Beyond The Recipe: Karina
I’m in the business of celebration. In our case, we celebrate our culture. We are a small community, we’re not represented anywhere else. We cater to our community feeling represented in the desserts that they have, and all the memories that you’ve had growing up.
We couldn’t wait to catch up with Karina Jimenez of Viva Los Cupcakes on this week’s episode of the Beyond the Recipe! We discuss Karina’s journey to becoming the cupcake queen of our culture with flavors like tamal con mole, horchata, and conchita. She continues to serve up Mexican flavors at her shop and will soon be offering jars of her famous mole spread which you will not want to miss, trust!
Karina Jimenez grew up in her family’s mariscos restaurant in Rosarito, Mexico, but never imagined she’d be in the food business. She studied Art at CSULA, had a Getty sponsored internship at a local non-profit, and was supposed to become an art teacher. When life led her through a different path, she ended up working a desk job in corporate apparel, a line of work that made her miserable and creatively numb. It was because of the need to be creative during this time that baking cupcakes served as an outlet, back in 2009. When she decided to bake for more than just a hobbie, she knew she needed to stand out from the cupcake crowd. Pulling on her Mexican roots and childhood memories, Viva Los Cupcakes was born and officially launched in 2012. Seven years later, after being a mobile cupcake booth at weekend festivals, Viva Los Cupcakes found a home in the city of Pico Rivera, taking over an established Mexican style ice cream shop. Viva Los Cupcakes: Cupcakes and Ice Cream is the next evolution for Jimenez’s business, as she continues to develop this new stage with plans to build out an on-site full service cupcake bakery. In the meantime, customers can enjoy a rotating menu of cupcakes. Mexican style ice cream is served daily, along with freshly fried churros, buñuelo nachos, ice cream cakes, conchita ice cream sandwhiches, and other treats.
IG: @vivaloscupcakes
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Twitter: @vivaloscupcakes
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