Aconversation with Sonya Jones doesn’t last long before she laughs—out loud and from the gut, proof she doesn’t take herself too seriously. But when it comes to Sweet Auburn Bread Co., her bakery and breakfast spot in downtown Atlanta, she’s all business.
For 11 years, Jones has built a national reputation with a single-minded focus on dishes that are baked fresh and in the Southern tradition. Though she is classically trained in desserts, the foods of Sweet Auburn reflect a call to return to her roots, and Deep South delights are what her ever-broadening base of customers wants.
One of 11 siblings, Jones grew up cooking out of necessity to feed the clan and help her mother, who ran her own restaurant to support the family. Cooking evolved from a chore into her passion, and while attending The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., Jones added discipline and structure to her skills. That training laid the foundation for a career as a culinary instructor at Atlanta Technical College and ultimately the launch of Sweet Auburn.
Sweet Auburn’s signature dessert, the Sweet Potato Cheesecake, gained national recognition when President Bill Clinton visited the bakery in 1999. Today it’s the top-selling item whether sold in-store or shipped long distances.
You knew you’d do well in business, but did you ever guess a president would visit your shop?
BIOGRAPHY Title: owner, Sweet Auburn Bread Co., AtlantaBirth date: Feb. 24, 1957Hometown: AtlantaEducation: Atlanta Technical College, Atlanta; The Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, N.Y.Career highlights: earning a scholarship to the CIA; having President Bill Clinton visit Sweet Auburn
No, I really didn’t, but that happened because he’d helped to establish empowerment zones in cities like Atlanta. Given the area I’m in—Sweet Auburn is an historic part of Atlanta—I was considered a success story. So he came in with all these other people to show [his programs] worked. That’s when the world found out about me and when everything went crazy. Later, Rachael Ray came to do the “$40 a Day” show, sometime after that “The Today Show” was here, and I’ve since been on “Road Tasted” and in Southern Living.
But nobody would have come by if your foods weren’t good. What do you credit for that?
When you grew up in a family like mine, you learned to cook. I grew up training. You just picked up things in the kitchen by watching. They didn’t get to take the time to teach you; you were just pulled into it and did it. But the truth is I wanted to be there.
Where did you get your ingredients?
Even here in Atlanta, we had a garden, because we had a house with some land. I grew up with fig trees, berries, apple trees—everything came from the garden. My mother also grew up on a farm in Florida, and when she moved to the city, well, you do what you know, and you build that world back around you, which is what she did.
Your mother was a businesswoman, but not formally trained. How did that help or hinder your own career?
Of course in that kitchen, there was no measuring…but it also taught you to cook and understand what you were doing from just doing it. It became something you just knew. But when I got my own place, I really had to standardize things so others could do it. In business, you’re counting the money and you need to know how much you’re making off your products. So to know that, you’d better know what you put into everything.
You were in your 30s when you went to The Culinary Institute of America. At that point in your career, how much did it help prepare you for your business?
CHEF’S TIPS Start with basic recipes, perfect them over time, and then start experimenting with them to make them your own. Muffin pans are the perfect size for individual pot pies or quiches.
I got a scholarship to go there, but I like to say I went to CIA to buff and polish my edges. They were big on structure and discipline there, of course, which helped me professionally. I loved it there.
When I came back here, my first job was as a pastry assistant doing Italian desserts. I thought I should be able to bake anything, but it wasn’t that easy. Still, I liked it as a challenge. It was a great experience and it validated what I wanted to do, which was bake.
Why do you focus on Southern pastries?
Everything that was old [when I was growing up] has become new again, and my customers want these types of foods, too. I learned that great food comes from the products you use. You started with great ingredients, say, like fresh fruits, and you did not overpower them, you accented that product. You made a good cobbler with a little butter, a little sugar and a really good pie dough—nothing extravagantly done, simple but pure.
Sweet Auburn is best known for its sweet goods, but talk about the savory side of your business.
It’s a good portion of what we do, for sure. People do come in to get some things for breakfast. We do a lot of bread, but it’s more old-fashioned yeast rolls, corn muffins, sweet-potato breads, wheat breads and buttermilk biscuits. Again, it’s those things I love most, Southern foods.
As a woman who has made great strides on her own in this business, do you reach out to others to help them?
I’m always about reaching back and helping other culinarians move ahead. That’s very important to me. Something else I’d like younger people to know: There’s more than one thing you can do in this industry; it’s not just cooking. Be it food styling or food writing, they need people in all these aspects. I’ve felt that in the past, a lot of the young ones weren’t aware of the careers available in the industry, and I think they need to be because there’s a whole lot out there.