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

Hi MaRiya, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
My younger sister Brianna really took after our Father with the cooking and baking skills. When we were younger Daddy would call us in the kitchen and say ” Here watch me cook this, so you can do this one day” I was 100% uninterested and so was my twin sister. But Brianna would watch and she enjoyed it. As we got into our teens she literally started cooking and baking on her own and bringing dishes to church or to our brother & his co workers at the furniture store he worked at. Brownies, cookies, cakes. By the age of 17 Brianna had it down packed and our family was always asking her to cook certain things. Fast Forward into adult hood, She became the cook of the family events and holidays. EVERYTHING she makes is the BOMB, Lol. During Covid she made a lot of desserts and came up with her own twist on the family recipes she had and it was history from there. I kept saying “Hey we need to sell these desserts, it would be a HIT! We always talked of having a food truck, coming up with names and such. But no action was taken. I said plenty of times to my sisters lets get this done we can do it and open this business. After they kept blowing me off I called my mother sad and she said “MaRiya you are gonna have to take action & JUST DO IT they will follow in line after. ” So I prayed and went to working on searching for a truck and how to start a LLC and form a business. My thought process was get this done once they see I’m serious, they won’t ask any questions and will get on board once they see the beginning stages are done. My thought process was always ” God has not given you the spirit of fear”. I told myself this is a great idea that no one in my area was doing, don’t be scared you’ve got this! In one week of speaking with my mom about it, I sent my sisters a text message with me holding a sold sign of our new truck and the paperwork completed for our LLC. They had NO IDEA I had done any of it until I text them the pictures telling them we are officially a business with a new truck!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
The Jenkins sisters are thick as thieves. We do everything together, but you wouldn’t be able to tell from our professions. MarKiya has been in the hospitality industry for over 12 yrs. MaRiya has been in the administrative healthcare field for 15 yrs now, and Brianna is the General Manager of Fearings Restaurant at The Ritz Carlton Dallas. All different working fields. But I think the one thing that our professions have in common is the engagement we have with people. We all have different personalities, but they all fit us. Especially in the work
that we do. We never meet a stranger we become friends with anyone even if it’s only for a few minutes. We are proud of that. That’s what we will bring to our own business, to feel like you’ve known us for years from just one encounter. We’ve learned throughout our careers not every day will be a sunny day, but it’s up to you if you let it impact you in the long term. Always find the positive out of it all. Not everyone will be kind, not every task will be easy, and every goal may not be met in the time you wanted. But to ask yourself what I learned and did I give it my best. That’s all you can do in life personal or professional. We have strong faith in God and even humor,so if it doesn’t work out we always look at it like “Welp, Lord you didn’t allow that for me for a reason ..so what else ya got that’s GREATER?” Lol.. We want the world to know that the fun personalities and outlook we have on life when we service you, that you leave feeling good from a great conversation, a word of inspiration and a decadent slice of cake or dessert to top off your day! Nothing is sweeter than that.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Well, we are food lovers so any of our friends know when you come into town, we are going out to eat more than once. Our Favorite Breakfast spot is Benedicts in Plano we are practically family with the staff there and we always bring our out-of-town family and friends there when they come to visit. It’ a must for us to bring our people to Benedicts. We go there on a regular at least every other week. Next would be a massage at our favorite spot OD Wellness in Frisco, TX. They are awesome and you definitely feel rejuvenated after your massage with them. Again food is top places we also will go to our favorite Pappadeaux North Dallas location. We absolutely love ice cream Andys in Frisco is also a must to take friends and family. And now Wuts 4 Dessert for all of your sweet needs is open and ready to serve you up. Concerts, Comedy shows are also a fun thing for us to take out of town guests aswell. We love to entertain. Lets just say after that week long visit you definitely will be a few pounds more after visiting us. So look for our purple dessert truck and catch us on the STREETS with the SWEETS. And don’t forget to ask WUTS 4 DESSERT!!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Shout out to our Father The late Rev. Dr. Berlin Jenkins, Our father was a Pastor for over 45 yrs and was a true inspiration to all he met or mentored in their lives. He was a true jack of all trades. He could do anything. Our dad was a Preacher, Bus Driver, Mechanic,Mentor, Cook, Singer, and Comedian, He literally did it all except dance lol. Out of 13 children we are his last 3 .He taught us to never wait on anyone, to trust in the Lord and get it done yourself. He was a true provider and was not afraid of hard work. He was a true southern man & he showed it in his cooking. His Louisiana roots made it to the dinner table every night, and he didn’t care if you didn’t eat it. That was dinner. The whole city of Gary (Gary, IN) knew Rev. Jenkins for his cooking skills especially his Gumbo and of course his preaching and singing. Every chance he got he was in the kitchen whipping something up.A lot of times after he came home from work or a church revival it would be after midnight, and daddy came in and started cooking late. He LOVED to eat. The next question we’d ask was ” Wuts 4 Dessert” which is how we came up with our business name, Paying homage to him. He would always tell our mother those girls are going to be alright. He knew we’d make something of ourselves and be successful not relying on someone else. He was right, my sisters and I are very independent & successful, and we owe a great deal of that to both him and our mother Darlene. They are the true Rockstars of the family.

Website: https://www.Wuts4dessert.com

Instagram: Wuts4dessertLLC

Facebook: Wuts4dessertLLC

Yelp: Wuts 4 Dessert

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