Today we’d like to introduce you to Cynthia Wong
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
When I felt like my career as a pastry chef was peaking, I had my first kid and my husband got a job opportunity in London. We moved to the UK with a 6 week old baby and stayed there for two pretty amazing years. I didn’t work during that time, which was difficult and lovely in so many layered ways. I missed having a part of my life that was completely mine, but also being removed from restaurants and the ridiculous hours of a chef allowed me enough distance to see that I didn’t necessarily want to go back to that world. We moved back to the states after my husband’s employer shut down their UK operations. I returned to being a pastry chef in restaurants but that feeling that I didn’t want to be a part of/didn’t belong to that world had already set in. By 2018. the writing was on the wall: I was miserable working around 70 hours a week for someone else and being a pastry chef outside of high end restaurants or hotels in large cities was quickly becoming less and less viable. So I took the leap and started Life Raft Treats®,
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been a smooth road! I am not even sure there has been a road, maybe more like a path through woods, jungle, over mountains, lots of ditches. I think I may see a road not too far off, though. We have been so fortunate in so many ways, and I am so grateful the business is still here, I can still support my family with it, and my team can support their families as well. Staffing has always been hard, and steadily got harder and harder until about a year ago. I think it took us that long to understand who we are looking for, how to find them and how to get the best out of them and take care of them. Supply chain issues are still a constant bugbear. We are larger than a small scale producer, but not quite big enough yet to throw any weight around that would help with pricing and purchasing. It also took the first 5 years to really get to the heart of what the business is. I’m a huge believer in capacity. Do what you can, what you know and do it well. Don’t be afraid to be challenged or to learn, but stay in your lane. We make ice cream– we are not going to make popsicles at any point.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Our niche is ice cream novelties. Specifically, ice cream novelties that look like other food, although we do make cakes occasionally and super fun Halloween treats like haunted dolls and severed legs.. We are most well known for Not Fried Chicken®, an ice cream bar that looks like a piece of fried chicken. I’d say all of the above sets us apart from everyone else!
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I never actively looked for a mentor or looked to network; both those things seem so transactional and gross. I do have a mentor, a really wonderful human named Elisa Gambino. I worked for many many years ago, and although I was a total mess during that time, she became a big sister to me. I’m a very reserved person, so when I find genuine connections with people, I try to share as much knowledge with them and be as generous as possible.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.liferafttreats.com
- Instagram: @life.raft.treats
Image Credits
Aurelien Couput, Jonathan Boncek
