Danbury teen caters events, donates proceeds
DANBURY — Since she was a kid, baking and cooking have been a big part of Danbury High senior Caitlin Lee’s life.
“From the time I was about 7, I was heavily into the Food Network channel, especially ‘Master Chef Junior’ and ‘Chopped,’” said Lee, 17. “I was a mega fan, even theming my childhood birthday parties off of ‘Master Chef.’ ”
This passion led her to create Taste O’ Heaven, a baked goods catering enterprise that doubles as a fundraising venture for many charities. Since Taste O’ Heaven started, using one electric stand mixer and two ovens at home, she has filled over 300 catering orders for her baked goods. She has done catering for family and friends’ events that include weddings, protests and performances.
And she has raised more than $4,000 for charity. She said she’s working to obtain a Cottage Food License as she seeks to expand and raise money to support cancer research and mental health organizations.
She’s done this all while being in the top 4 percent of her graduating class and undergoing three surgeries due to a ACL knee injury and a knee infection.
A passion blossoms into Taste O’Heaven
Lee said she started cooking before baking.
“Growing up in a multicultural household meant that there was always something new being cooked at home, whether it was chicken and waffles, an inspiration for my chicken and waffles cake, or meatloaf,” she said. “At first my interest resided heavily in cooking. I felt free to express myself without having to worry about perfectionism, something I am still working to overcome.”
In sixth grade, Lee decided she wanted to try something new with the culinary arts and began baking, primarily for her family and for family events. Once she entered high school, Lee realized she wanted to share her cooking creations with people outside of her family and wanted to push her limits as a baker.
She told her ninth grade biology teacher, Natalle Carnevalla, about her interest in starting a business.
“I remember him taking the time during homeroom to teach me how to advertise and price my goods,” Lee said. “In order to have a melting pot for all of my creations, I invested in a good quality bullet journal, researched different ingredients to formulate the perfect recipes and ended up with a series of recipes stringing from fudge to cakes.”
Her grandfather, Charles Lee, also surprised her with custom business cards and brochures, “which was exciting and scary,” she said.
“It was surreal that a passion had blossomed into something so much more,” she said.
Lee’s mother Patricia helped grow the baking business by passing out business cards to colleagues where she works.
Her biggest order was a wedding that had about 400 attendees, she said. Lee also baked over 200 sugar cookies (free of charge) for a gun violence awareness event at Danbury High last spring during lunch. Her biggest cake was nearly 35 pounds and looked like her house.
“My first few cakes were a bit of a mess as I struggled to grasp the importance of ratios and mathematical equations, making a lot of mistakes,” Lee said. “I grew to love it, seeing the kitchen as a way to push myself both intellectually and creatively. In eighth grade, I made my first big cake, a Tiffany box cake filled with homemade chocolate bonbons. Despite the 30-hour journey, this cake was a success and kicked off my interest in creating unconventional cakes.”
There have been some bumps in the road for Lee.
At the height of the pandemic, her catering operation struggled with few orders coming in. That has slowly improved as life has begun to return to normal.
This past year Lee, also underwent three surgeries due to a
ACL knee injury and a knee infection. In addition to baking, she does competitive dancing and practices dance 25 hours each week.
“Having to go through that really made me step back and realize how quick circumstances can change,” Lee said. “During the recovery, I not only had to step away from my business for some time to allow me time to recover, but also struggled emotionally with not being able to do the two things I loved, dance and baking.”
Charity donations
Lee has always had the desire to give back to the community, accumulating over 1,500 volunteer hours at the Boys & Girls Club of Ridgefield.
As catering orders came in and revenue accumulated, her goal went from simply sharing her passion for baking with the community to using that passion to raise money for charity.
She aims to take the revenue she has accumulated and donate it to various organizations, including the St. Baldrick’s Foundation,
National Alliance on Mental Illness and Dancing Dreams.
“These charities are very close to my heart as a minority student who has dealt with mental health issues,“Lee said. “In addition to the fact that minorities are way too underrepresented, especially in dance, I believe that mental health is something that needs to be talked about more within our society.”
Her aunt died from cancer, which led her to want to donate to St. Baldrick’s.
“My inspiration to wanting to give back to this cause roots from having to watch what she went through and not wanting little kids to go through that, too,” she said.
She is in the top 4 percent of her graduating class and plans to go to college to pursue a career in the mental health field.
“I hope to pursue a four-year undergraduate degree and open up my own clinic with various types of treatment, including creative art therapy, because of the therapeutic release dance and baking has given me,” Lee said. “I also want to continue to use baking and dance as a way to advocate for the injustices and struggles of others whether that is racial, social, or economic.”
Lee has an Instagram site called caitlins_sweets_and_treats where she can be contacted for orders of baked goods and a YouTube channel called Caitlin’s Corner where she has posted a few lifestyle and baking videos.
“I don’t know what I foresee in the future for A Taste O’Heaven,” she said. “I do want it to remain a part of my life and eventually I hope to expand my business. For now my focus is giving back to my community through doing what I love.“