If you ask Josiah Vallejos, he’s never met a cake recipe he didn’t like. Or actually, any kind of baked-goods recipe. Since officially cracking into the world of rolling pins and baking soda in 2021, this fast-rising baker has whipped up an impressive resume, pioneering his own victoriously sweet enterprise. And all as a teen! “The idea just popped up in my head one day,” he remembers. “I really didn’t watch my mom or anyone cook.”

 

At age 10, Josiah’s premier production was a vanilla cake, which he found easy but unsatisfying. “It turned out flat and ugly. The frosting wasn’t smooth, and there was no decoration on top.” That first day he waved off boxed mixes and began cooking up his own plan. Sifting through recipes on social media, he was first inspired by others and began creating right away: cream puffs and eclairs, pumpkin rolls, unduplicated Chantilly and ice-cream cakes. There is no cookbook, past or present--just the custom batters and unique designs rising up inside his brain. “Sometimes people give me a picture, but that’s harder than just thinking things up,” he says.

 

Presiding over his own commercial kitchen, Josiah operates using a minimum of lead time. “I also bake everything from scratch, nothing frozen. I want it all as fresh as possible. That’s why mine tastes better,” he says, matter-of-factly. Mom Barbie serves as order taker, and baking deadlines can be tight. “I might learn after school (at Los Lunas’ School of Dreams Academy) that I have an order due the next morning!” In that case, the stellar student may work into the wee hours to apply finishing touches. “That’s okay,” he reasons, “I usually go to sleep pretty late.”

 

Garnering his first official order from grandma, Josiah suspected “she bought it just to buy it. There really was no special occasion for that chocolate cake.” Sometime after, his Future Farmers of America club requested some cookies; and BRANDED’s Susie Jones (one of his dairy-judging coaches) wound up raving over a taste. “Instantly, I was bent on recruiting Josiah to create some exclusive coffee-barn treats,” she says.

 

Demand has continually heated up, until now Josiah’s Baked Goods are featured at weddings, graduation parties, school events and even the New Mexico Legislature! During holidays, the usually solo artisan enlists family members to help with the orders pouring in. What his mom “loves” is that even when busy, he’s intent upon growing. “Josiah wants his creations to be one-of-a-kind.”

 

Never turning down an order, this fully-licensed whizz kid enjoys people challenging him with new things. According to Josiah, “I like seeing the 5-star reviews on my online page. Feedback is my biggest thing. I like knowing that people think my baking looks and tastes good.”

 

Pastries aren’t the only thing he’s cooking up these days—Josiah was named “Star Student” of his FFA chapter, having morphed into a vital member of its’ dairy and wildlife judging teams. “FFA has changed his life,” according to Barbie. Spurred on by dedicated coaches, Josiah finely honed his speaking ability; moving on to college criminology classes, plus key roles in Valencia County Juvenile Justice. He also got picked from a worldwide pool to attend a ‘model United Nations’ in New York City. There’s surely an abundance of icing on this youngster’s cake!