Youngster selling cupcakes from 13 now among culinary students graduating HLSCC

By Esther Durand, BVI News Staff

Shamoy Davis of East End began selling cupcakes in his second year at the Elmore Stoutt High School to prevent himself from being a burden to his grandmother.

The 24-year-old is now the owner of ‘Paradise Cupcakes Think Sweet’ and is among three students who will be graduating from the H Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC) with an Associate’s degree in Culinary Arts next Sunday.

“I am passionate about music, I love singing, but baking is something that I got into while I was growing up,” he said during a Sips & Sweets culinary showcase at the HLSCC’s Culinary Arts Centre last evening.

“My mother wasn’t there and my father wasn’t there, and I used to live with my grandmother, so it was a way for me not to be solely dependent on her. That was a way for me to earn some money. I started baking in second form. I was 13 years old.”

He explained that he would bring his cupcakes to school to sell and the young pastry chef admitted to being “very scared” his first time round. 

In fact, he told BVI News he did not know what to do. 

“I didn’t know if anyone would buy them from me and when I called my grandmother before the bell rung, all were done. I was selling it for a dollar, and I got all of them sold. It was M&M flavoured cakes.”

Davis said his grandmother taught him the trade and he has been perfecting it at the college.

He said he intends to go even further with his studies.

“I want to do a bachelors in my cake-baking. I want to open a bakery so I could employ others as well and probably be a teacher because I like to be vocal,” Davis added.

The young entrepreneur said, among other pastries, he bakes cakes, pull-apart cupcakes, cupcakes in letters and numbers from his home.

Davis said he once worked in the public service and attended school part-time. However, to speed things up, he decided to leave his job and focus on his education while selling his cupcakes at school and around town to earn money.

Other final-year students

In the meantime, a total of five students had their cakes on display at the Sips & Sweets showcase and they explained that it took several hours to complete.

Radiance Modeste, who will be graduating on Sunday, said culinary arts has always been her passion.

Jolece Fraser, the third culinary arts student expected to graduate this year, said she was an office worker who she decided to ditch that job to educate herself and pursue her true calling. She intends to get her bachelor’s degree in Culinary Arts at the Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island, USA.

Challenges

Meanwhile, Chief Culinary Instructor at HLSCC Clint Creque said the culinary courses had their challenges.

“It was a bit challenging because of COVID-19. The time had to be crunched in order for students to get this class. So I had to compact both classes — Introduction to Baking and the Pastries & Cakes course.”

He has been in the field for the past 15 years and is also the owner of Sweet Tooth VI.

“This is something that I love. In this kind of industry, you have to love it,” he stated.

The other students who had their cakes on display were Kemuel Gumbs and Ganisha Araham. They intend to complete the remainder of their courses and graduate next year.