It’s a sweet deal not only for them, but for her.
Evans is the owner/operator of Jennifer’s Sweet and Savory Occasions in Kippens, a business that started out in 2007 and added a storefront in 2014.
She started off as Jennifer’s Sweet Occasions, specializing in cakes and chocolates, but recently she branched off into more products for different occasions, which explains the name change to Jennifer’s Sweet and Savory Occasions.
After opening the storefront, the business added cupcakes, cookies, buns and pies. Recently they took on the savory side of things, with soups, meats and cold plates.
Evans said they’ve catered several lunches for the Stephenville Theatre Festival, in-town and out-of-town private parties, and an International Women’s Day event.
They deliver, too, provided the location is within a reasonable distance in western Newfoundland.
When it comes to cakes, Evans likes to be alone when she’s creating them to a customer’s exact specifications.
“I try to put everything I can into that cake,” she said.
After starting the business on her own, it wasn’t long before she couldn’t keep up with demand and she now has two other employees — Pamela Janes-Farnell and Roxanne Rouzes.
Lacey Young, a young woman from Kippens who’s interested in learning about the industry, comes in to assist with some cake designing.
Evans said she’s astute at drawing and cutting things out and figures when it gets busier during the summer she’ll hire Young on.
Evans said they get a tremendous amount of cake orders and she already has 16 wedding cakes on order for July to September.
Evans said people love their sweets and the cupcakes sell like hotcakes, with 300 to 400 sold per week in the summer.
“I sell that much chocolate, it’s unreal, and it moves steadily all year long,” she said.
All of the activity happens in a renovated section of her house that was formerly a residential garage — now there’s a kitchen in the back section and the store in the front.
During the summer she has a lot of regular customers who camp at Zenzville Park in Kippens, and others who make the drive out from Corner Brook and communities in the Bay St. George area.
Her wedding cakes have gone to George’s Lake and Port aux Basques and one even made a trip to St. John’s last summer and was in perfect shape when it arrived.
Evans said her biggest cake to date was a puzzle made up of 11 different cakes cut to interlock. That one was a challenge, but something she was proud to do for a friend.
She got interested in baking at the tender age of nine, working side by side in the kitchen with her mother Mary Whalen, who she says was an excellent baker in her own right.
Evans plans to keep on building her business and adjusting to meet her customers’ wants and needs. She’s sure the passion she and her staff have for what they are doing will ensure their success.
She said it would never have been possible without the support of her husband Doug, who not only gave up his garage, but also gives her his time in many ways.
