Meet the Northampton woman who went from coronavirus redundancy to selling out of her Chinese dumplings

A Northampton woman is finding success beyond her wildest dreams by selling her homemade Chinese dumplings after being made redundant last year.

Jessica Ly lost her job doing marketing for a food start-up in London overnight as the first coronavirus lockdown started in March, leaving her clueless about what to do.

So the 29-year-old turned to what made her happy - making dumplings - and initially sold them to her neighbours with demand turning out to be far higher than she expected.

When her tenancy ended, Jessica returned to her's parents home in Northampton and was worried the dumplings may not be as popular, but she was wrong as she regularly sells out.

Her brand, Fashion Bake - dating back to her days as a fashion blogger and keen baker - has now fully launched with its own website and packaging.

"I've always wanted to spread happiness and joy and for me, eating dumplings is instant happiness and I wanted others to experience that," she told the Chronicle & Echo.

"Looking back, it was one of my darkest hours for two months but it was the biggest blessing in disguise as I wanted to do my own thing and I thought I've got to do it now or not at all so it's been amazing."

Jessica grew up in Northampton and said she has always felt passionate about food and moved to London to follow her dream after initially working as a fashion stylist.

She did a lot of work for free with chefs and food start-ups before getting a permanent job with Miso Tasty doing its marketing and social media.

But when the pandemic struck, Jessica lost her job at another new food business, leaving her unsure about what to do next but with a feeling to strike out on her own.

"I was made redundant effective immediately and thought, 'I've got bills to pay, what am I going to do?' I went into a state of anxiety," she said.

"So I went home for a month and started cooking and the first thing I ate were dumplings as they're the ultimate comfort food - the best thing to have when you're sad."

Jessica was just making dumplings for herself and posting them online when someone asked if she was selling any, which she initially balked at the idea of.

"I thought this is just therapy, I'm not ready, but then I thought I had six weeks left on my tenancy and I don't have a job so I've got to do something, let's try it," she said.

"I thought no one would buy them as it's not a thing anyone really buys yet but I didn't have anything else to do and I wouldn't know until I tried."

Jessica posted them on social media groups and to her amazement her 200 dumplings sold out, and kept selling out every week as she could only make so many by herself.

But returning to Northampton was a worry as she was not sure there would be the same appetite for her dumplings so she did a trial run with some temporary packaging in September.

Yet again she sold out despite making more than before in her own kitchen in the town centre, where customers collect their orders.

"One day I would love to be in supermarkets as I believe in product but I never expected to grow so rapidly," she said.

"I've only been going for four months and the growth has been amazing.

"I'm hoping to keep in people's minds, especially in Northampton where people wouldn't normally buy frozen dumplings and cook them at home, no one would do that but it's happening."

Jessica does three different fillings for her dumplings: pork and shiitake mushrooms, chicken, and veggie/vegan, as well as bao buns and assorted oils.

The dumplings come frozen so they last longer but are ready to eat in just 15 minutes, making them a quick and tasty meal.

She was inspired to go into the industry by her parents who ran a Chinese food truck after moving to the UK in 1980 with nothing, even though they urged her not to as a child!

"They've still got receipt books where sometimes they would make £3 a night from a chicken chow mein but they persevered and made it work.

"So if they can succeed there's no excuse for me not to - they tried to keep us away from food but it's come full circle."

Jessica hopes her story can also inspire others who may have fallen on difficult times to not give up on their dreams.

"I know people are going through such a tough time physically and mentally, I know lots of people have been made redundant and thought whatever I do it's darkness," she said.

"But I want to show people there's hope and you can turn a negative situation into a positive one - it's all possible."

For more information about Fashion Bake, visit fashionbake.com or instagram.com/fashion.bake.