Meet Aeriel Villanueva

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Aeriel Villanueva. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Aeriel below.

Aeriel, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

Coming from an immigrant Asian household, there was always a hidden expectation to be successful. With my grandma’s help, who was already living in Los Angeles, helped my family move from the Philippines to California. My parent’s sacrificed and left behind what they had in Manila to give my brothers and I a better life. With the struggles of building a life here in Los Angeles, their expectations for us was to do well in school, get a college degree and get a “stable job.” In my parent’s eyes, the career path I took was not viewed as a since the industry lacked 401k, health insurance, PTO etc. I wanted to prove them wrong that I can make something out of myself in the hospitality industry. I worked long hours and learned everything I could at every job I had even if I had to come in earlier or stayed later after my shift. My business was not something that my parents approved of until I started my own. To be honest, my parents didn’t know I started this new venture nearly a month or two after I started my pop-up. Now that they see me doing this a year and a half later, it’s safe to say, they are proud of what I am doing.

To add on, being the only daughter and growing up with four brothers was a different upbringing. I had to learn how to be tough and have thick skin. We were always competitive amongst each other whether its as sports, video games or board games. And many times, we physically fought one an another.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

Crumbs and Flakes Bakery is a microbakery based out of Koreatown in Los Angeles. We are infusing Chinese and Filipino flavors into French pastries. We serve up a variety of pastries from cookies to croissants while using the different produce from the farmers market. Currently, the menu consists with seasonal fruits such as stone fruits, mangoes, and berries to show off the amazing produce that California has to offer. We also offer classic items such as almond croissant and pain au chocolat.

Our microbakery is currently a pop-up which you can find every Saturday morning at Alhambra Park. We also have a monthly pop-up on the last Sunday of every month at Mandarin Coffee Stand in Pasadena. You can check out our pop-up information on our social media or on our website.

We are excited to see this small idea to continue to grow and take us places where we never thought it would. We don’t have plans of opening a brick- and- mortar. For now, we are happy to continue being as a pop-up microbakery.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

As Gordon Ramsey will say, “You need to be a sponge.” I could not agree more! There’s so much that can be learned in the hospitality industry because each day is always a new obstacle you have to overcome. With the challenges and struggles you face, it can help you be better in your profession such as being more efficient, creative, or quick problem solving.

If you want to be great at doing something, practice achieves perfection. Everyone has their definition of perfection, therefore find your level of perfection you want to achieve and use that as your goal. During the repetition of practicing, you’ll notice methods that you do and do not prefer. Also, take note of it.

Lastly, there’s always room for improvement. The world is always evolving to new ideas, techniques, and tastes. The hard part of it is keeping up with it. Even though I’ve made hundreds of croissants in my career, I’m still learning and adjusting from new researches I discover. Also, many of my creations and methods are not only from experience, but also from trial and error.

Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?

Our biggest growth, I feel very proud of, is staying as a small unique gem and controlling our growth at our own pace. Although we receive an immense amount of support of people coming to our pop ups and requesting catering, I try to not loose sight of what is important. This small business is not only meant to be profitable but to also have creativity and joy. Many people would say we sell out quickly at a limited time and we need to have a place of our own to expand our availability. We will eventually get to a point of expansion, however at this current time and place we must remain micro. I’ve always wanted something small and I stand by it. I want every aspect of this business to be genuine, a place to welcome you to our home, and every pastry has my own special touch.

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Image Credits

Photographer: Realm Seven

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