Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristina Marquez.
Kristina, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My name is Kristina Dacumos Marquez and I co-own Street Sweets with my brother, Ralph Marquez. Before I started baking, I was working in the Clinical Research industry for nearly seven years. I realized I was really unhappy working but found my job ideal because it provided stability, security and a career growth that I felt I was working towards. After returning from a trip to Hawai’i in April of 2018, where I worked a retreat with my cousin as a sous chef, I realized that I wanted more and I knew something had to change. That experience helped me expand my mind to other opportunities. I didn’t really know what to do and felt torn about leaving a job that provided income security and benefits. December of 2018 came, and I made the choice to leave. I took some time for myself to travel, rest and just live.
I have enjoyed food all my life – mostly the consumption of it. I don’t have much of a background in cooking and baking. Ralph, on the other hand, has always been a great cook since we were younger and I benefited so much from it. My Filipina/x/o – American family also gathered and communed around food making and eating, using every excuse and occasion to bring relatives and friends together, which I have come to really appreciate especially, going through our pandemic years.
In my early twenties, I started weight lifting for my health. I made the decision to become vegetarian and that led to becoming vegan in 2016. I have always enjoyed trying new food, especially desserts. Needless to say, I LOVE cookies. Finding vegan food wasn’t difficult, it was finding desserts that I enjoyed that was challenging. No cookies.
It was the same month I left my job that I decided to follow a recipe I found on Pinterest and it turned out okay. But I felt I could make it better, so I started working on a Chocolate Chip cookie recipe with my brother. What started as an attempt to have better tasting and better quality cookies turned into a year and a half of baking, taste testing, asking friends and family for honest feedback, searching for great quality ingredients and muscle soreness. We made so many batches that had to be thrown out. SO MUCH trial and error. After all of the many attempts in perfecting our recipes, we created 9 cookie flavors that we truly loved and enjoyed.
We are so proud of what we created. Our beloved cookies are made with premium and organic ingredients – handmade in small batches with love. This was our opportunity to create exactly what we desired while also introducing an alternative option to eating cookies with animal products that everyone can enjoy.
We have been learning and growing so much from vending in Austin and surrounding areas in the last year. We are so grateful for the market organizers, the vendors and the people I’ve had the privilege of meeting and being in community with since we started. It seems that I have traded one hard work for another. The difference now is that I’m happy and doing exactly what I love and want to do. I made the right choice for myself.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I mentioned earlier that my brother and I definitely spent some time working on our first recipe – Vegan Chocolate Chip. We modified our recipe one batch after another, after another, after another — making so many cookies that weren’t satisfying my palate that I felt so discouraged. I felt like giving up so many times, but we didn’t. We kept going and really proud to say that we not only created the best vegan chocolate cookie we’ve ever had, we also created 8 more flavors.
When it was time to share our cookies with the world, our first-ever market day was canceled due to the snowstorm back in February of 2021. My family and I, among many others, were without power and water. Fortunately for us, we just set up our Berkey water filter system the day before. That experience was very humbling. It taught me how to be more resourceful with what I have, waste less, and give gratitude for the blessings I receive daily.
It has definitely been a journey and it still is. Every day is truly a learning experience and there are challenges that present itself as well, especially since we are in the beginning stages. Perseverance and determination have been constant and I know that we will continue to overcome obstacles. Having encouragement and support from our families and community have been a blessing that we will always be grateful for.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Street Sweets is a vegan and Filipinx-American owned cottage food operation. Our products are all vegan, made with premium and organic ingredients.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Food makes me happy. Everything about food – the creation, consumption, and connection with family, friends and community that I share that food with. I love eating delicious, fulfilling, and satisfying food that nourishes my body and my spirit. The process of creating food brings me joy and being able to share that with others makes me happy.
I love being in nature. Planting and growing vegetables, herbs, and flowers bring so much joy into my life. Food tastes so much sweeter when you grow it yourself, not to mention knowing exactly what is put into it.
Lifting weights has been one of the constant joys in my life for over a decade now. It is definitely a way for me to release and unwind. Nowadays, I don’t have the pleasure of hitting the gym as often as I used to, but that doesn’t stop me from lifting. Whether it’s lifting buckets of rainwater, washing dishes (pots, pans, mixer, baking sheets, etc), or loading/unloading and setting up for a market – I get it in.
Born and raised in San Diego, I have always felt happy being by the ocean. Water is healing and it is life. I realized how spoiled I was with the weather when I got to Austin. Who knew anyone could experience summer in the day and winter at night!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/street.sweets.cookies/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Street-Sweets-100489691960491
Image Credits
Jay Ybarra
