Detroit is getting its first Black-owned vegan bakery in October 2021. Founded by Chantele Jones, Estella’s Vegan Dessert Boutique will offer some of the best of Southern sweets with a plant-based twist.
“I’m really excited to bring this to the city,” Jones tells Travel Noire. “I’m trying to debunk the myth that vegan food is tasteless, dry and that we’re torturing ourselves because we only eat nuts and leaves.”
Jones named the bakery after her grandmother, who started teaching her how to cook at just six years old.
“I named my business after my grandma to share that cooking isn’t just what I do, it’s who I am,” Jones tells VegOut.
After battling some personal health issues, Jones found that a plant-based diet alleviated many of the problems she was experiencing in her body. She began cooking vegan dished for herself and her family.
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The native Detroiter holds a degree in Culinary Arts and says her goal is to dispel myths that following a vegan diet is expensive, complicated, and flavorless.
The dessert menu of this Black-owned vegan bakery features pound cakes, sweet potato pie, peach cobbler, banana pudding, and pecan pie. She will also have seasonal items using ingredients such as small farms to offer cranberry orange muffins, sweet potato pecan pie muffins, cider donuts, and oatmeal blueberry bars.
When you asked the baker and owner what’s a here go-to guilty pleasure on the menu, she will tell you it’s the lemon vegan pound cake.
“I’ve been making that pound cake since I was 16 years old when my mom first showed me how to make it. Back then, it was not vegan, and now that I make it vegan, it has become our number one requested dessert,” says Jones.
More Than A Bakery
Looking at the website, Jones will have more than tasty dessert to indulge in. She has a catering menu that features oriental chickN salad, chickpea toona salad, spicy collard green wraps, portobello Philly cheez “steak,” and so much more for locals in her area.
For those located outside of Detroit, Jones will offer a virtual experience called “Cooking with Estella’s” to teach you how to prepare and cook a variety of meals and desserts.
“I also have a cookbook. I came out with the cookbook two years ago and it’s called Our Vegan Family Favorite. It’s a good started guide for vegans who are looking to transition,” says Jones.
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Estella’s Vegan Dessert Boutique is at 19120 Grand River Ave in Detroit, MI 48223, and is expected to debut this fall. You can also purchase her goodies for delivery.
For more information, follow Estella’s on Instagram or stay up-to-date by checking its website.