Today we’d like to introduce you to Brittany Reyes.
Hi Brittany, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
As a little girl, I grew up watching my grandma cook in the kitchen. I remember spending hours just absorbing all her little details of how she did things from her hand-rolling tortilla dough to the way she seasoned her food. She did it all so effortlessly, so orchestrated knowing exactly when to stir a sauce to knowing by feel when food was ready. She started teaching me her ways and I couldn’t have been more excited. I would rush everyday to her kitchen to see what she would teach me. When I graduated high school I decided to follow my dreams and begin my culinary adventure, got my degree in culinary arts and began traveling and working for companies like Bon Appetit & Wolfgang Pucks. I was an executive chef for a few years before having my son Declan. After he was born, I decided to hang my apron up and focused being a mom and enjoying as much time with him as I could. As he got older his curiosity, just like mine when I was younger started to spark with me in the kitchen. We would bake nonstop, playing around with recipes and teaching him my ways, I’ve always dreamt of owning my own business, and knew that at that moment it was time to pursue that, and that was the beginning of Declan’s Delights Co.
I started doing local markets to get my name out there and for people to begin trying our baked goods. I started off by selling cookies. Caramel apples and cake push-ups. Our chocolate chip cookies began getting people hooked, I remember people finding me at local markets and stocking up on as many as they could buy, then our most nostalgic item the cake push up began buzz, because who doesn’t love a mess-free cupcake, Especially with kids. After growing a following I began rolling out more items from cheesecakes to themed cake pops and birthday cakes.
Baking has become such an important part of my life and family, the memories we create while whisking away in the kitchen are ever lasting.
We hope to open up a storefront within the next year or two and slowly begin expanding throughout the LowCountry and becoming a staple in everyone’s home.
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?
It’s hasn’t been always a smooth road, we began just before covid happened and that was hard with everything shutting down, we weren’t sure how much it would affect us. We noticed the drop in sales during the beginning like any other business did but we eventually started seeing a rise again but this time even bigger than before.
As you know, we’re big fans of Declan’s Delights Co.. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I am a home-based bakery, who specializes in baked goods from cheesecakes to cookies. We are well known for Declan’s dirty brownies (Oreo bottom with fudge brownie on top and crushed Oreos and sprinkles). cake push-ups and chocolate chip cookies.
We offer catering for events, delivery and shipping on certain items.
I’ve always kept my mentality as“keep it simple” I like putting my twist and creating better versions of things we’ve all loved as kids. My favorite ice cream from the ice cream truck during the summer was always a Push-up, nothing was better than enjoying orange sherbet While riding my bike or rollerblading through the neighborhood and Then I thought well, everyone loves cake how can I give people a fun version of cake without using a fork and avoiding the mess (especially with kids!) and it clicked, the cake push up.
My fiancé’s favorite snack is a little Debbie’s oatmeal cream pie and I knew I had to recreate my own version. Our monstrous version of it always puts a smile on everyone’s faces.
What I’m most proud of our brand is that it’s all family-oriented, this is something that I’m building with my son and soon to be husband. This will be something my son will continue to grow long after me and so on.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I love the history and southern charm about Savannah, the whole reason we moved here from Orlando, fl was to feel more of a “home” environment.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: Declansdelightsco
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/declansdelightsco/
Image Credits
Ryan Baggot
