Today we’d like to introduce you to Vanessa Musi.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I fell in love with baking when I was seven years old. My Mom had a battered old copy of the Joy of Cooking and I would get on a stool and bake brownies and cookies with her. Baking was my playground and I loved every part of it. My sister says I was born savoring the world.
I grew up in Mexico City in a bicultural family of creative entrepreneurs. My Dad was an architect and my Mom had a textile business and I was raised to be independent, work hard and do something unique and purpose-driven.
My Mom would travel to Los Angeles and would bring me cookbooks and baking books with progressive and healthy options and I would devour them. I remember experimenting with alternative flours and low sugar recipes which blew my mind and opened my palate to a whole new world.
My neighbor also opened the first alternative healthy bakery in Mexico City and her whole wheat breads were amazing. I would test her recipes and realized I had a very good palate and to me healthy treats always tasted better than traditional ones.
When I was 15, I had an AHA moment when I discovered I wanted to become a Chef. My parents took me to visit one of the top restaurants in Mexico and I fell in love with fine dining and the restaurant world.
Fast forward, after backpacking through Europe and waiting tables in Paris, and grape picking in the south of France. I went to culinary school to become a chef.
I blacked out in my internship and I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia. It was 1992 and no one knew what to do. After much research and going to alternative doctors, I was told to change careers which was devastating as I had just changed careers and had finally found my calling. I realized then that I had a sweet tooth, I couldn’t eat sugar or flour. And knew it would be my mission to figure out a new way of baking.
Later on, I became the Chef of the Mexican Embassy in Vienna and fell in love with pastries and I decided to become a pastry Chef, I blacked out again, split my lip and was still determined to create baked goods I could eat. It was a long and windy path of adversity and challenges and back then no one believed healthy baking was even possible.
I became the first healthy pastry chef in Mexico and one of the first in the world. After graduating with honors from the French Pastry School in the US I started to create my own recipes and began traveling and teaching thousands of bakers and pastry chefs around the world.
I moved to Austin and discovered I was living in one of the healthiest most progressive cities and one thing led to another, I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes and my Dad passed away from Diabetes.
I decided to pursue my dream and open the world’s first healthy baking lab where I can teach and create pastries people like me can enjoy. Imagine a world where everyone that has a sugar problem (diabetes, insulin resistance, pre-diabetes) can enjoy a delicious dessert.
I challenged myself way beyond my comfort zone, found a unicorn property, built it from scratch, self-funded it, did a Go Fund Me page and built a commercial kitchen in East Austin, probably the hardest thing I have ever done. I am so excited to open our doors in a few weeks after 3 years of hard work.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Oh gosh no, my life itself has been a road of many challenges, trials and also so many blessings. In health, I was dealt with many cards: had a total hip replacement (was born with hip dysplasia) being a chef you can imagine that, had endometriosis, foot surgery, total hysterectomy, pre-diabetes all within four years time).
Both my parents passed away within two years in the middle of me building the school and we were very close, and living in another country was so difficult.
Creating a new way of baking 28 years ago of course brought many negative responses and disbeliefs, a lot of rejection and chefs would ask me how is this even possible, how can you substitute sugar or flour? What does that even taste like? This was way before we even heard the term gluten-free, keto, paleo, etc.
I also got a ton of rejection and no’s from brands who I wanted to collaborate with in my school, still to this date, you are never famous enough, have enough followers, etc. I really had to be creative in getting all the equipment and build great win-win relationships with companies who believed in me. I like any entrepreneur had to have a great pitch and offer great value.
It took me one year to find the commercial property in Central East Austin, it really was and is a Unicorn property (great location 15 mins from downtown and 15 mins from the airport). Most realtors I talked to said what I was looking for was impossible (with the very small budget we had), they all said move to Leander, Dripping Springs, etc. Little did they know I would Google till 3 am every night until I found it! That is something I will cherish forever because the land value was pretty amazing and it is a great investment. My amazing husband, who is the smartest and most resourceful person I know, was able to create a fantastic business plan that we were able to get a construction loan from a local bank and I can’t even believe we did it!
The building we bought also had so many challenges: it had asbestos, we had to do a full abatement (remove asbestos), I had to interview 14 architects it took me one year to find the one who knew how to do a commercial kitchen in Austin, who was creative and resourceful enough and had the experience to deal with huge city requirements. Then we were hit with Covid, the supply chain scarcity of equipment, the shortage of labor and then it became a do it yourself project which meant I hardly had time to create content, do social media and work on my business.
No business is ever smooth sailing that is for sure. You are never fully prepared or have everything it takes, you have to become the person you need to to do it and stick to your goals through thick and thin. You are constantly stretched and challenged in every process and every decision seems impossible.
I am very determined and love challenges. I had a near death experience so I know what it is like to have a second chance in life to fulfill your dreams. No matter what.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I love baking and recipe development is something that sparks joy for me, I am most known for creating life-changing brownies, a killer snickers cake, donuts and scones.
What sets me apart is I am very good at taste, texture, I understand the role of ingredients, baking is in my DNA, I have a very picky palate, I have very high standards in taste, ingredients and texture. I have traveled the world, tasting pastries in the best bakeries, and have worked for the best pastry chefs. I am very passionate and almost obsessive about my creations.
My story, background and Mexican/American heritage sets me apart, also being a pioneer entrepreneur makes me very unique. And I believe my drive as an entrepreneur is also special.
What were you like growing up?
I was always a very independent girl, I loved horses, I always worked hard for what I wanted, I knew what I wanted at a very young age, and got everything I set my mind and heart on. My Mom said I was Sherlock Holmes, I loved investigating and researching, discovering and experimenting. Mystery stories and detective books were my favorite. Human nature, self-development always inspired me. I wanted to reach my full potential and would put myself through amazing adventures, I was fearless and still am.
I did a lot with a little, my parents would give us only the necessary and that made me very creative, independent, hard-working and grit has always been part of my character. This inspired me to learn more and be more, I did amazing things like grape picking in the south of France, backpacking through Europe, working to pay my way, worked in a Kibbutz in Israel, walking on fire with Tony Robbins, becoming the top 3 salespeople for Thermomix, creating the World’s first healthy baking lab.
My husband says I have an addictive personality! I love what I do, I get obsessed with anything from a perfect recipe to finding the right oven to doing something out of this world. They say how you walk on fire is how you live your life, I walked on fire two times and felt I needed a bigger challenge.
Contact Info:
- Email: chefvanessamusi@gmail.com
- Website: www.vanessamusi.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chefvanessamusi/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VanessaMusi
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/vanessamusi
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/VanessaMusi
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/vanessamusi/
