Chef Judy
Growing up in NYC Chinatown, I had a major sweet tooth and developed a love for desserts and the Asian flavors I grew up eating. That passion led me to earn a culinary degree in pastry arts, and I later became a pastry instructor at the school.
In 2006, I founded Silk Cakes, a cake company known for unique Asian-Inspired flavor combinations. After more than a decade in business, the pandemic forced me to make the difficult decision to close in 2020. I felt lost and didn’t know what was next. Until one moment in the cake mix aisle changed everything.
Cake mix is an American kitchen staple, but it was missing the Asian flavors I grew up with. So, in
2024, I started Roots in Rice - a line of Asian-inspired cake mixes.
The significance behind the logo
A Tribute to My Dad
My dad is originally from Shunde District. 順德, Guangdong Province of China - aka the Birthplace of Cantonese cuisine. He immigrated to NYC Chinatown in the hopes of finding a better life and found work as a chef at a Chinese restaurant. I remembered my dad worked very long hours, he worked 6 days a week and would come home late into the evening with 1 day off.
Even on his day off, he would cook for his family. He made the best Cantonese food, from frog legs to my favorite, sweet and sour chicken. Even though his life was hard, he struggled in silence as he never once complained. For the company logo, I chose the Chinese character of my last name ‘Lai’ - as a tribute to my dad - for being a great father and my culinary inspiration.
