BY JASON COHEN
Growing up in a Jamaican
household De’Asia Collins had
never heard of babka. However,
today, the Yonkers resident
has put her own spin on
the Polish-Jewish treat and
created a company, Bitchin’
Babkas.
Collins, 29, grew up watching
her mother make delicious
Jamaican food, but her specialty
is nothing she ate as a
child. Instead she launched
Bitchin’ Babkas in 2019 and it
has slowly garnered a reputation
citywide. In fact, it was selected
to be part of the Bank of
America Small Business Spotlight
at the Winter Village at
Bryant Park in Manhattan between
Nov. 27 and Dec. 12.
“I have never won anything
in my life,” Collins told the
Bronx Times. “I’m real excited
about this opportunity.”
Raised in a Jamaican family
in Brooklyn, Collins had
never heard of babka growing
up. As a child she cooked a lot
with her mom and loved being
around food.
However, her path to becoming
a chef and owning a
business did not happen overnight.
She was an executive
assistant for several years in
Manhattan, but wasn’t happy.
In 2016 she began buying cookbooks
and during that process,
stumbled upon a Jewish cookbook
and saw something called
babka. Collins was intrigued
and her boyfriend, Alex Sabala,
told her it was delicious.
He even made her watch the
infamous “Seinfeld” episode
about babka.
From there on, she was
hooked.
Collins made chocolate
babka for her boyfriend’s family
and they loved it.
“For me growing up the
only thing I knew that was
Jewish was a bagel and cream
cheese,” she said.
Collins continued to hone
her craft by making numerous
babkas and in 2019 launched
Bitchin’ Babkas.
Then shuttered home from
her job as an executive assistant
last year due to the pandemic,
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, N 38 OV. 19-25, 2021 BTR
Collins realized baking
Jewish delights was something
that she wanted to pursue
full time. The delicious
dough became a canvas for
other spreads, inspiring Collins
to experiment with a variety
of fl avors, including guava,
cream cheese, hot chocolate
and more.
“Of course, it was really
diffi cult to quit my job,” she
said. “With the support of my
boyfriend and family I really
just strapped on my boots.”
Collins told the Bronx
Times cooking was easy, but
she had never run a business
before. So, she learned how to
promote herself on social media
and Google ads and in 2019,
obtained a master’s in business
from the Metropolitan
College of New York.
And now that she has the
knowledge about Jewish foods
she is hoping to merge them at
some point with Jamaican delicacies.
“I love making and creating
food,” Collins said. “I’m
so into learning about Jewish
Yonkers resident De’Asia Collins was selected to showcase her babka
business at Winter Village at Bryant Park. Photo courtesy De’Asia Collins
food.”
From someone that never
had or heard of babka, it’s now
a huge part of her life.
“I always knew this is what
I wanted to do,” Collins said.
“A lot of the feedback I get is
from people who have never
had babka before. It’s really
exciting to get people into
babka.”
Looking ahead to the end
of the month, Collins is eager
for her babka to be displayed
at the Winter Village at Bryant
Park. And with tourism back
in NYC, millions of people will
be able to sample her creations.
“I think they’re really going to
love the taste,” she said.
Yonkers resident to
showcase babka business
James E. MaQuade, Owner
Family Owned & Operated for over 60 years
3535 East Tremont Avenue
Bronx, New York
718-792-0270
www.schuylerhill.com
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