For first-generation Asian-American entrepreneur Jessica Banh, the road to a brick-and-mortar bakery has been 10 years long — and that’s not counting all the baking she did for family and friends while growing up .
Fresh out of Milpitas High School, she won a scholarship to the Professional Culinary Institute in Campbell, where she learned the pastry arts, then apprenticed at the Pebble Beach resort, worked in a small bake shop and made desserts of all kinds at Google.
By that point, Banh knew she wanted to specialize in French macarons, the delicate meringue-based confections. She launched her Fancy Flavors venture and earned a business management degree at San Jose State University before signing a lease in late 2019 for a commercial space. The pandemic shutdown hit soon afterward, so she pivoted to online orders.
Finally, in February of this year, Banh opened her Fancy Flavors Bakeshop at the Westgate West center in San Jose, where she and her team also offer macaron ice cream sandwiches, creme brulee, baked goods and specialty drinks.
Naturally, we had questions.
Q: First of all, how do customers typically pronounce your premier product?
A: I hear both mac-a-ROONS and (the correct) mac-a-RONS. It doesn’t bother me how they say it as long as they know what they’re getting.
Q: What’s the most commonly asked question about macarons?
A: “Are these fresh?”
It’s a funny question to ask because “fresh” macarons are not the same as “fresh” cupcakes. But this is not the fault of our customers; this is our opportunity to really shed more light into the world of macarons, since this is still a relatively new concept to the San Jose area.
r macarons are typically started three to four days in advance. We like to give one or two days to producing the macarons from start to finish, then another one or two days to allow our macarons to mature. Macarons need a minimum of 24 hours to mature, but the longer you wait, the better it gets — just like fine wine!
Q: So they’re time-consuming, and they’re difficult to bake?
A: Macarons are very tricky desserts to make, requiring precise measurement, exact temperature reading and delicate mixing technique. If all goes well, a batch of 48 macarons can take about two hours, from making the macaron shell, to baking, to filling.
Q: What are your bestsellers?
A: Our top-selling flavors are definitely Ferrero, Churro, Cookies n Cream, Strawberry Passionfruit, Fruity Cereal and Strawberry Cheesecake. These flavors are so popular, that we oftentimes have trouble keeping them in stock.
Q: Which flavors are you most proud of creating?
A: I would have to say Ferrero (because it tastes exactly like the Ferrero Rocher candy) and Strawberry Passionfruit (we have turned so many people into fans of macarons with this flavor alone).
Q: You’re known for your whimsical creations. Tell us about those.
A: We regularly make fun characters inspired by Hello Kitty, Pikachu, Totoro and Baby Yoda and for special events. For example, National Emoji Day was July 17, so we made emoji-themed macarons.
Q: I saw a wild photo on Yelp. Did you really create a Hot Cheetos macaron? How did that taste?
A: Yes! At first, you would think, “This is gross,” but as you continue on, your mind shifts to “OK, this is actually not that bad,” until you are left with an odd satisfaction of “I actually really like this!” Our Hot Cheetos macarons are not for everyone, so we will not be offended if it is not a fan favorite.
Q: What’s the best way to store macarons?
A: We highly recommend moving macarons into an airtight container and storing them in the fridge for one week or freezer for one month.
Q: What seasonal flavors do you envision baking for autumn and winter?
A: You will be seeing mostly flavors that are homey, nostalgic, full of spice — pumpkin spice latte, butterbeer, pecan pie, gingerbread and peppermint bark. The list goes on — 25 more flavors, to be exact. We also have a special flavor in the works, Thanksgiving Dinner. We’ll let your imagination run wild with this one!
Q: What advice would you give other young entrepreneurs?
A: The road to entrepreneurship is a long and mostly difficult road. People always think that running a business is a way to “get rich quick,” but what they don’t see are the long hours spent, the sacrifices being made, the tears and the years of hard work being put into a dream that could — or could not — work.
So my advice would be to keep going. You have to put in the time and mileage, learn from all your mistakes and take notes from all of your wins.
Details: Open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday-Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at 1645 Saratoga Ave. (next to Chipotle), San Jose; www.officialfancyflavors.com.
