‘I’m living my dream,’ says owner of unique food business that has thrived since pandemic

The owner of a unique food business has shared that she is “living her dream”, as her success has continued since she first set up during the pandemic.

Fashion Bake brought frozen homemade dumplings and bao buns to Northampton at a time when no one else was offering them.

The products, which are available to shop in meal kits, can be cooked quickly from home or can be shopped fresh when Fashion Bake attends events in their food van.

The business is the brainchild of 31-year-old Jessica Ly, who started this journey when she was made redundant from a job in London.

When this happened in March 2020, Jessica found herself in a state of anxiety and fear about what was to come next – and pleating dumplings at home became her therapy.

She spent the next two months testing recipes and with five weeks left of her tenancy in London before she moved back to her hometown Northampton, she decided to sell them in the capital.

As dumplings were a staple in her household and a great comfort food, Jessica knew there was the potential to sell them frozen for others to enjoy as much as she did.

The 31-year-old, who grew up in Weston Favell, is the proud daughter of refugees and her parents are Vietnamese.

Though her parents’ homes may have been displaced throughout generations, one thing that has remained the same is the food on their table.

The business owner says home is not a place, it is wherever comfort food is – and to her, these are simple dishes that have been passed down through generations.

The dumplings and bao buns sold by Fashion Bake represent Jessica’s family’s journey from Vietnam, to Hong Kong, and now where they reside in the UK.

Jessica’s biggest inspiration, along with her parents, is her grandfather.

She said: “In 1979, my grandad bought a boat in secret and fled the war in Vietnam.

“His courage to flee his home in the hope of a better life, knowing death could be an option, is what inspires me every day.”

The products offered by Fashion Bake include pork and shiitake, chicken and Chinese leaf, and veggie dumplings – as well as char siu bao and veggie bao buns.

The business is still run from Jessica’s home, which is where it all began when it first launched in Northampton in September 2020.

Talking to Chronicle & Echo, Jessica said: “I wanted to spread love for dumplings and everyone went crazy for them in the town.

“They were instantly successful as it was a new concept and there was curiosity around the meal kits during lockdown.”

However, when the restrictions eased and people began to abandon home cooking for meals out, Fashion Bake had to pivot and reinvent what they had been doing successfully.

It was in July 2021 that Jessica attended Bite Street for the first time – a well-renowned street food pop-up event in the town.

“We jumped straight in at the deep end by attending a super busy event like Bite Street,” said Jessica. “But we had an amazing response.”

As the business owner got the buzz for attending events and immersing herself in the community that had made her venture a success, she knew she wanted to branch out and get her own food van.

A year later, in July 2022, this became a reality and Jessica says she spent four months of “blood, sweat and tears” stripping, renovating and bringing the vision for the food van to life.

As her parents have always been involved in the food industry as chefs, and even had a takeaway van of their own 30 years ago, this was Jessica’s “full circle moment”.

With the previously gruelling task of packing away marquees and heavy lifting at events, having a food van was the start of an exciting time for Fashion Bake.

Jessica is a regular trader at Bite Street and having the food van has opened up more opportunities to attend other events.

Though Jessica is the founder, her mother helps her make the bao buns – which she has been refining and perfecting for the past 25 years – and her partner helps out at events.

She said: “I’d definitely like to scale up and employ more people eventually, but letting go of your baby is hard and my mum and I are perfectionists.

“That’s only natural when you’ve built something from the ground up.”

Jessica also prides herself on collaborating with other independent businesses, as she knows how difficult it can be.

She has an upcoming event offering cocktails and dumplings with Saints Coffee, in St Giles’ Street, and was proud to cater for V&B’s first birthday party a couple of weeks ago.

Jessica said: “It was an amazing night and it shows you what can happen when two businesses and communities come together.”

When asked how it feels that a business based on her heritage and upbringing has proved so popular, Jessica says it is “amazing”.

“I’m living my dream,” she added. “I’ve worked really hard for this, and I’m so grateful for people who continue to support and champion what we do.”

Looking to the future of Fashion Bake, Jessica wants to continue “using food as a tool to spread happiness” and hopes to one day see her frozen dumplings in homes all over the UK.

For more information on Fashion Bake, you can visit their Facebook page here.