Gema Morris
Sweet Treats, Sweet Heart
story by JENNIFER BROWN-CARPENTER photos by CHARLOTTE BERKELEY
You may not have heard yet, but there’s a new pastry chef in town. If you appreciate homemade, fresh pastries, made by someone who is passionate and loves her job, you’re going to adore Hazel’s Sweet Creations. Gema Morris, the owner of Hazel’s Sweet Creations, is just as sweet as her treats.
Gema’s interest in cooking began as a child. Her adoptive father was a great cook; her mother was not. Her dad made a fantastic carrot cake that was loved by many. She and her sister would host a lemonade stand every summer, and her father would make his famous carrot cake for them to sell at their stand. It was the beginning of her love for sweet treats.
Gema didn’t become a baker or a chef right away. She had no plans to become one at all. She started to pursue a career in nursing. She loved nursing because she has a huge heart for serving others. She loves taking care of people and helping them. Unfortunately, this also made the nursing job difficult for her. It hurt her heart to see so many people in pain and suffering. She wanted to be able to fix things for them, and sometimes it just didn’t work out that way. She ultimately decided that nursing was not for her.
Gema moved to Beaufort when she started having health problems. She was suffering from seizures and needed help with her kids. After she was settled, one of the first things she needed to do was find a job. When she saw that Beaufort Bread Company (BBC) was hiring, it caught her attention.
She had no pastry experience, but because of her love for serving people and with the thoughts of those lemonade stands (and her dad’s carrot cake) in her mind, she decided to apply anyway. She had a couple of things going for her: she was willing to work hard and was a devoted student. She knew she could learn anything they were ready to teach her.
Gema got that job, and Emily Benson and Rick Stone soon became her mentors. She worked for BBC from October 2015 to November 2018. In 2019, she decided to start Hazel’s Sweet Creations.
Gema loves the artistic possibilities of baking and creating pastries. She has always admired painting and drawing, and uses her artistic abilities as she creates her sweet treats. She loves making muffins and tarts, especially the tart shells. Working with dough is one of her favorite things to do. She’s a perfectionist, so her creations always take a little longer, as she works to make them just right. She meticulously decorates her cakes and sugar cookies with fine details.
Gema has seven children: Amariee, Nyonna, Justus, Aniya, Angelo, Josh, and baby Travis. Her oldest son Amariee was the one who initially motivated her the most to begin creating her treats in their home. But he did more than that. He knew that his mom wanted to open her own bakery, so he also encouraged her to pursue this dream.
Amariee is a football player, and it is what he is most passionate about. After COVID-19 progressed and sports came to a screeching halt, Amariee was feeling discouraged when his dreams had to be put on hold. As any good mom would do, Gema told him he couldn’t give up, and he said, “You can’t tell me that if you’ve giving up on yours.”
So, she took his words to heart, and with the inspiration and support of her other kids and her partner, “Big Travis,” she decided to start baking in her kitchen on Lady’s Island.
Gema is investing what she has into her new business. And what she has is time, skills, and a love of serving people. She might not have a lot of money to invest, but one thing she has is a goal. Her goal in the next year is to save enough to open a storefront. And when she opens that storefront, she has some ready-and-waiting employees in her family. She has two willing apprentices, her daughter and nephew. Gema has huge dreams for her business, and she hopes to begin selling her pastries to local businesses after she opens her store.
One of the things Gema loves most about creating her treats is making people happy. Something as simple as a muffin can turn someone’s day around. Because our gatherings with friends and family have been cut off entirely or somewhat curtailed, small things have become considerably significant. Gema feels there’s no better way to let friends and family know you’re thinking of them than to deliver a special, one-of-a-kind treat to their door.
Gema’s company started with very humble beginnings, providing treats for family members’ and friends’ parties. For every gathering, people would ask: “What are you bringing? Can you bring me this?” It didn’t take long for word to spread from her family and close friends to a wider circle of people.
Currently, Gema can make one-on-one sales from her home kitchen. This allows her to save as much money as possible to eventually open her store. In the meantime, you can find Gema on Facebook and Instagram by searching Hazel’s Sweet Creations. Get in touch with her for your next celebration: birthday party, retirement party, anniversary, or family get-together. She’ll be able to fulfill all your sweet-tooth needs.
