Daily Inspiration: Meet Katherine Slevin

Today we’d like to introduce you to Katherine Slevin.

Hi Katherine, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story? 
Baking has always been a part of me, even as a child. Recently, I found my first cookbook – the entire food section of the book was blank, but the desserts and sweets section was filled with my little handwritten treasures, including giant chocolate chip cookies that I still remember making for my family. They were as big as dinner plates! Since then, I have been blessed to have worked under the most amazing chefs and mentors and have marveled at the opportunities I have had throughout my career. It continues to bring me so much joy to create recipes and share treats with others, and now welcome women into the kitchen space at The C. Love Baking Academy. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Life is never a smooth path! As a (previous) small business owner and now founder of a nonprofit, the challenges are many, and most of them people never see. I remember when I began The C. Love Cookie Project, I was so humbled by the process that I continue to praise small business owners for their hard work and dedication, and always look to shop small. I am very much a “learn as you go” kind of person, and there have been several bumps that have helped me learn and grow stronger as a person and leader. Especially with the extra layer of operating a food business/nonprofit, there are so many forms and regulations that are important. The most crucial thing to me when I come up against any difficulty is to remember the person on the other side of the story. I remember once I had forgotten to fill out a form required by the city and was heavily reprimanded for it. When I got back to my car, I cried. I had been working so hard, and this had slipped through the cracks. Instead of wallowing in it, I baked a fresh batch of cookies and delivered it to the office the same week. Since then, I was able to call the office at any point and ask questions about forms or things that were needed, and truly the entire relationship shifted. I still recall that day when I am having a tough spot in a relationship or need to remember what my Daddio always said,” You never know what people are going through.” It helps me bring an attitude of respect to each person. The idea of ‘respecting another person in spite of’ is one I still carry with me into the kitchen space and ethos of C. Love. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
The C. Love Baking Academy is a fully professional pastry training program for immigrant women. We train and equip our students with the highest-level skills training in a commercial kitchen through hands-on recipe learning while simultaneously building lasting relationships. Our students have the opportunity to speak creatively through butter and sugar and open conversation. We lift one another up in Love and encourage one another to be the absolute best in any pursuit. Our students are awarded pastry/baking certificates at the end of the program and are able to step confidently into the workplace if that is a path they decide. But they also walk away with a better understanding of themselves and others, an insight into the human experience, and a shared sense of real community. Through creating countless treats together, we become like family in the process. It will always be this family aspect and a concentrated effort to truly get to know one another that makes C. Love so special.

We love surprises, fun facts, and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Every year I joke that I eat my own words, meaning I have said things or thought things along the way, and then the opposite has happened. I have even been surprised by this journey with C. Love! I always said I never wanted to own my own business, and in 2017, I started The C. Love Cookie Project, a hybrid cookie business which eventually evolved into The C. Love Baking Academy 501c3. I also distinctly remember in my past thinking that girls and women were quite annoying and petty . Up to that point, I had naturally gotten along better with guys. Today, I am such an advocate for women of all ages that it seems crazy to have even had that thought! Teaching pastry to women comes so naturally that it even amazes me most days. What I continually keep in mind is that God always has other plans (and they are usually different than mine)! It definitely keeps me humble as I go.

Contact Info:

• Website: c-lovebakingacademy.com
• Instagram: c.lovebakingacademy

Image Credits
Kamyrn Miller Photography