My name is Stufona Latta – aka Sugar Maven – and I recently completed Greenville Tech’s Basic Baking Skills and Basic Cooking Skills courses. As the owner of custom dessert consulting company Bake Your Mark, I was hoping to learn new techniques and trade practices in the culinary space, and Greenville Tech had the best options for my needs.

You left the corporate world to start your own business. That’s risky – but also admirable. What influenced that decision?

During the pandemic, news of all the layoffs made me realize I wanted to be in business for myself so that I could dictate how my time was spent and how I would get paid. My experience in the corporate world had also shown me how important it is to truly value your clients and employees – to see them as more than just a cog in a wheel. I wanted to provide a simple yet effective tool for companies to show their appreciation and thanks. And what sweeter way to build loyalty than through dessert?!

At Bake Your Mark, our goal is to “alter perception through confection” – and that’s as much our vision for our clients as it is a description of my career journey. My father always encouraged me to focus on reliable employment that would afford financial stability, so I pursued work in human resources for years. I transitioned careers and opened Bake Your Mark before his passing in 2021, and he was able to see the joy that baking provides me and my clients. Not only did that make him proud, but it also shows my children that pursuing a personally meaningful career can be more rewarding than doing work based on society’s (often unfulfilling) expectations.

Tell us about your experience at Greenville Tech.

Greenville Tech’s robust continuing education courses have always appealed to me. In fact, I have taken recreational and summer courses at the college in the past.

With the Basic Baking Skills and Basic Cooking Skills courses, I was surprised to learn the “why” behind the “how” we bake and cook. Sure, I knew how to make a cake, but I didn’t necessarily know why the ingredients and ratios used in the recipes worked the way they did. Now I do.

My instructors’ real-world culinary experience also meant that they were able to impart tips and tricks outside of the textbook. I now know how to temper eggs without a thermometer and make a mean custard!

And I can’t say enough about how taking classes at your local technical college is an economical and flexible way to learn about different fields and hone your interests without sacrificing quality. It is well worth the time and investment. So go on – challenge yourself!

Your business, Bake Your Mark, is not a conventional bakery. What makes it unique?

Bake Your Mark is a boutique operation based out of a shared-use, DHEC-approved commercial kitchen – not a retail storefront – located in Greer, SC. Using this business approach means that clients don’t pick something from a pre-determined menu. Rather, we work together to create custom giftable products that spark delight and evoke happiness.

What does that look like if you’re a client? You communicate the goals you hope to achieve with your dessert campaign, whether that’s increasing customer loyalty, showing appreciation, building brand awareness, or something else. From there, we work together to decide the type and flavor profile of the dessert, as well as packaging that aligns with your campaign goals – revising as needed, of course. We’re all about accommodating your needs and personalizing your experience. Bake Your Mark is truly here for our clients.

Your website says that it’s a great day to have a sweet tooth. So go ahead and sweet-talk us! What dessert are you excited about right now? And does Bake Your Mark have a most requested dessert?

Right now, I am super excited to be working on a cookie riff on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for an author’s upcoming pre-release party.

Our top-selling dessert hands down is our Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Butter Rum Glaze. However, Brownie Decadence is also a fan favorite. It’s a fudgy (never cakey) brownie topped with marshmallow cream and finished with a thin layer of chocolate ganache. Trust me – it lives up to its name!