideas even when I am “off.” As a new business owner, I take my business wherever I can so I can’t be too picky and turn down opportunities.

As an example, I was surfing not too long ago and I got a Yelp message on my Apple Watch. So I found myself responding using Siri because I didn’t want to miss an order, ha ha ha… That’s a typical example of how my life has been busy lately, but I’ve learned that it’s best not to complain :)

What are your thoughts regarding the environment, social issues, and being a partner with your community? Meeting local requirements has been a big learning experience for me as each city seems to have different requirements and legal obligations.

This was especially new to me because I previously lived in a county in Virginia that had one set of regulations, so I didn’t think that Orange County, CA, would be too different. It turned out that every city has different requirements for business licenses, permits, etc... So again, it’s a learning experience.

Do you have any advice for other business owners?
I don’t really have advice at this time, but I would certainly take some. Anybody?

What is your business outlook for the Future?
My industry is competitive but there is room for everybody regardless, especially for a product that is unique like mine. Yes, it’s a niche, but there is definitely room for growth as well.

My plan is to stick to what makes me different and makes me stand out, while also making sure customers are happy with their purchase. I am focusing on building a client base that will follow me to the next step in the business. To me, success is being part of the community, bringing something to the world, and being happy doing so. If I can bake and make people smile when they eat, all while living off my craft, that’s success!

Do you have any final thoughts?
If you have a dream and you believe in it, then go for it! Failures are not failures, they are just setbacks. So, take a deep breath and try again. Life is a game of learning and so is business. You got this, so don’t give up!

In France we say: Paris ne s’est pas construit en un jour (Paris didn’t get built in one day). It takes time to develop a business, so work hard, but enjoy the ride!

How to contact Sarah Quifille-Duler and the House of Canelés:

Sarah Quifille-Duler’s the House of Canelés

Cup-a-Bug by Justin Huang

Nakisa Nowroozi and Luv Maman