Meet Celeste Ivey (founder of Patisserie Ci )

How We Got Our Start

I started Patisserie Ci after experimenting with plant-based cooking and making huge changes in the way that I shopped and cooked for my family. 

I’m a huge foodie and I simply could not get enough of sharing my latest concoctions with family and friends.

Before I knew it, I was renting a commercial kitchen and selling my baked goods in local markets across the city. It wasn’t long, however, before I realized the need for plant-based food options AND education was tremendous.

The Mission

Patisserie Ci is on a mission to introduce youth to plant-based cooking and empower them to make better food choices using the resources within their own community. In a time when many urban communities throughout the city of Detroit are essentially food deserts, having limited access to quality fresh food makes the challenge of raising health consciousness and inspiring healthy eating habits even greater.

Over the last 10 years, Patisserie Ci has made strides in our mission. We were commissioned by a prominent healthcare organization to develop a culinary arts curriculum that was kid-friendly and culturally relevant to the community. 

We’ve enjoyed conducting workshops, summer camps, and community events, spreading our message of healthy, delicious eating and inspiring young leaders of tomorrow. We continue to build community alliances and make connections with fellow ambassadors of healthy eating and plant-based diets.

Now it is time to take this mission to the next level….

Where We Are Now

After servicing local farmers' markets, specialty grocers, and coffee house cafés with our premium baked goods via shared community kitchens for more than 15 years, we’re ready to build a permanent location that can fully accommodate our culinary arts programs and the production, distribution, and storage needed to continue providing healthy treats to the local community.

This crowd-funding campaign is to open a permanent location, so we can be a resource in the community year-round. We also plan to launch a mobile culinary arts initiative with our community partner, JazzyKat, to engage students across the metro Detroit area.

As a Motor City Match awardee, we are seeking support to raise $100,000, which will be matched by the program to assist us in bringing this resource to the City of Detroit.

With the generous support of Urban Fit Kids and our community partners to help us kick off this campaign, Patisserie Ci is well on the way to empowering people through education and by providing healthier fresh food options for the community.

Please join us in this effort by contributing to this campaign. Let’s empower our communities and inspire them for generations to come. Together we can!