We're Marytza and Céline, the #twinteam behind Café Canela. We come from a big and loud #mexihaitian family. Food is a central part of both of our cultures, Mexican and Haitian, that's why bringing joy to people through food and sweets is something we are very passionate about. Café Canela's goal is to share the colors, warmth, and joy found in both of our cultures through our baked goods, oven-ready meals, and cooking
What would you say to people that are starting their own business? Just go for it, start small. Yes, you have to have a plan and surround yourself with a good support system but don't wait too long, you will never feel 100% ready!
What is it like to work with your twin?
It's the best. We have both worked in different jobs in the past so that gave us a different set of abilities and experiences that we both use to our business's advantage. We do have a fair amount of twin drama though.
Savory or Sweet? We're usually covered in sugar and flour that's why savory food is our fave!
What does being a Maker mean to you? Being a maker means we have the ability to create, or bake in our case, something that will brighten somebody's day. Being a part of our clients' special moments is a great honor for us.
What motivates you to create? Sharing our cultures (Haitian and Mexican) with others through food is one of our biggest motivations. We've always been very shy. We discovered how sharing a meal or a treat with others can be a great conversation starter.
How have you developed your skills? We started baking cakes together at 18 and loved it soo much we decided to go to culinary and then pastry school. But of course, experience and failure are very good teachers too 😂!
Where are you from and how does that influence your work? We're Canadian-born #mexihatians so we grew up surrounded by two beautiful cultures that are all about food and family. Sometimes, we feel we don't completely belong anywhere 😂 . That's why Cafe Canela is a celebration of our Mexican and Haitian heritage. It's our way of claiming who we are and where we came from!
How has the pandemic impacted your creativity? The pandemic made us realize we had to get out of our comfort zone and take the leap of faith for our business. We actually built our website and created a lot of our Instagram content during the first lockdown!
How do you apply your creativity to other aspects of your life? We've applied it through what we call the "Café Canela " style 😂 Basically we're all about colorful clothes and food-shaped novelty bags!
Tell us about your first sale We were 18 and just received our first order from somebody we didn't know. We baked everything, and our Dad drove us to the drop-off location. The client arrived and paid we were super excited! What we didn't know was that my Dad was praying for the client to show up and actually pay. He was super worried we would get scammed, but never showed it because he didn't want to kill our Joy 😂!
What is your dream project? The Café Canela boutique. It feels like a far-off dream but we're almost there!
Describe your latest project We're preparing to launch several online cooking classes during the year. Our goal is to help people prepare authentic Mexican food from the comfort of their own kitchens.
What initially drew you to your craft? It all started when our Mom surprised us with the most beautiful and delicious three-tiered cake for our quinceanera. That cake sparked our curiosity so much we started to bake and watch YouTube tutorials and the rest is history!
What three adjectives would you use to describe your work? Colorful, Delicious, Unique