Meet Julie Fornazari | Cake and Pastry Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Julie Fornazari and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Julie, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
It was more of a coincidence. I have been very creative and artistic since I was a child, but I was not really stimulated by my parents.  I really excelled in Art class but didn’t get much recognition for it at home. I believe during that time, the values for what successful careers looked like were very different. I started work as a cashier at a bakery and quickly found myself baking after my friend got pregnant and asked me to take her position. I had no clue what I was doing, but I got really interested. Then one day I looked in my kitchen cabinets and saw mostly pastry tools, I decided to go to baking school.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
My business is relatively fresh compared to other pastry chefs. It’s said that you need 10 years of experience to be recognized as a pastry artist. I have only 4+ years on my own. The difference between my cakes and other bakers is my artistic flair. Bakers can be very methodical. I am more “go with the flow” in terms of creating new desserts and design. It takes a lot of dedication and perseverance to be in the food industry. There were so many times where I thought of giving up, but my passion is giving people joy and great memories when they eat a piece of cake. That keeps me in this industry. Many challenges I overcome by giving a step back. Sometimes forcing through problems isn’t very productive. Taking some time to think, analyze the problem from other angles can bring better solutions for me. I’ve learned so many lessons! one of them is trust. I always have a written contract with my customers and sellers. You can lose a lot of time and trust without a written agreement about project scopes. Aside from that, I would love to bring to the world more joy, indulgence, and pleasure! My brand is all about creating memories and connecting people through a slice of cake.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
When you are visiting San Diego you have to go to all the beaches, I would start with Pacific Beach because that’s where I live. I would recommend the tacos at Oscar’s. Then pop over to La Jolla to see the seals and have a drink at George’s at the cove. Then wrap up your beautiful day at Sunset cliffs for an epic sunset.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My parents! Despite not stimulating my artistic side during childhood they have always been very supportive of whatever I wanted to do. I am really inspired by my mother. She’s an entrepreneur and a really hard worker. She taught me to never give up and always keep my head up. I am also inspired to make everything from scratch because of my father. He always cooks his meals at home as its much healthier. Even his sweets are healthier because you can control what goes in them. My dear friend Bruna. If it wasn’t for her pregnancy, I wouldn’t have started baking. Another very important person is my husband, who despite being separated now has always been supportive of my dream of running my own business.

Website: www.juliennecakes.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/juliennecakes

Facebook: www.facebook.com/juliennecakes

Yelp: www.yelp.com/biz/julienne-cakes-san-diego