Today we’d like to introduce you to Chef Kimberly Bryant.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Chef Kimberly. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’ve always had a passion for baking. My grandmother and mother both baked faithfully every single holiday, so I spent a lot of time in the kitchen. During November 2011, I found myself as an unemployed, single mom of two. During the advent season at revival, a guest minister (now current Senior Pastor) mentioned the name “Adonai” in his sermon, meaning LORD (owner) in Hebrew.
My son and I looked at each other and said: “that’s it.” That night Adonai Delight Desserts was born. Originally I only offered pound cakes, homemade cookies and treat bars. I knew I wanted to offer more, but I didn’t have the skills or finances to take actual classes.
My best friend, Caroline, paid for my first real cake decorating classes at Micheals. Over the next couple of months, I took all of the cake decorating classes they offered. The summer of 2012 I enrolled at Le Cordon Bleu and began my studies to become a pastry chef. I graduated with honors from Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute in 2013 and quickly gained notoriety around the Atlanta metro area, serving celebrities, local charities, and a host of wonderful customers.
The name change to Adonai Desserts Atlanta quickly sparked dozens of new opportunities for Kimberly. After delivering a life-sized turntable cake for Q Parker and RL, Chef Kimihou began designing cakes and cookies for more celebrities including Harry Douglas of the NFL Tennessee Titans; Angel McCoughtry of the WNBA Atlanta Dream; philanthropist Warrick Dunn, retired from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Nikki Gilbert of Brownston/R&B Divas; Kenya Moore of Real Housewives of Atlanta and Celebrity Apprentice; R&B icons Brian McKnight and Avery Sunshine; and gospel singers William Murphy and Tasha Cobbs.
During the summer of 2017, the Adonai Dessert brand expanded. The addition of the Adonai Cookie Shoppe created opportunities for new corporate clients wanting to send personalized and professional sweet treats across the United States. Currently, the Adonai Desserts Brand consists of the Adonai Cookie Shoppe, Adonai Desserts Atlanta and has plans to grow again for the launch of the Adonai Baking Academy this holiday season,
Chef Kimberly “Kimihou” Bryant has a passion for baking and loves to make a client’s vision come to life through edible treats. She once said, “every order is my opportunity to create a memorable experience during a memorable occasion for someone else. I live for those moments and truly love artful expressions through desserts.”
Chef Kimberly recently graduated with a Masters in Education, giving her an opportunity to create a school curriculum for young people that will engage them in every way possible.
While her passion is with teaching kids how to bake and decorate, her purpose in life is to inspire the next generation of Sweet Makers no matter what age, Chef Kimberly offers small business consulting to sweets industry professionals, does women in business empowerment sessions and offers an online marketing course for any business professional.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The path leading to where I am now was full of twists, turns, hills, and valleys. For the majority of the time, I have been an entrepreneur I was a single mother. We were evicted from our apartment when I started culinary school, and we had to move back in with my parents. Attending school was a full-time gig so I could only work part-time and my manager told me I would never be good enough to work as a full-time cake decorator for that particular retail brand.
I’m constantly asked, “when will I get a real job?” There were a lot of neighsayers on this journey and honestly, I think I’m just now getting to the point where I’ve learned to manage the chaos. My oldest was very advanced in school, and my youngest has narcolepsy. The decision to homeschool them once I was married was a complete game changer. Currently, I juggle my son’s schedule as a performer, with homeschool and running my business.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with The Adonai Cookie Shoppe – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
The Adonai Cookie Shoppe specializes in custom cookies, cakes, cupcakes and cake pops. I’m known for creating over the top custom orders that WOW the guests at every event.
I’m most proud that my company is now being seen. As an army of one it’s a long journey, lots of sleepless nights and several chiropractor appointments in between to keep me healthy. Most people see the glamour of what I do, but those who truly support me have stood by me in the sunshine and the rain.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
For the future, I would love to open the Adonai Baking Academy in multiple cities and ship cookies nationwide. In addition to increasing speaking engagements, I would also love to start teaching classes at business conferences for entrepreneurship (in or out of the sweets world).
Contact Info:
- Website: www.adonaicookieshoppe.com
- Phone: 678-379-3192
- Email: adonaicookieshoppe@gmail.com
- Instagram: @chefkimihou & @adonaicookieshoppe
- Facebook: facebook.com/adonaicookieshoppe
- Twitter: twitter.com/chefkimihou
- Other: www.chefkimihou.com
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