Episode 10: My Empowerment

Jacqueline James 

Welcome back to another episode of the Centennial College Leadership Vibes podcast. In season eight, we are discussing individual's journey to leadership. In this episode, we are here with Chef Demi Meneses. She is a professor here at Centennial College, as well as an entrepreneur running a licensed home based company, Macookie and Cake. Chef Demi, we are excited to have you on our podcast. We look forward to hearing more about your leadership journey and some of the challenges you encountered on your journey.

Chef Demi Meneses 

Thank you so much for inviting me. It's great to be here.

Jacqueline James 

Thank you for coming. Chef Demi, can you please tell us a bit about yourself and your leadership role at Centennial College?

Chef Demi Meneses 

Sure can. So a little bit about myself. I have been in the industry for about 13 years, first starting off at working at multiple different bakeries around Toronto, Ontario, also including Shangri La Hotel for a couple of months while they first opened up and working at other patisseries in downtown Toronto before working at a cake shop, which is located here in Scarborough as well. Not anymore. They just recently close, but I was the head cake artist there before working at Centennial College.

Jacqueline James 

Very well, lots of experiences, Chef Demi. And what inspired you to become a professional pastry chef?

Chef Demi Meneses 

That is a great question. I like food. And that is a very simple question to ask. I think what it was growing up is I've always liked food. I've like chocolate, I like sweets. And from there, I was always good at arts. So that was another thing that influenced my decision to go to a culinary school, I actually went to a culinary school to learn culinary management instead of baking. But I was working at other patisseries and bakeries before going to culinary school. And I found that with culinary school, it taught me both savory and sweet preparations. But my heart lended back to being in the pastry world again. So I think that's what it was growing up. Where it comes with my art background, I was just always good at arts. So whether it'd be painting, sculpting anything like that, you put the two and two together. Another thing that influenced me was the time in 2008, 2009, when these reality shows would come out like, I'm not sure if you guys are familiar with Cake Boss or Ace of Cakes. That was big around that time. And it took baking. And it also took arts. And it was like a new thing that opened up my eyes to the world of cake decorating. And I was really interested in this product that's called fondant. And we're like, what is fondant? And how are you able to manipulate the shape to turn it that way. And given that I had an art background, I knew at that time, like I mentioned earlier, I do have a local high school that I went to around Scarborough. And at the time, I found a bakery that was able to accommodate those needs. And they were starting to utilize fondant into their cakes as well. So I was like, why not learn that? So that's what influenced me as well.

Jacqueline James 

Very well. And you are not only a professor at Centennial College, you are also an entrepreneur, you are the proud owner of Macookie and Cake Company. I hope I said that correctly. What are some personal values and attributes that helped guide you when making decisions?

Chef Demi Meneses 

Personal attributes, I would say attributes is like I would even say my leadership role, my connection with the clientele that I have in order for me to build my company and my reputation, also the connections within the industry that influence like how to upgrade yourself and update your style in terms of the design aspects of it. But I am, when it comes to my business, I am working alone, and singularily. I do operate this business from home. And with that being said, it's a lot of, a lot of organizational skills on top of that, trying to go in between teaching as well as going home and making those orders and cakes when I'm on my off time. So Macookie and Cake was a passion of mine just because of the pandemic and I'm sure that you've seen a lot of companies start to flourish over the pandemic and start to become a thing especially when it came to home baking, whether it be the job that they lost or an additional income to come in. Macookie was just me making cookies from home. And it was actually just frozen cookies that I would just be baking batches for over and over and over again, sure enough, one thing led to another and the network of people would just share, like either my Instagram posts or a lot of family members would just like come in. and want to buy those cookies because it was just a wholesome thing during the pandemic that I wanted to do. And then it just like we started incorporating a lot more cakes into it, because I already had a cake background trying to dine safe my kitchen from there. And yeah, just like trying to see if it can be bigger, or even just trying to get some help, whether it'd be from someone who's marketing, making the menus for me, like my sister got involved and everything like that. And yeah, it just, it was something that flourished out of nothing over the pandemic. And I'm proud to say that I am the owner of it. And we accomplish this much. So far, it doesn't feel like anything, but I'm proud of it. And it's a humbling experience for even my customers asking me or like I have really loyal customers asking me when I'm coming back. Unfortunately, it's not going to be for this Christmas season. But hopefully I'll be back soon. In terms of because, I'm in the middle of moving, dine, saving again and Durham and looking forward to seeing them again.

Jacqueline James 

I know you're independent, but COVID-19 a closed a lot of doors and opened new doors also for a lot of people, and you're one of them, as you mentioned. So you had a vision, and you recognize the opportunities and you went for it, which is excellent.

Mebrat Bekele 

Speaking of your home baking business, I was actually browsing through your Instagram, and you have the most amazing cakes, I always see these type of posts on Instagram, I always wonder, where do these people are? And now it's good to know that I have that personal connection with you, that I can come and ask you. Yeah, it's good to know. And they're very amazing. Speaking of cakes, and pastries, tell us about your favorite dessert to eat or make. What's your favorite?

Chef Demi Meneses 

I think to eat. Anytime that I want something sweet. It's not something that's fancy. It's something that's nostalgic, maybe homemade. I'm a simple person at heart, I know how to make a lot of these really high end desserts already. And something that you want to say something comforting. So for example, things that you're not able to get in stores, like something maybe that your grandma made or that your mom made, and you know exactly how they make it. And they make it a certain way and you'd like that texture you like that feeling. So I think for me something that is sweet, nostalgic, is would be like my mom's literally flan. And that is my grandma's recipe, I actually utilize the same recipe in my business as well. And we've been using it ever since. And I like showcasing that it is a generational aspect that goes into my cookie business because it is made with love. And I think when you put a little bit of love into it, of course, it's nostalgic for people but it's also a nostalgic for yourself to keep on recreating and making it and there would be times where that recipe didn't turn out correct. And I would hate myself doing it and I would see how it came out. Either I cooked it for too long. Or I tried to adjust the recipe in a way and it didn't work out and then we would throw the whole thing out and it was a shame because I'm like dammit, why did I do that? Why did I change that? I should have just kept it the way it is. But yeah, it's just something that's comforting for me that I truly like. Another dessert that I would like to say is like tiramisu. Tiramisu, and it has to be one of those Tiramisus that you eat with a spoon. Okay, so very comforting. Tiramisu is an Italian bakery staple. It was one of the first things I learned how to make working in an Italian kitchen, an Italian bakery. And yeah, that would be my go to favorite dessert.

Mebrat Bekele 

Yes, there's definitely a lot of I guess, trial and error when it comes to baking. Yeah, so,

Chef Demi Meneses 

What's the second question?

Mebrat Bekele 

No, I said, What's your favorite dessert or like to eat or bake. Yeah.

Jacqueline James 

Now the busiest time of the year is quickly approaching. And at Christmas, this is the time most of us overindulgent sweets, pastries, desserts and cakes. And I'm sure you are busy getting orders. How do you manage your time while balancing your work life?

Chef Demi Meneses 

You try not to work seven days a week. I think that's what it is. I was at a point where I was working seven days a week. So whether it be teaching, whether it be coming into teach, grading, preparing for your next class, preparing for your online class, and then on top of that, trying to organize your own personal life, while also taking orders on the side, it's busy, it's, it's stressful, especially because I'm one person, it's just my husband that's helping out. But trying to organize it, you do need to be on top of things and say no. And I think that's one of my biggest challenges that I have as an entrepreneur, as well as being the type of personality to always say yes to everything. Occasionally, I have to let myself understand that I'm not able to take on everything, and say no, sometimes. And I know that a lot of my family members and my friends, they reassure me that you're still going to be who you are, if you say no. And that is still a challenge that I'm trying to overcome today. And you always want to put your students first, you always want to put, because we're in the field of hospitality. So you always want to please everyone. So understand that you have to please yourself first. And when it comes to this time of the year, like I mentioned, I'm not operating anymore. And I have to take a look at it in a way that there will be orders that are still going to be there, those clients are still always going to come back, because they like your work. And they're loyal to you as a person to make either their cakes or their orders. So they're always going to be around. So given this time of the year, I always like to persuade other people to shop local businesses that I also know that do need more of the help than I do. Because everything is either closing down, mom and pop shops are closing down. I follow this social media page that's called Scarborough Eats or Scarborough, I think it's Scarborough Eats, Scarborough Eats. And they've been showing a lot of the small businesses that have been around the Scarborough area for the past, like 15 years that are closing down their doors, because of number one lack of business or number two, the rent might be higher. So if I'm not in a place where I'm able to take these orders, then I always tried to persuade the customers to go somewhere else. How do I balance work life? Organizational skills, and trying to organize what you're doing that day and trying to keep on top of it by a week. There we go.

Mebrat Bekele 

Yeah, definitely. Like I needed to have like set healthy set boundaries, to keep like your work life and your personal life at a  balance, so you can function to the best of your abilities. Tell us about what leadership means to you, and how you describe your leadership style.

Chef Demi Meneses 

What leadership means to me. I was put in a position that I didn't know that I was going to be a teacher. I think what it was was I was so set on being a cake decorator, looking at my career as being just someone that's going to be working in the industry without, not knowing the knowledge of being a leadership or having that leadership role. But then once I stepped into it, you get a lot of these students coming up to you asking you questions, asking you advice, asking you how they're able to improve. And without knowing it, I was like, oh, shoot, I am a leader, right? Like, I think it just blindsides you the way how you get into it, without actually figuring out that you are going to be a leader in a way or just coaching them along the way. I find that being very young in the industry, especially within teaching, you don't feel like you're making a difference to these students. Because some of these students, they're coming into a second career. They know other things, like one of my students, I was talking to a few of my students from this semester about a student from last semester, she was actually a doctor back home. And she came into Canada as a second career, wanting to learn baking and pastry. And I didn't know about their past and prior background before, until I physically talked to them about like their personal life. And there was one time, let me tell you a little story. There was one time my stomach was hurting. And I was complaining a little bit to my students being like guys, I'm not well, I don't feel very well right now. So I don't I'm just gonna go sit down on the side while you guys work on something. And my student came up to me and she was asking me all these questions. Did you take this? Did you take that? Did you take this? Did you do this? And I was like, Oh, how do you know all this stuff? And then she was like, Chef, I'm a doctor back home, and I had no idea. So unless you're actually physically put in that situation of being a leader, you don't know that you are a leader until you have someone or a few sets of students looking up to you and looking for those leadership qualities in you. So I'm very grateful. And I don't feel like I'm making a difference, but I truly am. And seeing them progress into either getting the job that they wanted to do, the benefit to my job is that I get them even semester one, semester two, semester three. And by the fourth semester, or if they have already graduated, seeing them improve on their skill sets, you were part of that journey, and just coaching them along the way and influencing their decisions in terms of, oh, a lot of them don't know, they're unsure what direction they want to take. And just like a few minutes with them, just talking to them, seeing what they're able to see without them seeing it or influencing their decision into, oh, you should work here, because you're actually really good at this specific skill set. Yeah, just, it opens their eyes in terms of what they see now. And I think that's what it is about just being a leader. I think it just falls into your lap, and you just don't know it, but you're grateful that it happens. And I think that's just one of the things about being a teacher.

Mebrat Bekele 

Yeah, what a beautiful story. And then the main reason for you not seeing your students face to face was due to COVID. And school start to be online, while pastry and baking in general is a very hands on program. How did you manage teaching that over zoom? How did that go?

Chef Demi Meneses 

When it came to online school at the beginning of COVID, it was a very transformative, airy time, when it came to all of us, whether it be like learning new developments, programs that we had to make and be an SME for, trying to assist them based on, oh here are the recipes, try to make it at home. But a lot of students would be international students, a lot of students would be domestic students. But not all of them have the right tools and equipment. So when it comes to online schooling, we turned it more into a knowledge based discussion board, quizzes, and an opportunity for you to recreate those recipes at home and for us to grade, but a lot of demonstration videos were involved in it, and trying to show them still the skill set, still the learning outcomes, while also trying to see if they can assess the knowledge, too, so it was a challenging time, I think it's getting better and better. But the good thing about Centennial College is that we were able to implement online sections for international students if they don't need to come physically here to Canada. So it's a different way of learning about pastry, and arts, YouTube, you can learn a lot of things from YouTube. And I think given that we are in the, we are in the technology era, there's a lot of other ways of how to learn. And we're grateful for that. And it's open for like all students, which I like, too

Jacqueline James 

Chef Demi, from listening to your story, I can tell you have a lot of passion for baking. Has it always been like this since you were a child?

Chef Demi Meneses 

Yes.

Jacqueline James 

Okay.

Chef Demi Meneses 

I think I had always a clear cut vision of like where I wanted to be. And it was always going to be surrounded by food, whether it be eating food, whether it be eating at restaurants, whether it be like just making food from home, I've always wanted to be some sort in food. At the time, you don't know where you want to go. And I just knew that it was going to be something that was closely related to food. And I think given my high school years, my first crack at learning how to make food was in the hospitality course in high school. I have never knew that I wanted to teach. But it just made sense now, because both of my grandparents were teachers. So even when I told my parents that, oh, I'm going to be teaching a class now, my first class that was going to teach and then there were so proud of me, because they're like, it's in your blood. It's in your genes. You're a good teacher, and you will be a good teacher. And I was like, you get a little nervous along the way. But I've always wanted to be surrounded by food, but it's just a benefit now to be teaching food to other people who want to stay in food.

Jacqueline James 

Very well said.

Mebrat Bekele 

Speaking of foods.

Chef Demi Meneses 

I don't have any I'm sorry.

Mebrat Bekele 

That's funny. I have a very sweet tooth. So if I see any dessert, like I can't stop eating and like I have to eat it.

Chef Demi Meneses 

Yeah.

Mebrat Bekele 

How do you keep yourself from not eating all of those amazing desserts that you make?

Chef Demi Meneses 

You eat it so much that you get sick of it.

Mebrat Bekele 

Oh, wow.

Chef Demi Meneses 

Oh, I'm not lying.

Mebrat Bekele 

I guess I haven't reached that point yet.

Chef Demi Meneses 

You get a little bit every single day until you get sick of it.

Mebrat Bekele 

Yes. A lot of self control.

Chef Demi Meneses 

Yeah, definitely a lot of self control.

Mebrat Bekele 

Okay, what's next for Chef Demi? You are a professor here at Centennial. You're an entrepreneur running your own baking business, any new business ventures in the near future?

Chef Demi Meneses 

I think, for my next, I wouldn't say five year plan. But for my next 10 year plan, I would like to host a private cake decorating school. And if that be in my future, I think that is next for me. I have now my experience teaching, I have now my business of making and producing cakes, why not combine the two into like a private cake school? And I think that's where it would be, it would be somewhere local, as well as also offering online courses, too, and teaching now, the next generation of chefs how to do either making a business or being profitable, learning the skill set and knowledge when it comes to modern cake decorating trends. And I think that's where it's going to be in the next, I would say 10 years, maybe five years, I think I still want to stay a professor at Centennial College. But I think the next 10 years, I think it's going to be having to do with something that's my own. That is a cake school studio, maybe, but a cake school, offering private lessons.

Mebrat Bekele 

That is a big, big plan. And hopefully I'll be able to make it to one of your classes. The cakes you make are like amazing, like I've seen the pictures. On behalf of the CLA team, we would like to say thank you for joining us to discuss your journey and your experiences of leadership.

Chef Demi Meneses 

Thank you so much for having me and I look forward to coming back in the new year.

Mebrat Bekele 

We'll be happy to have you.