Chapter 1 - How It Started

 

Every business has a beginning.

Ours started long before there was a storefront, a cake order, a macaron, or even a name.

It started with a little boy who loved to bake.

It Started in the Kitchen

Jared’s love of baking began with his mother and grandmother. From an early age, the kitchen was one of his favourite places to be, and baking was never something he was content to simply do by the book.

There was always experimenting.

New flavours. New ideas. New combinations. And, of course, the occasional creation that probably should have stayed in the kitchen rather than being introduced to the public.

His grandmother was one of his earliest baking companions, and together they even ventured beyond the family kitchen, selling their creations at the Katepwa Market.

For Jared, baking was never just about making something sweet. It was about creating something, sharing it and seeing the reaction it received.

That little baker was already there.

A Little Push from Dad

Eventually, it was time to figure out what came next.

With a little encouragement, or perhaps a little parental persuasion, from his father, Jared headed to culinary school.

Farming was not exactly where his heart was leading him, and a traditional career in food service wasn't quite the answer either. But the culinary world gave him the opportunity to develop the skills behind the creativity that had always come naturally to him.

The experimental creations continued.

So did the baking passion.

And his passion for creating only grew.

But sometimes life has a funny way of taking you somewhere completely unexpected.

A Detour to Vancouver

Jared was swept away by the excitement of a big city, Vancouver, in the world of cosmetics.

What began as a career quickly became a very successful one.

His drive and determination were impossible to ignore. At a young age, Jared began climbing the ladder, taking on new responsibilities and receiving promotion after promotion. He continued to establish himself as one of the top performers in the country.

The cosmetics world gave him a completely different set of skills, an appreciation for business acumen, presentation, sales concept, detail and the importance of creating an experience.

And those skills would eventually become surprisingly useful.

But there was one problem.

The baker was still there.

The Baker Wanted Out

No matter how successful the career became, there was always that little voice in the back of Jared's mind reminding him that baking was still there.

The promotions that had once been exciting no longer felt quite as satisfying.

Something was missing.

The creative side of him wanted somewhere to go.

The baker wanted to come out.

So Jared made a decision that would change everything.

He came home to Regina.

Queen City Cakes

In 2018, with everything he had, Jared opened Queen City Cakes.

It wasn't a solo journey.

His family, friends and partner all played a part in helping bring the dream to life. There were long days, plenty of learning, more than a few challenges and an enormous amount of work behind the scenes.

But there was also something that had been there from the very beginning:

The love of baking.

That same curiosity from childhood was still there. The desire to experiment was still there. The obsession with details was still there.

Only now, there was a place to put it all.

Queen City Cakes became a space where baking could be creative, beautiful, unexpected and, most importantly, fun.