Sadie Evert
The first time I tried Joleah Martinez’s truffles, I was shocked to learn they were vegan. Each truffle is gooey, milky (yet milk-less), and nestled in a tiny Easter egg-colored cup.
I was also shocked that Martinez, the baker, is 13 years old.
With support from her mother, Martinez says the first time she sold her vegan truffles was at a St. Petersburg kratom bar that her mother frequents. Watching her first real customer try something she made was a game-changer for the young Martinez.
“It felt like a great success,” Martinez said. “It felt like I could do this for a business.”
Martinez is a Pinellas County home-schooled student who lives a vegan lifestyle. She found a vegan truffle recipe and tried making it, never expecting to start a small business.
“My family is raw and vegan and we were looking for a recipe. The first time I tried making them it was really hard, but my mom said they were super good,” Martinez said. “I started selling that at the kratom bars, and then the markets.”
The St. Pete teen has the raw talent to be a vegan baker, but she was (obviously) new to the industry. Martinez connected with Barbara Baker, the owner of Moonlit Macarons. Baker, remembering the beginning difficulties of entering the dessert industry and impressed with Martinez’s youthful ambitions, agreed to help her grow her talent.
“She just makes me smile; she’s such a rock star,” Baker said.
Sadie Evert
Baker makes her colorful, fluffy, sweet macarons out of her St. Pete condo. Regarded as one of the most difficult desserts to make, she vowed to master the art of macarons. It took two years to hone her craft.
“They are challenging and delicious,” Baker told The Gabber. “It’s a very scientific process; the Florida humidity is the biggest challenge. Nobody can open a door when I’m baking.”
Today, other macaron bakers come to her for advice, and her youngest student, Martinez tops that list.
“She just blossoms and glows, and her exchanges with customers are so wholesome. I remember my first market; I was a train wreck,” Baker said.
Martinez is still working on her packaging and LLC status, but she hopes to name her vegan pastry company Bunny’s Truffles and operate out of St. Petersburg.
“I learned from a cookbook, but I hope to have my own business one day,” Martinez said.
High aspirations for a 13-year-old baker, but she’s on the fast track to vegan glory.
