Meet Yumi Koshio | Baker, Japanese style sweets

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

Hi Yumi, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
My oldest son Eric who is an autism. When he was middle school, going to throw pain emotionally, physically etc, he seems a lot of pain, he wanted express himself but he couldn’t( he is nonverbal, can’t to talk), I was trying to keep him busy physically, let him play soccer, basketball, swimming (special Olympic),also trying to understand and study about autism. I started about food, because Eric loves to eat but he does not eat bread, he eats now since he has lived in a group home since he was 16 years old, but when he was with me, he never ate bread at all. I started making food without flour and milk, he loves to eat cake, cookies and all kinds of sweets, but those kinds of products may cause problems for his body. I also have daughter Camille and youngest son Alex, they also love to eat all kinds of sweets, I started making snacks which are my children’s favorite, cookies, cake and ice cream etc, also started to cook food from scratch with no shortcut (premade stuff from store, no frozen food). I started to check ingredients before I buy a product,long list of ingredients, don’t buy, simple a few ingredients product buy, or research products, and then make my own. I started to care for my children’s health and safe to eat.

What should our readers know about your business?
I have started my business for safe to eat and deliciou, also my goal is to provide work for my son Eric( with autism). I want to provide work for special needs people. After they graduate from high school, they go to special day programs, however those kinds of programs are very limited for stuff and space. I still have problems for my son Eric to get started working at my kitchen, because he needs to have 100 % support with a job coach, his social worker is not able to find a job coach for him and also needs to find transportation from group home to my kitchen etc, all kinds of problems. I’m hoping to get clear one by one and set up a workplace for him soon. I have helper Tony who is with an autism, he has been working with us for almost 1 year and half, he is high function he can work with and without jobcoach. He comes to work in the kitchen once a week every Sunday, he works about 4-5 hours. He is high function however it was not easy to come work every Sunday, because he needs to have job coach support, previous job coach was often not show up because he was sick or family emergency, vacation etc, we all understand that for the reason but we all need to have responsibility,care and support from jobcoach. I always make my cake with simple ingredients and use organic products with less sugar and flour but it still tastes very good and safe to eat. I have moved to new location since July (last month), I’,m having proplem to make cakes as much before because new kichen’s schedule, I’m still looking for kithchen better condition, hope all problems settle soon.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Calistoga has a winery, hot spring and nice little town. I have been to Calistoga for a girls trip and also a nice weekend getaway with my partner. When I visited with my girlfriends, we enjoyed walking around local stores, eating out at local restaurants, breakfast at local cafes etc, we had a great fun time. When we went to Calistoga for a weekend getaway, we stayed at a B & B, we enjoyed welcome wine and a nice quiet boutique hotel, also breakfast was amazing! We visited a winery in Calistoga, we had wine tasting, it was a nice experience.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to thank my three children Eric, Camille and Alex, my partner and my friend. I started my business because I care for my children’s health. When I started to make snak, food, whatever they ate, they were the ones who gave me ideas, and also gave me feedback, good or bad sometimes. When I got bad feedback, I worked hard to improve for next. My partner Chris is always there for me when I need to have some help and support, he always gives me comfort when I need it, gives me his shoulder when I need to cry or just need to get some rest. I got a lot of support from my friends who encouraged me to keep going about my business and being a mom. I have great friends, one of my friends told me that I should sell my products to store and start a business, another friend gave me some ideas to improve my product, I have been receiving so much help and support from my friends. I have to give big thanks to all my helpers who work with me, they are all moms who take care of children, and work hard at my kitchen. They always bring me laughter, give me great ideas and great connections to people.

Website: https://www.eca-fe.com/

Instagram: ecafe.co