Meet Michelle Rasul of Gateaux Bakery in The Golden Triangle

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Rasul.

Michelle, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Ten years ago, I walked into a specialty baking store, wearing a tattered former student chef uniform, searching for everything I needed to bake a wedding cake. I had a crumpled photo of a large, tiered, elegant black and white wedding cake in hand. Fumbling around with cake pans, pastry bags, etc., a petite blonde woman noticed my coat and promptly said, ” are you a student that university?” I explained to her that at one time, I did attend, but no longer was a student there. Truth be told, an old chef I knew was allowing me to come into the school to make the cake since all I had to my name was a rented room somewhere, and no kitchen to bake in.

She then asked, ” what are you doing here? ” I let her know that I was making a wedding cake for a friend at work and she asked to see the photo I was carrying. She said to me that she owned a bakery and if I pulled it off, she wanted me to bring a picture of my cake to her shop. That very moment led to my employment as a cake decorator, then a manager for the next decade. A month before my tenth anniversary at Gateaux, I was able to purchase the shop that I had loved- a place that I have always treated as my own- a place where we, as pastry chefs, play a small part in the greatest and most wonderful celebrations of people’s lives.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Life is never just a smooth road. It’s full of bumps and potholes and unpaved paths. I sacrifice time with my family and friends, holidays and weekends, all of the extracurricular outside of typical work schedules. I love this industry and the fulfillment it brings outweighs the sacrifices. As a mom, one of the hardest things to do is be away from my five-year-old son for long workdays and sometimes six-day workweeks. I would love to be part of the PTA or to go to all of his school functions and friend’s birthday parties.

The fact is, is that I can’t. In recent years, it has become part of his routine to deliver wedding cakes with me on days that we aren’t open, I celebrate the small wins of getting just a little extra time with him while getting a very important task completed. He has proven to be an excellent assistant, and never complains about the pay. I’m new to the ownership side of the bakery, and I definitely like decorating cakes more than I like writing out bills and managing costs, but I have the best job in the world, and the daily accounting items are essential, so I get through it.

Please tell us about Gateaux Bakery.
We are a small staff of seven, and we operate a full-service bakery. While we don’t make any savory items, we specialize in custom cakes, cookies, and pastries. Our iced, shortbread tea cookies are locally famous, and our raspberry oat bars are to die for. I’m most proud of my team and grateful for the opportunity to carry on a 21-year-old legacy with them. We are a close family of unique women, from all different upbringings, cultures, backgrounds, and personalities.

I’m proud of their dedication to their craft and the commitment to try new pastry items, cake designs, recipes, etc. What sets us apart is our modern style. While we do offer some traditional fare, we can also make a cake in the shape your pet dog or R2-D2 wearing a tux. We never shy away from a challenge. What I think is unique about Gateaux, is that there is no cookie-cutter way of creating cakes here- they are all different. Each employee has their own set of skills and we are all cross-trained to perform in each role here.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I’ve worked my whole life for this opportunity and now it fees like the beginning, in a whole new way. I feel like if I absolutely had to pick something, I would have made my financial future a priority when I was 16 and already working. Had I set a goal for what I needed to work towards, like paying for my education, or my first home, life would have been a little less stressful.

Contact Info:

• Address: Gateaux Bakery
  1160 Speer Blvd.
  Denver CO 80204
• Website: gateauxpastries.com
• Phone: 303-376-0070
• Email: info@gateauxpastries.com
• Instagram: gateauxpastries

Image Credit:
Kent Meirels

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