The EntreQueerNeur Show with Asa Leveaux - Business Growth with Elisha Israel

Jul 1, 2021

PRIDE EDITION: Queer Foodie with Kareem Queeman

This episode is brought to you by Queer Money Gang! Join the free community at www.queermoneygang.com Kareem Queeman joins The EntreQueerNeur Show with Asa Leveaux to discuss LGBTQ+ representation in the food industry. Kareem Queeman, affectionately known as Mr. Bake began his sweet journey in the kitchen alongside his grandmother at 5 years old. Growing up in the historic Sugar Hill neighborhood in Harlem NY, Kareem got a first hand look into family traditions and cultural favorites as he spent weekends enthralled in family events, which almost always involved food & cakes. At the tutelage of his grandmother, family recipes and the delicious restaurants & bakeries in Harlem, Kareem began preparing to further advance himself in both cakes & pastries. He enrolled and graduated in 2009 from Monroe College with a Bachelor’s in Culinary Arts and also successfully completed a Certification in Restaurant Management from the International Culinary Center. With his new education, Kareem took that and excelled while working at famed Harlem bakeries Make My Cake & Carrot Top Bakery and also the praised foodie destinations Sara Beth's and Billy Bakery in Tribeca. After finding success within the hustle and bustle of NYC, Kareem was handpicked to assist in the operational opening of Fluffy Thoughts Cakes, a new bakery in McLean Virginia and was handpicked again, this time in Washington D.C to assist in the brick & mortar opening of Crumbs Bakery. Cake decorating, wholesale baking, client management, counter and dessert catering were just some of the tools Kareem learned while at the helm of these establishments and in the summer of 2013, Kareem decided to become an entrepreneur with the start of Mr. Bake, LLC. Located in Washington D.C, with his very own cake & confections company, Kareem is committed to eye catching decorative cakes that push boundaries in both flavor and artistic design for clientele of all ages. Building a business also means building and uplifting a community and Kareem is dedicated to ensuring diversity and inclusivity of transgender, gender queer, and gender non-conforming gay, lesbian, and bisexual POC on major food networks. From the beginning, the training, knowledge, dedication and craftsmanship Kareem possesses has shown throughout his confections and business. With that, Kareem continues to bake the world a better palace, one cake at a time. Mr. Bake, LLC, has worked with major companies including: Disney BET 21st Century Fox Universal Pictures NBC Fox Target Mr. Bake, LLC has been featured and won numerous competitive baking shows including: “Cake Boss” Bake It Like Buddy shown on Discovery Family America’s Best Baker Girl Scout Baking Championship on the Food Network Beat Bobby Flay on the Food Network Sugar Rush Christmas season 2 on Netflix. Incredible achievements include: A certificate of recognition from the Office of The Mayor in the city of Yonkers. 2020 honoree for Business of Pride, awarded by the Washington Business Journal. 2021 Certificate of Excellence in Culinary Excellence from The National Black Chef’s Association Passion . Artistry . Inclusivity . Community. CONNECT WITH KAREEM QUEEMAN: IG: MrBakesweets FB: Mrbake TW: Mrbakesweets www.mrbakesweets.com CONNECT WITH ASA LEVEAUX: www.asaleveaux.com www.instagram.com/mrasaleveaux www.twitter.com/mrleveaux

29 min