Exploring Life & Business with Sarah Carpenter of Elevated Pastries

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Carpenter.

Hi Sarah, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I used to always bake with my mom growing up and when it came time to decide where to go to college, I discovered I could go to school for baking. So that’s what I did! I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Baking and Pastry Arts at Johnson and Wales University and began working various jobs in the food service industry (preparing pastries at Union Station, plating desserts in steakhouses, etc.). I was working what ended up being my last pastry cook job at Guard and Grace downtown in 2020 when everything shut down because of COVID. I suddenly found myself without a job and a lot of time on my hands. I decided to try my hand at a cottage food business and Elevated Pastries was born. I have now been running my cottage food business full-time out of my home in Arvada for over 5 years! It has been such a pleasure to continue to use my skills and creativity to bake and create desserts for a whole range of celebrations and occasions.

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?
It certainly has not. COVID threw a huge wrench in everything as I’m sure it did with countless others. I found a way to safely operate my business by offering contactless pick up and delivery. I also started my business from scratch, so getting the word out and learning how to juggle the customer service, baking, and financial aspects was a challenge.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Elevated Pastries is a cottage food bakery that I run out of my home kitchen. I am the only employee, so I am the person that answers emails, takes orders, makes the orders and gets the orders to the clients. I also handle all the financial aspects and behind the scenes tasks. I love it because I am able to personally know who I am baking for and be with the product through the entire process. Everything comes from the heart.

I specialize in custom cakes and decorated sugar cookies. I am self-taught in sugar cookie decorating and I am very proud of the products I make! I have done desserts for all kinds of celebrations and occasions. I have even made custom sugar cookies for some of my favorite bands. My goal is to create fun and delicious desserts with love.

What does success mean to you?
I think success is feeling fulfilled within yourself and making an impact in a way that is meaningful to you. I think success is very personal and unique to everyone. Someone else’s version of success may not look the same and that’s okay. If you are doing your best, then you are successful.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://elevatedpastries.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elevatedpastries?igsh=MXhqZjBsYzAzZGVqeQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr