Episode 212: Chef Eman + SETO Bakery

This week on the podcast we got to chat with Chef Eman Abdulmuaty and her daughter Dina Abo Sheasha of SETO Bakery. Chef Eman was a customer service representative at a bank in Qatar until just a few months ago, but she always had a dream to open a bakery in the US. This September, she moved to Rochester to be closer to her two daughters and son and started the process to launch her business, SETO Bakery, in the community. Translating to “grandma” in Arabic, the business is named in deference to Chef Eman’s mother, who was a keystone in their family unit. SETO Bakery serves up a variety of sweets like baklava, apple pie, mediterrean cookies, and a syrupy sweet cake, called basbousa. After launching the business around the holidays out of her kitchen, Chef Eman has spent the last few months interacting with customers and sharing her passion for baking with the community.

Links from today’s show:
Website: https://myseto.com
Facebook: @SETOBAKERY
Instagram: @SETO

Music Attribution: Like That by Ano Domini Beats is licensed through the YouTube Audio Library.

Episode Breakdown:
0:00 Start
2:30 Chef Eman’s dream to open a bakery in the US
5:56 Self taught baking
8:06 Prior work at a bank in Qatar
9:31 SETO namesake
11:36 Allowing people to taste other types of cuisine
16:15 Trying to keep the food as fresh as possible
17:44 Launch of SETO Bakery in the community
20:04 Cottage Food
21:47 Interactions with customers
25:19 Role of family in the business
30:03 Reception by the community
32:07 Next steps for the business
34:24 Why Chef Eman is passionate about this business
36:24 Closing remarks
42:11 Conclusion

This week on the podcast we got to chat with Chef Eman Abdulmuaty and her daughter Dina Abo Sheasha of SETO Bakery. Chef Eman was a customer service representative at a bank in Qatar until just a few months ago, but she always had a dream to open a bakery in the US. This September, she moved to Rochester to be closer to her two daughters and son and started the process to launch her business, SETO Bakery, in the community. Translating to “grandma” in Arabic, the business is named in deference to Chef Eman’s mother, who was a keystone in their family unit. SETO Bakery serves up a variety of sweets like baklava, apple pie, mediterrean cookies, and a syrupy sweet cake, called basbousa. After launching the business around the holidays out of her kitchen, Chef Eman has spent the last few months interacting with customers and sharing her passion for baking with the community.

Links from today’s show:

Website: https://myseto.com

Facebook: @SETOBAKERY

Instagram: @SETO

Music Attribution: Like That by Ano Domini Beats is licensed through the YouTube Audio Library. 

Episode Breakdown:

0:00 Start

2:30 Chef Eman’s dream to open a bakery in the US

5:56 Self taught baking

8:06 Prior work at a bank in Qatar

9:31 SETO namesake

11:36 Allowing people to taste other types of cuisine

16:15 Trying to keep the food as fresh as possible

17:44 Launch of SETO Bakery in the community

20:04 Cottage Food

21:47 Interactions with customers 

25:19 Role of family in the business

30:03 Reception by the community

32:07 Next steps for the business

34:24 Why Chef Eman is passionate about this business

36:24 Closing remarks

42:11 Conclusion