Meet Sarah Martinez | Pastry Chef & Business Owner

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

Hi Sarah, how do you think about risk?
Taking risks had always been difficult for me. I was a play it safe, and don’t rock the boat, happy to live life just as things were kind of a person. Until I started on a personal growth journey. I took a risk as an extremely shy person who could hardy even talk to people I didn’t know and joined a direct sales company selling Mary Kay beauty products. I was not very good at it, and knew nothing about makeup or skin care at all, But it got me out of my comfort zone and into the world of personal growth that started changing both my personal and my professional life. I was growing in confidence and started meeting people who influenced many new experiences and adventures. I ended up taking a huge risk and put in my 2 weeks notice at my job I had been at for 5 yrs before I had anything else lined up just to leave a bad work situation. I also took a risk by leaving my latest job at a hotel and steady pay check to start my own business during a global pandemic. I started my business out of my tiny condo kitchen and have just recently taken a huge risk by signing a 12 month lease to my own kitchen space! Now I welcome the opportunity to take risks because I know that if I do not take the risk there is no room for growth. Sometimes it is necessary to take a leap of faith so that you can grown into it and experience more than you could have ever imagined.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
It started out growing up baking in the kitchen with my Italian Grandma. Right out of high school all I wanted to do was go to culinary school for baking and pastry. So I did. I went to the Oregon Coast Culinary Institute and was able to get a scholarship to play soccer for the community college that was on the same property at the same time. I then randomly moved to San Diego after school to live without even ever having been there. It was not easy to find a job in my industry because everyone was looking for at least 5 years of experience but I couldn’t get that experience if no one hired me. But having grown up on a farm, hard work and determination were nothing new. I started working at the front counter of a well known bakery in the city and after about 6 months a position opened up in their pastry department and I was finally able to start getting experience in my field. I have worked at several other places after that gaining knowledge and experience at each place, learning so much from every Chef who took the time to mentor me. I am most proud of making the decision and leap of faith to become an entrepreneur. It’s not an easy road but I know it will be so worth it! There are so many lessons to learn along the way and I know I still have a lot to learn. Just the basic things you need to know to run a business is a constant learning process for me as my strengths are more on the actual creative and production side of things. Every day as a business owner you learn something new, a challenge presents itself and you have to figure out how to deal with it even if you know nothing about it. And that is what makes the journey so exciting. As a business I strive to always keep the highest standard of quality and customer satisfaction in everything I produce. As my business grows I am looking forward to building and mentoring a team of rock stars who not only love what they do and working for my company, but also are able to grow in their personal lives and eventually pass it on to others creating waves of positive influence.
It is my goal as I build my company to become an influence in our community giving back wherever we can.

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?
I would definitely spend most of the time at the beach. I would take them to coronado, Mission Beach, Pacific Beach, Ocean beach pier, sunset cliffs to watch the sunset. To a farmers market maybe little Italy or OB. I would grab sandwiches at Mono Lisa Deli in Little Italy and take them to the beach for lunch one day. I would take them to get fish tacos at the PB fish shop. Definitely a taco shop one day, and Tacos el gordo in Chula Vista. A nice dinner at Dim Tai Fung in la jolla after a day kayaking in la jolla cove. I love the different cultural food places in San Diego so I would also take them to Min Sok Chon for delicious Korean food and soju and maybe some karaoke. If they like dancing, salsa and bachata dancing at Tio Leos monday night or any of the other places any other night of the week. If we had time I would take them on a sail boat or catamaran and watch the sunset from out on the ocean. Also the safari park in escondido. I would take them to Balboa park to see the roses if they are in bloom, the desert garden, the botanical garden, and all the beauty the park has to offer. I would take them to get drinks at a bar near the beach to watch the sunset. Or get drinks at the Carnitas snack shack bar by the harbor and walk along the harbor. Dinner with live music maybe at Sevilla.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My husband, Alejandro Martinez, has always been the love and encouragement and the little push when I needed it. And my Grandma for being the influence and reason I had an interest in baking and decided to go into the industry of baking and pastry.

Instagram: @sarahsdessertbar

Facebook: Sarah’s Pastries