Rachel Mullen is the one woman show that runs RM Petit Cakes, a bakery located on Main Street in Prima Bakery and Boutique alongside her cousin, who runs ShopMucho. (We featured her recently, so you can check out that article here if you haven’t already.) She went to college at Christian Brothers University and while she was there, she worked at local restaurants. When Rachel started working in the kitchen, she realized that she wanted to forge her way into the culinary world. So after graduating from CBU, she enrolled at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in their Baking and Pastry program. She told me , “After graduating from the CIA in 2008, I moved back to Memphis and RM Petit Cakes was born! Unfortunately, at the beginning, RM Petit Cakes was a side gig for me. I pursued a career in Culinary education, while catering pastries on the side.” It wasn’t until August of 2018 when she left her culinary education job and Rachel and her cousin, Angelique, opened Primas Bakery and Boutique, containing RM Petit Cakes and ShopMucho Boutique. She told me that she loves having her cousin by her side because they offer each other the support system that they need and they are able “to expand on ideas together because we’re creative in different ways.” Check out the Primas Bakery and Boutique website here and support both of these amazing women.
If you’ve seen the RM Petit Cakes Instagram, you know how beautifully and uniquely decorated her cakes and other pastries are. I asked Rachel how she came to learn her style of decorating since it was a style I had never seen before, especially with the attention to detail and the different icing tips that she uses to create varying textures. She told me, “Because of my formal training at the CIA, I strive for perfection every single day. The bar was set very high and the expectations were great. I’ve always had a strong attention to detail and the education I received helped me hone in on my strengths in that area…My style of decorating has evolved so much throughout the years. I’m always learning something new!” If you haven’t seen any of her decorating skills, below are a few examples of her work.
Since Rachel is around all of her delicious sweets all day, I knew she had to have a favorite. “My very favorite item to make is the Macaron Ice Cream Sandwich. I offer a different flavor every month. I love making homemade ice cream! It’s so much fun to come up with new flavor ideas based on the season!” I also asked about the customers favorite item which turns out to be the traditional petit four, which is an almond frangipane cake with raspberry filling dipped in vanilla glaze. They both sound so amazing!
When asked how she would want to expand RM Petit Cakes in the future, Rachel said , “Right now, the bakery is still a one-woman show— I make all the cakes and pastries; clean dishes; deliver; manage my website; manage social media; shoot all my products and manage the bookkeeping. I would love to be able to grow as a business— hire employees and serve a larger population in Memphis.” Another thing that she would love to do is to put together her recipes into a cookbook one day. There is a section on her website where she has put a few of her own recipes for Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles, Baked Apple Butter Donut, and other wonderful sweet treats. I wish Rachel the best with following all her dreams!
And lastly, I asked her what she loves about being a small business in Memphis. She said, “Once I graduated from the CIA, I moved back to Memphis. It had evolved so much in just two years! I knew it was where I wanted to stay and eventually start my own business. I feel so fortunate that I was able to open a business where I was born and raised. The city has been so supportive of Primas and we love our neighbors on South Main!” If you would like to visit Rachel and Angelique at Primas Bakery and Boutique, their address is 523 South Main St.! You can also follow them on their joint social media pages: Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. And here is RM Petit Cakes Instagram.
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