Meet Chelsea Ovanessian | Baker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chelsea Ovanessian and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chelsea, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I wanted to share what I’ve created for myself with others. The real passion in your work stems from putting yourself in the customers’ shoes – and that was easy for me because I am my own customer. What would make the customer’s life not just more satisfying, but easier. My food and overall wellness journey ultimately brought me to a cross in the road where I had to answer that question for myself. How did I continue to nourish my body without feeling like I was missing out on the “sweeter” things in life? I want to show others that mindful eating doesn’t come at a cost and you and you can most definitely eat cake on your birthday.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I bake goods from real, nutritious, and minimal ingredients without any grains or refined sugar. I realized after living abroad in Europe for a year that the food industry here in the states care more about profit than providing food that actually nourishes the body. It’s there that I also developed a pretty big sweet tooth. Upon returning, I became extremely inflamed from eating a lot of the foods I loved, and through a lot of trial and error, I cut out dairy, sugar, and gluten. My acne went way, my eczema cleared up, and my digestion improved. That’s when my overall wellness journey began. I started baking sweet treats using sugar alternatives like maple syrup, honey and monkfruit and refined white flour alternatives like almond flour and coconut flour. From my own experience, I know there is no one size fits all diet and that’s why I focus less on the latest fad diet that lead to restriction, but more just quality of the ingredients going into my baked goods and how they make me feel. Life is all about balance and food is such a social aspect of life. Everybody is deserving of a piece of cake at a party or a cookie after dinner. The food you eat (or choose not to) should never come with guilt.

My hobby became a passion of mine, which ultimately turned into Have Your Cake LA when a friend asked me to bake cookies for an event at my gym. This all happened by chance. That chance was the push I needed to commit myself to creating my brand at the beginning of the COVID pandemic in February 2020. What seemed like the most inopportune time, created a perfect channel for my online business to come to fruition. My core menu offers cookies, muffins, and breads, but also offer custom orders which span from dairy / sugar / grain free cheesecakes to custom decorated cakes.
What I’ve learned is that life offers you chances, but it is up to you to take those chances and turn them into opportunities for yourself. It has been far from easy and there have been plenty of times where I’ve considered throwing in the towel, but just as much as giving up is a choice, “making it” also is too. Success starts in the mind. It’s important to continue to believe in yourself, especially when others do not, and to challenge yourself to keep an open mind and continue to learn. Take on more than you think you are capable of and you will pleasantly surprise yourself. Let your curiosity and reach fuel your growth. I know I am no where near where I want to be yet, with hopes of opening my own bakery one day, but I know it’s possible with a positive mind and a little bit of elbow grease.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
All of my friends know that my day always involve staying active, being outside, and eating great food. A perfect week with my friends would be a hike in the AMs at Los Liones Trail or Temescal Canyon in Pacific Palisades because what beats a trail with ocean views. I would take them to Lodge Bread in Culver City for amazing shakshuka or Neighborhood for an ice coffee. Getting a workout in at the gym I go to, Studeo, would also definitely be in the books, followed by spending the day at the beach. On the westside, Great White have really great grain free breakfast and brunch options. I recently found a plant based ice cream shop, Frozen Fruit Co., in Santa Monica that makes their ice creams with minimal ingredients and are sweetened with fruit sugars only. You would never know – they are that good. For a night out, I would check out Bacari on 3rd. for an amazing selection of different tapas style dishes and cocktails. Oste is also a new Italian restaurant with great spritz and wines. One of my favorite restaurants to splurge on is Fia Restaurant. They have awesome seafood inspired dishes.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My customers. My customers are what ultimately drive my work ethic and persistence. It is the desire in them wanting to pursue a healthier life through food that motivates me to continue to do what I do. Taking that first step to change can be difficult and scary, but knowledge is power and food is fuel. The more people know about grain free and refined-sugar free baked good alternatives, and how it can impact the body in a more positive way (no sugar crashes!), the more equipped they can be to make healthier food choices they actually are proud of. It look a lot of trial and error for myself to figure out what works for my body and what doesn’t. There is no one-size fits all diet; I am just here to make it a little easier for others. I, of course, also owe credit to my loved ones who support me on the days I spend hours of time, money and resources recipe testing only to produce another failed recipe. There are no triumphs without some troughs.

Website: www.haveyourcakela.com

Instagram: @haveyourcakeLA

Image Credits
Audrey Sigel