Meet Mark Brickman of Baker’s Man Inc. in Alpharetta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark Brickman.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Mark. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I knew at the age of 13 that I wanted to be a baker/pastry chef. I attended vocational school while in high school for baking. Then I attended Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. I graduated top of my class with my AOS in pastry arts and my BS in food service management.

I knew I wanted to work in hotels as every day is different since there are so many outlets to be creative (restaurants, room service, banquets, off premise catering). My first job was at The Peabody in Memphis, Tennessee as assistant pastry chef. Then I joined The Ritz-Carlton in St. Louis as their assistant pastry chef. I was transferred to Atlanta (Buckhead) with The Ritz- Carlton for the 1996 Olympics. I enjoyed living in Atlanta and was ready to move to a pastry chef position. I was hired by The Grand Hyatt in Buckhead six months after they took over the property from Hotel Nikko. I was with Hyatt for almost five years. Then the tragedy of September 11th hit and my position was eliminated.

This is when I decided to start my own business specializing in custom cakes. It was an easy transition as I was able to make many contacts over the years working at the hotels. Everyone jumped on board to help me get my business started. We just hit 16 years of being one of the top cake bakeries in Atlanta.

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?
Of course there are ups and downs. Since we are in the suburbs it can be a challenge to get qualified employees that are at the level you need them to be for what we create. The one challenge I still see after 16 years is to educate customers on why cakes are priced the way they are. So many times when you watch the food tv shows, they never tell you the cost. We have done a few reality shows and it amazes me how many hours of filming they condense into a 20 minute segment. What we do truly is a work of art that takes time and talent to create

We’d love to hear more about your business.
We are a family owned business. My wife helps out with the office work, as well as sugar flowers and other artistic details for our cakes. She also helps with delivering. We are known for our custom made to order cakes ranging from corporate to birthdays to weddings. Sculpted three dimensional cakes are one of our specialties. Winning many industry and wedding awards over the years have been some of my proudest moments. It is also great when you are creating cakes for clients that you made their wedding cake for many years prior.

Several things set us apart from others. When you call most likely you will speak to the chef and owner, not a sales person. Everything we make is custom as far as the designs and mixing of flavors (cakes and fillings) to create a unique dessert. Customer service is very important to us as far as returning emails and calls in a timely fashion. As the chef and owner, I personally deliver and set up all my own wedding cakes.

What were you like growing up?
Looking back at my childhood, I have fond memories of helping my grandmother bake. She was an amazing home cook and baker. I would say she was the inspiration for me to become a pastry chef. I also remember many hours of being creative playing with Legos. I was fortunate that in 6th grade we had to take home economics and the first day of making pop overs, that made me realize that this was the profession I wanted to be in.

Pricing:

• Our buttercream iced wedding cakes start at $5.00 per serving and fondant starts at $6.00 per serving
• Our sculpted cakes start at $8.00 per serving and go up based on the design

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bakersmaninc.com
• Phone: 770-664-9669
• Email: chefmark@bakersmaninc.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bakersmaninc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bakersmaninc/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/bakers-man-alpharetta?osq=bakery

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