Today we’d like to introduce you to Albert Villavicenzio.
Hi Albert, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always known that I wanted my own restaurant/bakery cafe, that’s why I went to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and did the three-year bachelor’s degree in restaurant management with an emphasis on Hospitality, Wine and Beverage. when I first arrived in New York in 2011 I didn’t realize how much of an impact it was going to have on my life and on my culinary journey. Fast forward to March 2020, New York City is about to go into lockdown I pack up and decide to quarantine with my family in San Diego, California where I was born and raised Truly believing that I would be back in 2 weeks or a month at the most, weeks turn to months, months turn to years, and all I could think about was my favorite places to eat in NYC. In that moment I realized what I wanted to do in the 2 months that I had been back home, make cookies and bring NYC back home with me! After a year of recipe testing and having family and friends tasting all the recipes that I wanted to create and finding all the eco-friendly packaging along with all the organic ingredients I was ready and excited to launch. our first market was December 2021 and we are currently at the South Bay Chula Vista farmers market every Wednesday from 3-7 pm Every Thursday at the Linda vista farmers market from 1-6 pm
Every Friday at the La Mesa Farmers Market from 3-7 pm
And every Sunday at the San Diego food market at lane field park from 10 am-4 pm
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Honestly, I am surprised at how smooth the road has been, now don’t get me wrong no road is perfect and we did hit a few potholes along the way, and those came in the form of so-called professionals scamming us out of some of our startup money for a so-called “online class that answers all questions on being a street vendor” and it was suggested that you had to take the class (even though that’s what you were doing during your entire time getting permits and what you studied at school). It also came in the form of a delay on our permit while we work out the wording on certain labels. Other than those minor things it has been smooth so far.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about BigAlsBakingCo?
I started BigAlsBakingCo as a way to bring New York City cookies back with me to San Diego. During our process, we knew we wanted to be different than other bakeries and we wanted to put an emphasis on being a sustainable business so that is why we are focusing on being fully organic by the end of the year as well as using eco-friendly packaging if you can’t compost it or recycle it or biodegrade it, we don’t use it.
We were known for our chocolate chunk with walnuts now our chocolate chunks and cookies and cream cookies have quickly become the fan favorites.
What sets us apart from other bakeries is our drive to be a different cookie we are not like these thin cookies that have a hard exterior and no personality our cookies have a soft crumble texture on the inside and a light crunch on the outside, at the end of the day you will be able to taste the difference in our cookies because I refused to use over proceed ingredients. I am most proud of the fact that bigalsbakingco is considered a micro-business (I do all the baking and marketing out of my house) but we are doing things that commercial bakeries don’t do / won’t do, we are also being eco-friendly, in our own small way we are trying to help combat the global climate crisis.
We offer a wide variety of services such as catering, and office parties and we also have a wholesale program but we are still looking for a cafe/bakery to hold our products.
We are BigAlsBakingCo we are getting baked in San Diego; we are the cookie with a New York City Attitude trying to make a difference on how you enjoy your baked goods.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
I think passion and determination are the two most significant qualities that helped me to succeed. without passion what is life? I love what I do, I get to create edible art that people can enjoy. Without determination, I wouldn’t have had the courage to leave my home at the age of 18 and go to New York to chase my dreams!
Pricing:
- individual cookies start at $4
- bundle of 6 $20
- bundle of 12 $35
Contact Info:
- Email: bigalsbakingco@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigalsbakingco/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BigAlsBakingCoSD/
