We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Bee Janisch. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Bee below.
Hi Bee, thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.
My optimism in my cake-slinging hustle comes from the fact that everyone will need cake at some point or another. Everyone needs a sugary treat, & the fact that I can be involved in whatever the cake reasoning is so delightful to me. I’ve done break-up cakes, wedding cakes, baby announcement & just-for-fun cakes. I get to pipe absolutely vulgar things if requested, & I do. Every cake is a reminder of the human connection, Yes, it’s just baking, but yes, it really is that deep. Julia Child said “A party without cake is just a meeting” & I get to bring that party. Desserts make people happy & the joy I can bring to people in my pink boxes of confection is touching. Seems weird coming from a business called KitchenGoth, but I get my optimism on the world & the people in it almost solely from this endeavor.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
KitchenGoth was born out of someone commenting on the fact that me working my first pastry chef job mostly in the basement made me a reclusive kitchen goth. Maybe she didn’t understand the concept of being goth, but it definitely stuck. Prior to that, I was in culinary school for baking & pastry arts. One of my final project cakes was a floral, butterfly-covered cake with the words, “one year closer to death” adorning it. I gave it to my mom for her birthday. She hated it, & I thought about how fun it would be to open an unconventional bakery where you could order unhappy birthday cakes, anti-valentines treats & “I’m-Glad-Your-Wedding-Got-Cancelled” confections. After working in a few Detroit restaurants, the pandemic shut everything down & I decided to be done working in the industry. It’s a tough environment, & a notoriously toxic one. Sometimes, though, I find myself missing the drama & derangement of almost killing ourselves to make sure everyone’s dinner is perfect. It’s a selfless job. During the shut-down, I started selling pastries out of my home, & it evolved into what KitchenGoth is now; a place to order the weirdest or loveliest cakes for your enemies or loved ones.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I’m still & always will be, growing & learning & changing, so the idea of me giving advice seems wacky to me. But I am immensely proud of turning a hobby I developed as a child into what it is to me now. A skill that has absolutely helped me is my ability to make friends with anyone & everyone. Someone I worked with in culinary school got me my first pastry chef job after developing a connection from me bringing her gluten free pastry scraps whenever I could. Another attribute of mine that I am keen on is my willingness to try anything once. Honestly, I’ll try anything twice. This is helpful in requests clients bring me. Growing up with untreated anxiety disorders, my parents would always ask me, “what’s the worst that could happen?” (I do NOT recommend this, as I constantly know the worst things that could happen), but bringing this into culinary scenarios helps a lot. At the end of the day, it is just food, & being able to step back after trying to force perfectionism onto a project is wonderful. Lastly a skill that has helped me in writing dumb things on cakes is my sense of humour. How could it not??
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I love people, & I especially love creative people. I try not to view other folks in my line of work as competition but rather, potential collaborators. So working together with like-minded, snarky humans would be a dream. People need cakes, always, so me being invited to sling them alongside any vendor would work out. You name it, I pipe it.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @kitchengoth
