Committed to Cakes - Meet Jody Stevens of Jodycakes
Jody Stevens of Jodycakes has baking in her blood, but her passions go beyond sugar and flour. This baking veteran captured the gluten-free and vegan cake market in Houston nearly 10 years ago. Like her cakes, Stevens has multiple layers. Jodycakes also works to empower women and reach the community.
“I have been baking my entire life,” says Stevens. “My grandma would make cakes on the regular, so that anyone stopping by could have a small slice with afternoon coffee.” Stevens drew comfort and inspiration from her mother and grandmother. “My mom always made our cakes and she was awesome at it!”
In Stevens’ temerarious start, she headed for the West Coast in 2005 to hone her craft. Working with other artisans in Los Angeles, she discovered how rewarding gluten-free and vegan baking could be. With an arsenal of ideas and recipes, Stevens returned to Texas and started Jodycakes in 2008, at a time when gluten-free and vegan baking was (still) an uncommon concept, Stevens persisted.
“I’m thrilled to do what I do,” she says. Stevens refers to her customers: “I’ve made it possible for their child to ‘feel normal’ by being able to have cake.” Stevens tries to use organic and local ingredients whenever possible, playing with flavors depending on the season. With the winter ahead, those flavors will include orange chocolate, pumpkin spice, cardamom spice and chocolate mint.
When Stevens was approached by two close friends in the hospitality industry about an all-women organization to band together and raise funds and awareness for women’s health care, she didn’t think twice. “As a female-owned business without health care, it spoke to me loudly,” says Stevens. I’ll Have What She’s Having (IHWSH) sheds light on the importance of comradery and health amongst the women in our community.
Six years ago, Stevens launched The Depressed Cake Shop in Houston. The annual event raises awareness of depression and mental illness in the form a bake sale of grey-colored cakes and cookies. “I’m very proud of how popular the bake sale event has become,” she says. Donations benefit The Montrose Center and NAMI Greater Houston “I lost a very dear friend of mine, Liz Fenton,” Stevens says. “I watched her struggle with medical bills piling up in front of her, creating great anxiety and depression.” IHWSH created a fund in her memory, The Liz Fenton Purse Snacks Fund.
I asked Stevens what a typical day looks like at Jodycakes and she chuckled. “No day is ever typical. It’s a huge juggling act on a day-today basis.” Still, this cake artisan has a grasp on all aspects of running a small business. Stevens is a one-woman show, which means she is the baker, decorator, marketer, owner and odd-curveball manager.
Stevens once delivered and set up a seven-tier wedding cake during a tropical storm. She recalls, “I didn’t think I would make it through the flooded streets to the venue.” She hand-delivered each tier through torrential downpour and assured the bridal party the event would be a success. Her dedication and drive is what sets Jodycakes apart.
For more information, visit jodycakes.com.
