Successful Southern Sistas is pleased to present the latest installment of Feature Friday. This month we’re featuring Tristen Patriz, Owner/Chief Dessert Creator, of Sift! Atlanta. Sift! is an enchanting dessert boutique filled with impeccable confections that look almost too good to eat. We got an opportunity to learn why Tristen followed her heart and abandoned medical school for a daily date with desserts.
Please tell us about your background?
My story minus all of the twists and turns – I proudly hail from Chicago. I went to school for finance, and later came to Atlanta for medical school.
Why a bakery, what was the motivation to start your business?
The motivation for a culinary business has always been there even if it was at the back of mind. As early as age 5, I wanted to have my way with the stove. The best I could do was use my Easy Bake Oven, and it wasn’t good enough! By age 10, I was covering a little more ground in the kitchen. So I would experiment and things would turn out pretty good. Snack time at my house was the place to be! With that said, cooking has always been very important to me. It’s stays on my mind and any and everything seems to serve as inspiration on one level or another. I eventually became more interested in the sweeter side of culinary life.
It wasn’t until a couple of years ago, that I admitted to being dissatisfied with where I was professionally. The money I was making didn’t matter and never really did. As silly as it sounds, it just hadn’t dawned on me that what I was most passionate about should have been the cornerstone of my endeavors. At that point, a bakery, per se, wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. FOOD is what I had in mind. Finally, it came to me one Sunday. I didn’t know how. I didn’t know where. I only knew what, and that was dessert. One day, I simply made the decision to do my best to make it happen. I did some research, visited as many bakeries as I could, and talked to as many owners and industry professionals as I could. I didn’t necessarily want the traditional bakery establishment. I knew I wanted it to be different. When people think of cake and other sweets, their minds quickly go to “bakery”. I wanted people to think dessert, not just cake without tying both to a bakery. The dessert boutique concept was born and so was the option of delivery.
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