Je T'aime Patisserie gives back to the community with delicious treats, accessible to all
BEDFORD-STUYVESANT, Brooklyn (WABC) -- In Neighborhood Eats, meet the woman feeding her soul by feeding the community around her.
A childhood activity turned into her lifelong passion and she's using her food to help give the people around her a taste of something different.
Je T'aime Patisserie is located at 471 Marcus Garvey Boulevard in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
"I'm the first daughter. So, my mom's at work and I'm like cooking and stuff, and kids like heat stuff. So, I would take the box cake and put my own twist on it. Right. It will fail a lot. And I hated baking, but I'm not a failure, so I cannot let this cake beat me," said Jatee Kearsley, owner.
She said those failures led to something great.
I think in the process of failing, that's when you literally learn more about yourself.Jatee Kearsley, owner
"I think in the process of failing, that's when you literally learn more about yourself. You know, you learn how strong you are, how far you willing to go to not only, like conquer this thing, but also like conquer your fear of like giving up," Kearsley said.
Her love of food and baking led her to Culinary Arts School in upstate New York. She has a bachelor's degree in business with a specialty in culinary arts.
But she gained a lot of her baking knowledge from YouTube!
"Learned from YouTube. That's where everybody knows everything from YouTube and basically just failing a lot," Kearsley said. "I used to be called Je T'aime Macarons, and I would just sell macarons a bunch of different flavors of macarons. I would go to farmers markets, pop up shops. And I was getting a lot of traction."
Kearsley's main goal, is to give back to her neighborhood and make her delicious treats accessible to all.
We're not ashamed here to say that we accept food stamps and we don't want anyone to be embarrassed that they're using food stamps here because this is a safe place.Jatee Kearsley, owner
"We're not ashamed here to say that we accept food stamps and we don't want anyone to be embarrassed that they're using food stamps here because this is a safe place," she said. "It's very important to make sure that not only everyone is able to eat my food, but everyone has access regardless of their payment options."
She loves seeing kids walk away with their family, knowing that they are happy with their purchase and that they have something special.
"Like when the moms and dads come in here with their kids and they know that they have the opportunity to use their food stamps to get this fancy food," she said. "Fancy food. It's really it's really like inherent in my heart. Like they really I'm trying not to cry and it makes me happy knowing that, like, you know, I'm able to help people, you know, experience a little bit of happiness to food and, you know, they don't have to be limited to their options."
Making people happy is what it's all about.
"It makes me happy knowing that I'm making someone else happy. It makes me happy knowing that I can, you know, provide things for people who were like my mom, you know, on food stamps. And I was that kid, you know, asking my mom for something that unfortunately she may not could have afforded at that time," Kearsley said. "But now, you know, they could come in here and see a big old stack of cookies and say, oh, mom, I want a chocolate chip cookie. And, you know, their mom can say yes because, you know, they're able to afford it."
The patisserie also gives a lot away for free and gives to the community.
"From the moment I opened its doors, we've donated to the schools, we've donated to churches, we've donated to a bunch of programs for youth," she said. "I say, 'God has blessed me with this bakery. So who am I to not bless other people?'"
She hopes her business can open people up to trying something new.
"I love providing a variety of pastries to people to be able to experience new, new things every single day, you know? So and I think that's the beautiful part about my bakery. We change the menu every three months. So every three months someone can come in here and experience a whole new bakery," she said.
Patrons can take their treats to go or dine in.
It's very important for me to make sure that not only am I providing quality things to the community, but that the community is also experience quality overall within the space.Jatee Kearsley, owner
"It's very important for me to make sure that not only am I providing quality things to the community, but that the community is also experience quality overall within the space," she said. "Like sitting here dining, having coffee, interacting with other patrons, like the name of the bakery was Je T'aime and it literally means I love you."
It all comes back to her love of her community.
"My own slogan is "made from love" because everything I do is from love. Like, I'm a person that loves, loves like something be made with love that's like, cute. I would put little sprinkles on love, but it truly comes from my heart, from my heart to let you do exactly what I'm doing every single day," Kearsley said.
See more of Kearsley's patisserie menu items on Instagram.
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