Today we’d like to introduce you to Noelia Castillo
Hi Noelia, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
All my life I had a passion for baking and dreamed about becoming a pastry chef.I was born in the Dominican Republic and came to the US as an illegal immigrant at the age of 14. I became a mother at 16 and put aside my dream of pastry because I had real responsibilities and I thought this would never happen for me. Only people from TV became professionals. I did not believe in myself at all. I eventually became a US resident and then a US citizen. Life was happening and I didn’t have time to cater to my craft.I however, never stop dreaming about creating beautiful cakes and I started baking on the side as a hobby and getting the taste of my pastries on point. 3 years ago I decided to change my life and started following Christ. In my quest of finding myself I started reading the Bible and I got a scripture that reads “if you abide in me and my word abides in you, you may ask whatever you want and it will be given” so I asked God to turn me into a professional baker, and a painter and a dancer. I wanted to create cakes as beautiful as they do on TV. And so it started my journey of creating beautiful cakes. And now I can officially say I am a professional Cake decorator and baker. Never went to pastry school. I opened an LLC and so it started my Cake business that 1 day I pray will be my main source of income. I also signed up into a dance school and I am graduating August 2024 with my Dance diplomacy and I am also an grate painter I have over 10 paintings I created. I am also a Christian Model with Christian Models association. ☺️
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Some of the struggles I have encounter are finding customers. I started baking and friends and family have supported me but enlarging my brand has been a hurtle. I am not very good at branding myself and I do not like charging either 🤣 so shifting my brain from baking just to make people happy to this is a business and I need to charge is also a huge transition for me.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a full time Recruiter for Spectrum. I work sourcing passive candidates and interviewing based on company needs. For my Cake business I usually bake as orders come up 2-3 orders per month usually on the weekend.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I love how clean Orlando is. I love the natural Springs and all the things there are to do here. Orlando Has actives for everyone. Every age and gender. This is an active city.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Msznellyzcakez
