Becky Morris recalls getting rave reviews for the cookie dough samples she passed out at The Providence Flea LLC, the popular weekly flea market along the Providence River.
The people had no idea that the dough was vegan.
When Morris first opened her bakery, Celebrated LLC, in 2017, she didn’t advertise it as vegan – calling it plant-based instead – because of the stigma associated with vegan foods.
“I made it a mission to show plant-based indulgences are just as good,” Morris said.
Baking had always been a passion for Morris, as baking Christmas cookies with her mother and grandmother shaped core memories of her childhood.
“When I think back on memories, there were always desserts at big events,” Morris said, noting she has been to several weddings where there were no vegan food or dessert options.
This inspired the name, Celebrated.
“It’s a celebration,” Morris said. “There’s always dessert involved in celebrations.”
Morris says she often brought pastries to the houses of friends and family, and people would suggest she open her own business. Daunted by the idea, Morris pushed it off until a friend scolded her: “What are you waiting for?”
“That was almost like a wake-up call,” Morris said.
The next day, she began visiting commercial kitchens. She found Pilotworks, a food incubator in Providence where she launched Celebrated.
Pilotworks shut down its Providence location in 2018. Celebrated moved to a new spot in a former cake shop in Warwick by February 2020. Little more than a month later, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, forcing Morris to close the shop – though she still delivered baked goods throughout the state. By March 2023, Celebrated had relocated in Richmond to a location that offered more space for the business to grow and for Morris to explore new recipes.
Celebrated specializes in wedding desserts, including intricately decorated towering cakes. But the shop is also known for other treats, such as its macarons, which are the only vegan macarons available in New England, according to Morris. The bakery’s cookies and cookie dough also earned recognition as the best in the state in 2018 and 2019 by RI Food Fights LLC, which hosts events where attendees vote on the best food and drinks in Rhode Island.
While eggs, milk and butter are widely viewed as baking necessities, those animal products aren’t allowed in vegan foods. Morris says she has no trouble finding plant-based replacements.
In fact, Morris says she has a table with 20 different replacements for eggs hanging in her home. The replacement depends on what the egg is meant to do in the recipe. For macarons, Morris uses a potato protein. And for recipes that rely on eggs for binding, she uses different kinds of starches. Oat and soy milk usually replace dairy versions and a blend of oils usually takes the place of butter in vegan bakes.
Customers seem to enjoy the plant-based creations, as Morris says most of her business is from those who are not vegan. Usually, one member of a wedding couple is not vegan, but there has also been a high demand for gluten-free desserts, which are also available at the bakery.
“It’s one of the best compliments when someone who is not vegan comes back to our store simply because they liked the bake,” Morris said.
OWNER: Becky Morris
TYPE OF BUSINESS: Plant-based bakery
LOCATION: 5 Stilson Road, Richmond
EMPLOYEES: Five
YEAR FOUNDED: 2017
ANNUAL REVENUE: WND
