Today we’d like to introduce you to Bukola Ikuomola
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?
Growing up, I would spend hours watching cooking shows which often led to me experimenting in the kitchen and attempting to create what I had just learned from tv. The baking segments seemed like so much fun and I always had a sweet tooth, so it quickly became my dream that one day I would have my own bakery.
Fast forward to my teenage years, I was accepted into my dream school, The Culinary Institute of America (Hyde Park, NY) at which I received my professional training and deepened my passion for baking. By September 2013 I earned my Associates Degree in Baking and Pastry Arts, and soon after completed my Bachelors Degree in Baking and Pastry Arts Management by December 2014. After graduation I returned home to the DMV (DC, MD, VA) area.
As a proud Prince George’s County, MD native, I desired to leave a legacy in my hometown, and inspire young professionals pursuing careers in my field who come from underserved communities as I did. Representation is important to me, especially as a black woman within a male-dominated industry.
Upon starting my journey as a pastry professional, I settled in Baltimore and worked in various places throughout DC and Maryland. Throughout my career I’ve garnered experience in full-service catering, restaurants, cake shops, bakery-cafes, and private corporate hospitality facilities. My career has flourished from my early days as an entry level pastry cook, to eventually managing a high volume bakery, and now currently working as an Executive Pastry Chef, developing and executing curated dessert menus while also running my own dessert catering business.
The idea for my business Manna of Heaven, was birthed while working on a project in my business planning class back in culinary school. However, I didn’t immediately start pursuing or taking entrepreneurship seriously at first. Even though it had always been my goal to be my own boss, I somehow lost sight of my own dreams while juggling the high demands of being employed by other companies.
I would bake for people here and there, mostly just close friends and family and by request only. I only saw it as a quick gig “on the side” and still gave most of my time and energy to the businesses that employed me. I hadn’t fully identified myself as a businesswoman and thought my dreams were still years away from being a reality.
My turning point was in April 2019 when I unexpectedly lost my job and was unemployed for an extended period. I started accepting more baking orders in the meantime but still was a bit hesitant and fearful about going into business head-on. I was actively applying for jobs with little to no signs of hope, so I got on social media and started being a little more intentional about pursuing business.
A few months had passed by and one day while scrolling on Instagram I stumbled upon a post from a local commercial kitchen owner who was promoting a baking competition. The winner would win the prize of 6 months free rent to produce in the kitchen as well as free retail space to sell their product in the storefront. I knew this had to be my sign from God to quit being scared and go for it.
In September 2019 I finally made things official and obtained my LLC for Manna of Heaven. I managed to win second place in the baking competition and things began to take off for me in ways I couldn’t imagine. I started developing business relationships with successful entrepreneurs in the community and Manna of Heaven started to gain more clientele and opportunities for growth.
By December I was employed again, but I made a commitment to myself that I would never put myself or my business on the back burner while working for another company. By this time I had the benefit of more flexibility and control over my schedule so that I could still pursue entrepreneurship while building financial stability before deciding to operate my business full time.
Since then, Manna of Heaven has catered so many events throughout the DMV from weddings, to birthdays, to corporate events, and everything in between. I’m still trusting the process and staying focused on my journey to one day very soon being fully self-employed, creating generational wealth, and living my wildest dreams.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The entrepreneurial journey has been far from smooth. It’s easy to lose motivation or become discouraged when things don’t seemingly go as planned. Sometimes business is booming, and other times it feels like no one notices you. There are wins and losses, peaks and valleys, smiles and tears, and every emotion you can imagine that comes with being a business owner. Whether you make a sale or not, there are still bills to pay and mouths to feed. It can get overwhelming for sure!
One of the main struggles that remains a constant during the journey of business is navigating through “the unknown”. There are always times when I feel like I don’t have enough resources to achieve a goal, or that I just lack the overall knowledge or experience on how to get there. It’s easy to feel alone or like no one around you understands what you’re going through as an entrepreneur. Most people that I know have traditional jobs that are a bit more stable, as opposed to the unpredictable highs and lows that come with owning a business.
I also struggle with the concept of “work-life balance” because my work brain hardly ever shuts off. I’m constantly thinking about the things I have to get done every day for my business while also struggling to create time for important matters that need to be addressed in my personal life. What makes it a bit more challenging is that I wear all the hats in my business and I’m not yet at a point financially in which I can hire employees to assist me. I also run my business from my home, so coming home after a long day still feels like I’m working and the lines often get blurred.
Lastly, I would say that the current state of the U.S. economy has definitely made operating a business increasingly difficult. As a pastry chef some of my most frequently used ingredients are eggs and butter, both of which have sky-rocketed in price tremendously over the past few years. Most recently the cost of eggs have reach an alarming price of about 50 cents per egg! A few years ago I was able to buy a case of 60 eggs for roughly $5-$6 on average, and on a good day even as low as $3-$4 per case. But now that same case of 60 eggs is going for about $30! This makes it increasingly difficult as a business owner to maintain fair yet profitable prices, especially without any foreseeable end to the current economic crisis.
We’ve been impressed with Manna of Heaven, LLC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Manna of Heaven is a dessert catering company proudly serving the DMV area (DC, MD, VA). We strive to deliver excellence and attention to detail in our products and services. Quality and Professionalism is our utmost standard at Manna of Heaven. We like to show our clients that they matter from the moment an inquiry is submitted, all the way through execution and delivery. You just won’t find anything sub-par here!
We value the experience of our clients, and our aim is always to create sweet memories that last a lifetime. We capture the essence of the specific needs of our clients through the visual creativity of our product, while evoking feelings of comfort, luxury, and enjoyment through every bite. Whether you’re celebrating a milestone occasion and looking to wow a crowd or simply hosting a few guests within a more intimate setting, Manna of Heaven is sure to elevate your experience and take your event to the next level.
Manna of Heaven specializes in custom cakes for every occasion, assortments of gourmet desserts and buffet treats, and even traditional Nigerian savory pastries as an ode to Chef Bukola’s rich culture and heritage. From your imagination, to our kitchen, and then your table, Manna of Heaven showcases that food is more than just nourishment, but also a moment of storytelling and visual art.
In addition to catering Manna of Heaven also offers one-on-one or small group mobile baking classes tailored to your specific needs. We’ll come to you, whether that be your home, private kitchen, event space, or corporate office with all necessary supplies for the baking class. If you are an aspiring baker/cake artist looking to learn or expand your knowledge in baking and pastry arts or looking to host your next party or team-building exercise, this class is for you!
How do you think about luck?
To be honest, I personally do not believe in the concept of luck or that things seemingly occur “by chance”. However, I do know that my journey has been a true testament of what it means to be blessed and favored by God. My life and business journey are direct reflections of what it means to walk in divine purpose and destiny.
Sometimes when I try to explain how I got to be where I am in life, or why I’m so passionate about what I do, it doesn’t always make sense to others from the outside looking in. I don’t have a cookie-cutter origin story per se of how I got bit by the baking bug and how I got started in business. But for as long as I can remember, since about the age of three, I’ve had a strong urge, a gut feeling, or what I can now pinpoint to be an inner “knowing” of the path that was meant for me as far as my career is concerned. Now I know that inner voice was not my own, but it was the still, small voice of the Lord telling me how I should channel my interests from early on.
My faith in God is the foundation of EVERYTHING that I do, and it has never steered me wrong. Has my journey been smooth sailing? Well, of course not always. But choosing to trust in the Lord to direct my next step has always made things easier. Whether it was me deciding what culinary school to go to, which organizations to work for while gaining experience in the industry, or just making organic business connections and friendships along the way, I can look back and say for sure that my steps have been ordered by the Lord, to whom I owe ALL of my success to. John 6:50-51 is the scripture from the Bible that Manna of Heaven was founded upon.
Even the parts of my journey that seemed like failures or dead-ends in the moment eventually tuned out to be lessons learned and I was able to gain skills and knowledge that I would eventually use as assets in the future. Nothing about my life has been a waste of time or effort. Every experience ends up serving its own purpose in the end.
I confidently believe that it is part of my God-given calling to be doing what I love to do, which is baking, creating edible art, and serving others. While using my gifts and talents to create beautiful and delicious desserts and pastries through my business, I get to also bring joy and comfort to the world. And that’s what food does! Food evokes emotions, especially when shared amongst groups of people at both large events or intimate gatherings such as the ones that I get to cater. Food creates an atmosphere geared towards cultivating community and making long-lasting memories or traditions.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mannaofheaven
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1833DNumMB/?mibextid=wwXlfr
- Other: Email: catering.mannaofheaven@gmail.com
