St Lucian entrepreneur Georgia Lucien was working in the local hospitality industry for years, when COVID-19 brought the world to a grinding halt.

Stuck at home, and with a small child to look after, Georgia started making bite-sized treats and enjoyed putting photos of her creations on WhatsApp for her friends and family to see.

Many of them put in requests for her homemade delicacies and it was not long before word spread. When Georgia started getting orders for all sorts of goodies from people she did not know, she decided to launch her catering business, ‘Blissful Bites’.

Yello chatted with Georgia about her growing small enterprise.

Describe yourself using three words.

Ambitious. Adventurous. Passionate.

Tell us a bit about your background.

I was born and raised in Castries and grew up with my mum, stepdad and three younger brothers.

A fun fact about me is that I went to all-girls’ schools up to secondary – Ave Maria Infant and Primary and St Joseph’s Convent. After that I went to Sir Arthur Lewis Community College and I am currently pursuing a business management degree at Monroe College.

Growing up, I was a bit of a tomboy. I didn’t have many dolls to play with, so I used to play a lot of boys’ games with my brothers. However, I did spend time in the kitchen cooking and baking with my mum.

During the summer and Christmas holidays, I spent a lot of time by the seaside with my mum’s family in Dennery. That was great for me because I am a water baby. There was a lot of freedom there because it was a close-knit community.

How / when did you develop a love for cooking and baking? 

I’ve always loved food! I would try anything except shellfish because of an allergy.

I think my mum got me into cooking because she was a stay-at-home mum, and I always remember her trying recipes from a Caribbean cookbook that my stepdad brought back from Barbados. She was very adventurous in the kitchen, so almost every weekend she would try new recipes, and her food was always so good.

Now as an adult that has stayed with me, so I will try different things at home, and even when I go to a restaurant. I am very open and adventurous when it comes to food.

What were your initial career plans?

I was on the path of event management. Before COVID, I held the position of resort sales manager at Sandals Halcyon in St Lucia. I spent 12 years there in the wedding and sales departments, and I really do enjoy events because I am a planner by nature.

Working at the hotel I also got to network with a lot of local businesses and to understand the full spectrum of planning events.

Please tell us how you started your business ‘Blissful Bites‘.

I had being an entrepreneur on my vision board, but I did not see it as a baking business at all.

So, COVID affected us all in 2020, and the hospitality industry was one of the areas that was hardest hit. Being home for so long, I had to figure out what I wanted to do before I was called back into work.

I had a lot of time on my hands, and a two-year-old who I needed to feed, so naturally I found myself in two places – the kitchen and the garden.

I started baking, and anytime I cooked or baked something, I would have a mini photo shoot because I always loved taking images of food. I think we eat with our eyes first and that tempts you to want to taste it. So, I posted images of my food on WhatsApp and then I started getting requests.

The idea behind Blissful Bites was just to enjoy baking and share it with friends and family, but then people were talking about it, and I started getting calls and messages from people I didn’t even know asking for this and that.

In June, it’ll be one year since I started and it’s definitely been an interesting journey.

How has the business been evolving since you started? 

I started out with little homemade bites, then I got into custom cakes, which I did not see happening, because I never decorated a cake in my life before starting this business.

I enjoy being creative, and I have never been a person who settles for monotony. I always believe that we should evolve and do better for ourselves. So, if I’m doing something, I want to do it well and excel, and I don’t like disappointing anyone, especially my customers.

Anyone can bake but you need to be passionate and meticulous about it. But for me, if I am challenged with something I have never done before, I will try it and do the best that I can.

YouTube has been very instrumental for me. I also have a friend who gave me a professional culinary book that had so much information and provided very important insight. I’ve learned a lot and now I can do so much more.

What products do you offer? 

Custom cakes are currently the biggest part of the business and the thing that I enjoy the most because of the challenge.

I also do little bites, pastries, brownies, cinnamon rolls, cheesecakes, mini doughnuts, cakesicles, eclairs, and sugar cookies.

I also provide catering for small groups of 25 people or less.

Who are your clients? How do they find you? 

I have my day one base, which are my close friends and family who have always supported me. Then I get a lot of enquiries through Instagram as well.

What is the unique selling point for Blissful Bites?

I think two things set us apart. One is customer service because coming from the hospitality industry I learned the importance of being responsive and kind.

I try to be mindful and respond within a 24-hour window, which can be difficult when you are a one-man show and doing everything like baking, finding supplies, taking photos, and posting on social media. But I really do take the time to answer questions and book orders in a timely manner.

I also take a lot of pride in what I do. The aesthetics of how Blissful Bites is presented has a uniformity which is deliberate. When I take images, it’s a very well-thought-out process.

Where do you get inspiration for your desserts? 

A lot of my inspiration comes from what I see online and through my travels. I like to try different things because people tend to get bored seeing the same things, so for me I want to stand out by bringing inspiration from everywhere I’ve been.

One place I constantly think about is Las Vegas. I was in heaven there. So, when I make my desserts, I try to embody that experience because the dessert buffets were out of this world. I wanted one of everything!

What are your favourite ingredients to work with? 

I would say I love to bake fruitcakes the most. I use my mum’s recipe, and her cake is so moist it just melts in your mouth, and is the perfect balance of flavours. It’s also a staple in St Lucia especially at Christmas.

You soak your fruit months in advance and from November you start adding spices. I love Christmas, so every time I get to make a fruitcake it reminds me of it, and puts me in a joyous mood.

Who are the bakers that you admire? 

I would say chef Xavier Ribot. He is a French chef who owned a restaurant called Coal Pot on the waterfront in Vigie. I dined there for years, and the consistency of the food was so good. Chef Xavier has such passion for cooking. He paid attention to detail and took a lot of pride in taking care of his customers.

I follow AllYouKnead on Instagram. I’ve never met the person behind it, but she inspires me because her work is so amazing. She went to culinary school and you can see that she’s trained in the art. She’s very active on Instagram and puts out great work. When I first started I used to say that I really hope that I can reach that level because I am in awe of her work.

I always go to John Kanell’s ‘Preppy Kitchen’ page on YouTube, especially if I’m trying something I’ve never done before. My vanilla and chocolate cake recipes came from his page. He really walks you through the process, I guess that comes from his time as a schoolteacher.

What are your plans for Blissful Bites over the next 12-18 months? 

The short term goal is to establish myself as much as possible within the market. I need to do some groundwork to establish myself as a reliable and very accommodating brand.

I would also love to have my own French-style café one day.

What do you love about St Lucia? 

There is so much to say. Every time I travel, and I come back home, I am in awe of St Lucia. I cannot see myself living anywhere else. St Lucia is so beautiful especially the topography. The people are friendly and it feels like a community.

The beaches are beautiful. I am a PADI scuba diver, and St Lucia has some of the best dive sites in the Caribbean.

My favourite place to visit is Soufriere. The view of the Pitons is incredible. There is something calming about Soufriere; it’s like a reset button for me.

Where do you go to eat on the island? 

I like fine dining, but I also love to support local, so I also visit food trucks and roadside venues. There is an area in Beausejour that has quite a few of them. You can get wings, burgers, tacos, wraps and fries, and there’s even a guy who does Jamaican cuisine. You have a wide choice because there are 10-15 options and it’s the best.

What advice do you have for aspiring Caribbean entrepreneurs? 

The first thing is to believe in yourself. A lot of people are afraid of risks and change. They may have something they want to do in their heart and soul, but they’re scared to take the risk. Having a positive mindset and believing in yourself is a great way to start.

Find someone who can help you because doing it on your own can be overwhelming. Confide in someone who is positive and gives you motivation.

Remember that nothing good comes easy. Have a vision and a goal and write them down. Put pen to paper. It doesn’t have to be a formal business plan, but just jot down your thoughts and ideas and take it from there.

What is your philosophy / motto in life? 

‘Nothing happens before the time’.

I’ve learned that lesson the hard way because I’m a planner, which means I want things to happen at the time that I want, and if things don’t happen that way, I can get disappointed and lose focus. But in the end, it usually works out.

In the past few years, that’s something I’ve held onto, to trust and believe in the process because it’ll happen when the time is right.

See more of Georgia’s Blissful Bites on Instagram.