For June’s Vendor Highlight we featured Your Cake Baker, interviewing none other than owner, Wayne Kjar. I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Wayne at his Santa Barbara (2018 Cliff Drive, Santa Barbara, 93109) bakery. I’ve worked with Wayne on several different occasions, and the biggest reason I love working with Wayne is his excellent work-ethic. He treats his customers and workers very well, and is extremely responsive and friendly. Oh, and makes delicious desserts! 😉
Karen: Hi Wayne! So, tell me how you got into the business of cupcake and cake-making?
Wayne: Hi there! I got into this business by being born into it. My father, grandfather, great-grandfather, great-great-grandfather were all bakers. My father immigrated to the United States after World War II and I learned my trade from my father. He has been a baker his entire life and that’s how I was born into it.
K: So baking definitely runs in your family! What’s your favorite thing to bake?
W: My favorite thing to bake, simple as it is, are éclairs. I just love the smell of éclairs, they’re fun and easy to make and the entire time you’re baking them, you’re just salivating. So definitely éclairs.
K: I’ve had them, and they’re delicious! How did you get into weddings yourself?
W: Well, the wedding industry has really grown in Santa Barbara over the years. When I first started learning the art of cake decorating through my father, weddings were not as big a part of the business as it is today, whereas over the years it’s grown in my business to account for about 50% of my gross sales. Cakes really evolve every year–there are new trends, new ideas, new decoration styles, new colors–it’s just constantly evolving, to keep you on your toes!
K: What are some trends you’re seeing for 2014 and what do you expect to see for 2015?
W: Well, for 2014 I see the cupcakes are trending back down and I’m seeing people wanting to come up with the idea of adding pillars to the wedding cakes again. Almost all the cakes we have clients request are stacked with tiers, and we’ve had people wanting to request the more old-school style with pillars in between the tiers, so maybe that will be coming on stronger in 2015. This year’s cake colors are primarily white and off-white, and people are bringing in color primarily by using fabric ribbon to wrap around the base of the cake tiers.
K: It’s so interesting how cake styles change from year to year. What’s your favorite part of the job?
W: My favorite part of the job is dealing with my customers, and it’s not really dealing with them– it’s working with them primarily. This is a fun job, people come in here because they have a milestone in life to celebrate. Delivering a cake that’s been tailored to the client is the best part of the job.
K: So why should people come to Your Cake Baker out of all of the bakeries around?
W: That’s extraordinarily simple– I’m the best! [Wayne laughs] But anyways, I think we offer a very broad selection of cake flavors, fillings, icing and decorations, but also just from our history and our perspective, we can bring in other ideas just by talking to customers. We really get into details with our customers to make sure that they give us their ideas and we can understand their ideas to create something that’s just right for them.
K: Great customer service is definitely something I’ve seen you and Your Cake Baker display on a consistent basis. So I hear you’re expanding! Why don’t you tell me more about that?
W: It is exciting times here at Your Cake Baker! I recently purchased a company off Coast Village Road called Montecito confections. I will be taking over in a few days, and we will be redoing the branding of the company, so it will become Your Cake Baker number two, so we’re really excited about that we feel that it’s a great opportunity for us to grow!
K: That’s awesome! I know you’ll do well with another location. Thank you for taking the time to chat with me about yourself and your company, I really appreciate it.
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After our interview, Wayne showed me around his bakery, and his staff was gracious enough to let me photograph them hard at work.
A fridge full of cakes, cupcakes and other goodies–yum!
~Update: Since I interviewed Wayne, his second store has officially opened up at 1150 Coast Village Road in Montecito.
Added bonus, on July 10th, 2014, between 8:00A.M. and 6:00P.M. Your Cake Baker will be honoring the 91st birthday of Henning Kjar, Wayne’s father, by selling all cupcakes for just 91 cents each! Head on over there for delicious cupcakes and other goodies!
Pro-tip: My favorite dessert at Your Cake Baker are their Poppers–they’re absolutely delicious, so be sure to give them a try!
Thank you so much to Wayne for giving us a glimpse into his life and company!
For more information about Your Cake Baker, check out the website by clicking here.
