By Brenda Hillegas
Before she was creating custom cakes and seasonally-inspired baked goods — which are often iced with pastels and dusted with glitter — Ashley Huston was a kid in a big family kitchen learning to make something special out of whatever was on hand.
Today, she’s the owner and head chef of DreamWorld Bakes in East Kensington where you’ll constantly find a rotating menu and new flavors inspired by her international travels, including her two years teaching in rural Tanzania with the Peace Corps.
Huston’s accolades include Philadelphia Magazine’s Best of Philly, The Philadelphia Tribune’s 40 Under 40 Most Influential African Americans, and creating Patti LaBelle’s 80th birthday cake.
Now, she talks with Metro about other standout moments with DreamWorld Bakes, her surprisingly simple “dream cake,” and the advice she has for anyone hoping to turn their passion into a business.
What ignited your love for cooking, and what led you to pursue it professionally?
I grew up around a big family that cooks, so I was in the kitchen early on. We cooked out of necessity and I was taught to make the best of what was available to me. That’s what got me into food and cooking. I was interested in how different ingredients came together in different ratios and different methodologies to make totally different things. I even went to school to study business and finance, but I already held secret dreams of cooking and baking. I never really got rid of it.
Your cakes and baked goods are full of global flavors — what cultures or traditions inspire you the most and why?
All of them, if that is a good enough answer! More specifically, flavors you can find in the African Diaspora. But, I do like to play around in the kitchen. What I learned over the years of cooking and travelling is how intertwined and woven cultures and cuisines actually are. Pastor, for example, comes from the Puebloan region of Mexico, but the only reason we have it now was because the Lebanese brought it over to them. I love that. I think we are all trying to stake claim on things these days and find ways to separate us even more. I like to think my cakes and bakery find ways to remind us that we are more connected than we think.
Are there any lessons from your Peace Corps days that you bring into DreamWorld Bakes?
Probably to have more patience, which was probably my biggest lesson while I was serving in Tanzania. A lot of things were way out of my control there, and not on the time I needed it to be. I had to learn to just let go and that things would just work out the way they should. Baking is like that a lot of the time. The best things I created came out of my reluctant patience — like our current menu item, the red velvet brownies. As much as I want to dig in there, you gotta let that ganache sit. It’s worth it, trust me.
Why was it important for you to open up a brick-and-mortar store? How do you see DreamWorld Bakes contributing to your neighborhood and inspiring others?
We have gotten so much love and support from the Fishtown and Kensington neighborhoods since opening. People really seem to enjoy having a neighborhood bakery they can walk to on weekends with their family and just enjoy a little something sweet. It was really important to me to open this brick and mortar because of what I see for DreamWorld in the future. It was essential for us to have a solid foundation to build off of.
Beyond baking for Patti LaBelle’s 80th, have there been any other standout or unexpected moments since opening DreamWorld Bakes?
I mean, nothing can really beat making a cake for Patti LaBelle! But, I have certainly had some standout moments since starting DreamWorld. Opening the brick-and-mortar was such a feat and accomplishment on its own, which makes baby Ashley very proud. Being featured in Essence Magazine last year also felt pretty outstanding — that magazine was something that my grandmas and aunts were always reading when I was young, so it felt very full circle to me. I was also on Sherri Shepherd’s talk show for the bakery, which was so thrilling. I just recently heard the show was ending, so I feel proud to have been included into that space while it existed. Being in a group with all of them, amazing Black women, will always feel so special and momentous to me.
As a Black woman leading a culinary business in Philadelphia, what advice would you give to others dreaming of turning a creative passion into a business?
You’ll likely have to work twice as hard and be twice as nice, but if it’s your dream, don’t let that stop you. There’s plenty of space in the world for our stories and our experiences to matter. So take up more space.
Can you drop any hints about the bakery’s rotating menus in the upcoming months?
I can’t, because I don’t know what will be on it yet. You’re just going to have to come in and find out!
Describe your “dream cake” — what flavors or ingredients would you choose? Who would it be for?
My dream cake is super simple — chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, made with really good cocoa and a decent amount of salt. Plus a cup of cold milk. Nothing can beat that.