Q & A: Griffin Bakes
Amani Okero | April 4. 2024 | The Spring Supplemental
At a rigorous high school like Stanton College Preparatory School, students have found creative ways to manage their stress and express themselves. Instead of focusing on academics, students participate in clubs, sports, or unique hobbies to destress. One student in particular, sophomore Griffin McCarthy, has decided to express himself through baking. He documents the success of his business, à la carty, on his Instagram page @griffinbakes.
Q1: When did à la carty start?
A1: à la carty started at some point during my 8th grade year. I had brought my first ever batch of brownies to school and received a lot of positive feedback from my friends. This led me to continue baking them, even starting to give them out when I started high school to whoever wanted them. I kept on receiving this positivity throughout the year, which influenced me to officially start selling my baked goods in October of 2023.
Q2: How did you come up with the name à la carty?
A2: The name "à la carty" comes from the french phrase à la carte. It's meant to be a play-on word with my last name, McCarty. My friend, Maria Agcopra, jokingly came up with the name in May 2023 during one of our classes, but it ended up sticking with me and I eventually started using it for my bakery's official name. While I have multiple products, brownies and blondies have been the cornerstone of "à la carty" since it started running.
Q3: What inspired you to start baking?
A3: My biggest inspiration has to be mom. She’s baked her entire life and has worked at multiple bakeries throughout mine. She showed me how to make chocolate chip cookies when I was 5 and has encouraged me to continue to try new things in the baking world ever since. She was
Q4: What motivates you to continue baking?
A4: Being able to make people happy is one of my largest motivations to continue baking. Giving out baked goods and receiving positive feedback from my friends and family helps me with my confidence and drives me to continue running à la carty.
Q5:What is your favorite thing to bake?
A5: My favorite recipe would have to be my brownies. It's one of the best selling items and a fan-favorite around the school. It uses both cocoa powder and chocolate chips to create an amazing gooey brownie and is delicious in every bite. I don't tend to snack on my own goods, but I'll never give up an opportunity to have one of my brownies.
Q6: Why have you chosen a platform like Instagram to promote your baking?
A6: Since most of my customer base is students from Stanton, it made sense to present myself on an app that they most often use. The Instagram account currently has over 150 followers and is primarily used to let people know when sales are. Also, since Instagram's main focus as an app is photo sharing, it's incredibly easy to show others what new things I'm making through posts and stories.
Q7: Do you plan to go to any cooking school, or make a physical business out of this?
A7: While I deeply enjoy baking, I have bigger ambitions that I'm looking towards. I do plan on making à la carty a physical business in the future, but my main focus is going to school for aerospace engineering and pursuing a career in that field.
Q8: Some days, do you find it more difficult to bake or make content than others?
A8: I recently picked up a part-time job so there are days where it's been difficult to find time to bake and create content. Other than that, I bake based on the demand of my customers; if someone asks me to bring something in, I bake it as soon as I possibly can.
Q9: What is one of your tips in making sure your creations come out perfect
A9: Always follow a recipe. It's said all the time, but it's insanely important to follow directions or else your dessert isn't going to come out perfect. The smallest change in a recipe can drastically change the dessert, so make sure to always get the measurements right and mix things correctly.
Q10: Regarding your instagram content, what platform do you use to make your graphics and designs.
A10: I use Canva to create my posts. I use their "Product Photos" feature to create a background behind my desserts.I created the polaroid border myself and found the cute icons on Canva as well. When I roll out new products this year I will definitely try some new styles to see what is better received, but I personally like the current style a lot and think it'll stay for a long time.
Q11: What is one popular baker that inspires you?
A11: Ginny at @inbloombakery_ on Instagram has a lot of recipes that I've tried and think are delicious. She inspires me to be creative and helps me decide what new products I want to make.
Q12: Does your mom own a baker? And do you help her out with it?
A12: If I made a bakery, I would definitely want my mom to [be] involved in the business. It's also her dream to start her own bakery so being able to make that dream a reality for her would mean so much. Having a few locations throughout the United States would be nice, but a chain sounds like a large commitment that I think is too early to make a decision on.