Local Unsung (s)Hero
Daphnne Laurent
Nominated by: Kim Muhammad
Minding My Business is honored to highlight one of our young pastry chefs bringing smiles to the faces and warmth to the hearts of many through her sweet treats. I am happy to say that I have had the pleasure of tasting some of Daphnne’s delicacies and all I can say is she can do miracles with flour and sugar, and the chocolate covered fruit was both beautifully packaged and delicious.
Daphnne Laurent is a 21-year-old pastry chef in Linden, New Jersey. As the owner of Delights D’Laurent she caters to weddings, baby showers, birthday celebrations, holidays and more. Daphnne strives to expand her business throughout the United States and become a social media influencer continuing to expand her audience across the world.
At around the tender age of seven, Daphnne began showing interests in cooking, baking and cooking shows like Kitchen Nightmares, Hell’s Kitchen, 30-Minute Meals and more. Assisting her mother and grandmother in the kitchen was something she enjoyed most.
After years of mastering the basics: measuring ingredients, properly cracking eggs, and perfectly baking box cakes, she started to share her love of confections with close friends and family. Attending Marion P. Thomas Charter School, she would bake for class parties and participate in bake sales, simply never growing tired of it.
While attending Linden High School, Daphnne introduced her passion to her new friends and teachers. With the positive feedback she received, Daphnne, at only 16 years old, decided to share her talents online. Shortly after, she started selling sweets in school almost daily; from brownies to cupcakes, cupcakes to cake pops. Throughout her high school career, Daphnne became very popular, even if the students or teachers didn’t know her too well. If someone didn’t know her name, Daphnne was otherwise called “The Cupcake Girl,” a nickname she affectionately holds very close to her heart.
Ending her high school career in 2019, she continued learning and extending her menu to engage in her new business full-time. It became difficult to do so, as it occupied her schedule between working retail and being a college student. In 2020, the opportunity to invest in her business arose when COVID-19 landed on us and the first lockdown was mandated. Now at home with so much time on her hands, Daphnne’s first cakes were made! During this time, she discontinued college to establish her social media presence as Delights D’Laurent (formally named “Baked By Slxmm” and “Yves CAKE Laurent”). As the mandate was lifted, Daphnne has fulfilled many orders for birthdays, baby showers and her own family gatherings. With the support she received, the growth of Delights D’Laurent was substantial enough to take it to the next level.
After extensive research, Daphnne, only 20 years of age at the time, finally registered Delights D’Laurent as an LLC in the state of New Jersey in February 2022. Remembering her struggles as a self-taught baker during the beginning of the pandemic, she has since dreamed of inspiring young, Black bakers like herself.
Now at the age of 21, Daphnne will start teaching and mentoring bakers and treat makers of all ages across the world. She plans to start shipping her confections across the U.S after officially launching Delights D’Laurent’s official website in fall of 2022. Prepared and excited to embark on this new journey, Daphnne will continue to fulfill oncoming orders, continuing to grow her portfolio and expand Delights D’Laurent.
