Profile Article

Right From the Oven: how a school project turned into more

What started as a school project turned into a business for Elli Russotto, a University of Georgia student majoring in hospitality and food industry management. Her small business, Right From the Oven, is run solely by her, where she makes elaborate cakes, cookies and more. She cultivated her brand through marketing on her Instagram, @_rightfromtheoven. These products are made for a variety of occasions, from birthdays to graduations. Russotto is entirely self-taught and she has honed her skills to ensure her products taste as good as they look.

Baking Beginnings

Russotto never thought baking would be where she ended up, but it had been around her early in life. She grew up in Atlanta with her mother Dana, father Dan and sister Kyra. Dana Russotto recalled that when Elli Russotto spent time with her grandmother, they would always bake. Dana Russotto said some of Elli Russotto’s foundational skills were learned directly from her grandmother. From there on out, she was self-taught. 

It wasn't until high school, when Russotto was assigned a project to create something start to finish, that this passion truly took a turn.

"I wanted to do something that I thought would last or that I could carry on past just this school project, and I have always been interested in baking," Russotto said. "So I decided to start my business, Right From the Oven, and I've been continuing it ever since."

The simple school project had lasting effects on Russotto's life, leading her to build a successful business.

The Skills That Take the Cake

Creativity has always been a prominent part of Russotto's life, whether it was arts & crafts or baking and decorating cakes. Being self-taught comes with challenges, but she believes that as long as you have a genuine love for baking, the rest comes with practice and time. 

Tracy Cohn, a frequent customer and close family friend, emphasized how creative Russotto is with her cakes. 

"She's just creative beyond just baking; she's gonna make it big somewhere," Cohn said.

As a student at UGA, Russotto says the school doesn't offer a formal culinary program, so when she realized she had a passion for baking, she had to look elsewhere to develop skills. She worked in restaurants and attended baking camps to further her skills, things she couldn’t learn in her coursework at UGA.

The Business Side of Things

Right From the Oven isn't just about making delicious cakes and treats; there's a business behind it. Russotto started the company from scratch and had to learn how to run it on her own. Her parents were hands-off in the early stages, though her father helped her develop her website. From there, Russotto handled the rest. 

She promotes her business primarily through word of mouth, allowing her to build a community of customers in both Atlanta and Athens.  

"She grows it by her own social media, posts, own word of mouth. She communicates with her clients all on her own,” Dana Russotto said. “It's been a wonderful growth thing for Elli through the years, for her to work on these skills and the skill sets of running a business on our own.” 

On Instagram, she posts her cakes, cookies and other treats for customers to order.

Being at school has opened up a new community and expanded her clientele. 

"Being at home, I'm more surrounded by a lot of people's parents or family, friends, even family members," Russotto said. "But then here it's a lot of my friends, a bunch of other students, who are looking for things, for birthdays."

She’s learned to transition between different markets and tailor her products based on what customers want.

"I think even now, there's still things that I'm working on and trying to improve," Russotto said.

Additional Experiences to Make the Perfect Baker

Although Russotto is self-taught, she has taken steps to set herself apart from other small-business bakers. She has worked in the Masters Tournament pastry kitchen for two seasons and completed an internship with Omni Hotels, where she worked in multiple roles, including the pastry kitchen. 

At the Masters, Russotto worked in the Clubhouse, where green-jacket members eat. As a pastry cook, she learned from industry professionals to further her baking skills.

During her internship at the Omni Hotel, Russotto worked in hospitality and gained experience in the kitchen, learning pastry chef skills.

"Many of them have been professionally trained, so getting to learn from them and hear from them any techniques that they've had or experiences that they've been able to learn from, it's always nice to be able to hear that even even if I have been trained like there's always someone that knows more than you and has more experience," Russotto said.

Practice Makes Perfect

Right From the Oven started as a small idea and has since grown. Her clientele expanded, and her skills and creativity have evolved. 

"It's clearly grown, and her name has gotten out there to the point that people know me as Ellie's mom, the baker now, and she's just established a name," Dana Russotto said. 

As the business grows, Russotto has learned not to say yes to every order. She prioritizes what's most important between school and baking, focusing less on money and more on experience and growth.

What's the Occasion?

Right From the Oven thrives on events of all sizes. Her products can be found at graduation parties, birthdays, weddings and many other occasions. She relies on her customers to determine what they want.

"She's done my daughter's graduation cake. She did college graduation cakes. She's done my mom's 80th birthday, and she did my husband's 50th birthday," Cohn said. "And she's like, you just give her a topic, and she just will run with it and make it so creative, awesome. And then, they're delicious."

For larger events, Russotto works backward, ensuring she can manage her time and gather everything she needs.

Refining Recipes and Taste

Russotto prides herself on creativity, not only do her cakes look good, they taste good. She is creative with flavors and design, making cakes that resemble things like a rat or toilet paper but taste like cookies and cream or caramel.

"They're moist, they're flavorful. They last, you know, for days and days on end, which is not the norm in the bakery business," Dana Russotto said. 

Dana Russotto added that while store-bought cakes may look pretty, they often don’t last or taste as good.

Working as a small-business baker also allows Russotto to adapt to dietary needs. Her sister, Kyra Russotto, is gluten-free, so Elli Russotto has learned how to modify recipes, something big-name companies cannot do.

"Her sister's gluten-free, and she makes gluten-free things for her all of the time so she can alter recipes as she sees fit," Dana Russotto said.

The Future is Sweet

The future may be uncertain, but Russotto is sure she wants to continue baking for as long as she can. There's no telling where Right From the Oven will go, but she hopes to keep nourishing people with her products, and maybe one day turn it into something even bigger.

"If there's something that you really enjoy doing and that you're truly passionate about and that you can see yourself having a career in, might as well just go for it,” Russotto said. “You never know what could happen."