Chef Ariana Barkin: The Bake Sale

Discovering new restaurants, bakeries and cafés is my thing to do—newly created circumstances have prevented me from trying new places. A month ago, I found Chef Ariana on Instagram.

Everything she posted looked delicious, and I was excited to try her baked goods, but I was skeptical. Everything that’s happening has made me a bit less eager to try new places. I finally placed the uncertainty aside, and have since ordered a few times. And I’m ready to tell you about Chef Ariana and her Baked goods.

But first a little background information.

Originally from Detroit, Ariana Barkin began her journey in the metro area of Detroit, working specifically with French pastry chefs. Seven years ago, she decided to move to Europe, where she received her formal training. Five out of those seven years she spent in beautiful Paris honing her skills as a classically trained pastry chef.

The pandemic has put each of us in a unique place. Some of us are trying to survive, depending on the nature of our business or profession, while others are thriving. I love the thriving part of this beautiful mass, and that’s why I’m telling you about Chef Ariana’s weekly bake sale. It’s the perfect win|win opportunity. A small business proactively thriving while we’re able to enjoy delicious goodies.

Ariana moved to New York in January with the intent of opening a storefront. While looking for a commercial space our world as we know it, changed. She then had to rethink her plan and re-strategize. She opted to make her dream a reality proactively. Although that would mean she had to scale things smaller than she had intended — she took action and applied for a home processing license.

Every week Chef Ariana emails her newsletter “In my Kitchen” with new menu items. It’s a limited menu but it’s filled with such deliciousness that your taste buds would immediately be reminded that we’re quarantined.

The bake sale is the perfect example of what it means to roll with the times. With her plans in place to open a storefront Ariana could have easily fallen victim to a poor me mindset and placed her dreams on hold. But instead she proactively created a space to thrive and do her best each week to create tasty pastries for us to enjoy.

Keeping up with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) protocols. Arian had to consider every aspect of her new business policies and procedures. You can sign up for the newsletter here. Once you receive the weekly newsletter—you’re able to preorder from the menu until noon on Wednesdays. Preordering guarantees you will get the items you’d like. If you miss the cutoff time — you’re able to visit the bake sale location at 16 Dennett Place in Carol Gardens.

The bake sale starts at 11 AM and typically ends at 1 PM or when all items are sold out.

When you arrive at 16 Dennett Place, you able to view the menu at the far left of the table. You can then place your order. All items are prepackaged to limit contact. Once your order is placed you can then pay by cash (which you place in the cash jar) or credit card.

The beauty of preordering is the fact that I can pre-pay for my order. I’m invoiced by Chef Ariana when I place my order and I can pay at that time. Ordering and paying that way limits contact greatly — I can grab and go. Once you’ve paid for your order you can pick up from the designated tray.

Ariana has altered her goals and plans to factor in her new normal while building her customer base. Yes it’s on a smaller scale then she projected but she’s still able to wake up and work on her plans daily.

Like many in Ariana’s bake sale community I look forward to her weekly bake sale. And her twice monthly pre-order pick up for baked bread.

Without the intent on doing so chef Arian is doing something positive while building a community. We all have something good to look forward to each week during these uncertain times and she’s building her business.