Jaileen Reina’s ePortfolio
Hi, my name is Jai.
My major is Hospitality Management. I decided this as my course of study because as I grew up I was always in awe of my grandfather who was a chef in a hotel. Being introduced to a multitude of restaurants and bakeries at such a young age changed my ways of seeing the city that we live in. I’m Dominican and Puerto Rican but I was born and raised in the Bronx. Being exposed to so many cultures and customs has been my entire life. Initially in my journey, I wanted to be a culinary chef because seeing the joy on a person’s face after a good meal would make me so happy, but seeing the way someone would go out of their way just for a good dessert intrigued me. I came to the realization that being a pastry chef was my true passion.
During the pandemic, I had began baking because I needed something to do to keep me mentally sane. I began with something small like baking cinnamon rolls from scratch. I began to make it for everyone I possibly could and the joy on everyone’s face filled my heart up entirely and I thought “Yeah this is it for me.” It’s a lot more than just wanting something sweet. Pastries cater to a customer visually as well, making that item as pretty as it can be will make someone want to purchase it. There is no limit to creativity in this field which makes it so much more exciting.
Currently I’m working at Magnolia Bakery so I’m able to witness first hand how people react to a good dessert as well as what the attributes are to getting returning customers.
I believe that one of my greatest strengths is being a very curious person and wanting to know how everything works and why everything is the way it is makes me prone to doing very well when details are crucial.
