We had the good fortune of connecting with Lamia Hassani and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lamia, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I studied finance and worked as a financial advisor for over ten years in Paris, France and in Montreal, Canada. I loved finance, but have always had a passion for cooking and baking.

When we moved to North Carolina five years ago, I couldn’t find delicious, healthy bread at a good price, so I started making my own bread from scratch using store-bought yeast. Those first batches were not great, but through trial and error I quickly learned to make improvements. I was so happy with my homemade bread that I began making extra loaves and sharing them with friends and neighbors.

One day, a friend who loves my bread said: ”Lamia, you should start a homemade bakery with your delicious bread. I’ll be ordering every week!” These words awakened an idea in me and from that point on, I could’t think of anything else.

I began looking for more healthy bread recipes and was drawn to Sourdough. I have fond childhood memories of sharing sourdough bread at family meals. I began to study the sourdough process by watching many hours of video and taking note of each step. The sourdough process is delicate and complex. After several failures, I started to understand more and more and adjust my recipe .

At this point, I felt I was ready to start my homemade bakery. I knew it was something that I wanted to pursue now more than ever. My dream is to share my love for bread with my community, and show them that you can have a healthy bread with only four ingredients ( flour, sourdough starter, water and salt).
My hope is to infuse comfort, satisfaction, and positive memories (of home-cooked meals and family gatherings) into each loaf of bread.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
After several months of reflection and preparation, I decided to launch my business ” Oven Fresh Delights” , a sourdough homemade bakery in March 2024.

Opening a homemade bakery means a lot to me. It’s a dream come true. I find much joy in baking fresh, from scratch, in a home kitchen, with natural wild yeast, fresh eggs, real butter, and high quality flour. I imagine my customers gathering with friends and loved ones, enjoying my bread together. It is an amazing feeling!

My first weeks as a Homemade Bakery owner were busy and intense. I needed to focus on how to introduce my baked goods and reach more people in my community. The social media platform ”Instagram” has been my number one tool. I am able to share pictures and videos of my baking on a daily basis.

The business really took off when I began holding “pop-up shops” in local businesses like boutiques, yoga studios, and workout places. This strategy has been a huge success because I have been able to connect with the community and make my bread readily available to them. As a result, people began to know me and my bread, my Instagram followers increased, my orders increased, and people were loving my bread & baked goods.

I am truly amazed with what I have been able to accomplish in less than a year. There have been difficult moments of doubt and questioning, but I think those moments have been learning opportunities that have helped me to grow as an entrepreneur.

In the past, I have had difficulty making decisions, but since becoming an entrepreneur, that has changed. Being an entrepreneur has improved my self-confidence and helped me become bold and decisive.

My love for bread comes from my love of being with family and friends around a beautiful table. I have previously lived in three countries; Algeria, France, and Canada. The USA is my fourth country. In each place where I have lived my best memories are around a table, where a generous meal was shared and wonderful warm memories were made.

I sincerely hope that this is just the beginning of a great adventure. There is a saying in French “make your life a dream and a dream a reality”. This saying opened my eyes and helped me to believe in my dream and make it a reality.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my best friend was visiting for a week, I’d plan a nice tour of Greensboro and its surrounding area. We will start the day with a tasty breakfast at Sage Mule and we’d go for a nice relaxing walk at The Family Bicentennial Garden. We would then go for an afternoon tea at the O’Henry Hotel which has an old-world charm, warm and elegant vibe, it’s a very unique experience.

In the following days we will plan a historical tour of Greensboro, we will start at the Guilford Courthouse Military Park, followed by Greensboro History Museum, and finish the tour at International Civil Rights Center & Museum. After the excitement of the tour, we’d head to Hops Burger for dinner and finish the evening at Joymongers Brewing Downtown where we can enjoy their house beers and listen to live music.

The last day, we’d take a scenic drive to Pilot Mountain where we could enjoy a nice hike with an amazing view, and to wrap up our adventure we’d go to Jolo Winery and Vineyards Restaurant for a local delicious dinner.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to dedicate my shoutout to my family and friends. They have been my team and support from day one and have stuck with me through every high and every low.
I want to thank my husband and my two boys for always cheering me up, giving me hugs and kisses, and filling my heart with joy.
I also have to thank my parents for the morals and hard work they instilled in me from a young age that have remained throughout my life.
To this day, word of mouth and social media continue to be my primary source of customers. I would like to give a HUGE shout out to my amazing community for being so very supportive of Oven Fresh Delights. Thank you so so much!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oven_fresh_delightss?igsh=bDd5ZzFqNm91ZDZ4&utm_source=qr

Facebook: Oven Fresh Delights

Image Credits

Justyna j_u_s_t_p_h_o_t_o_g_r_a_p_h_y

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutNorthCarolina is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.