Sometimes bad is good: Get to know the face behind Camp North End’s Beyond Amazing Donuts
Yes, sometimes bad can be good, and in this case it’s amazing. Thomasville, North Carolina, native Jasmine Macon is the face of Camp North End’s soon-to-be B.A.D. — an acronym for the upcoming Beyond Amazing Donuts.
The concept is a dream realized for the Johnson & Wales Charlotte graduate, who sees the business as a community effort for all those who have supported her Saturday doughnut pop-ups over the last year at Hex Coffee.
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“It’s taken everyone for me to get here, so I want you all to know and feel like you’re a part of this, too,” Macon told CharlotteFive.
From the first time she made a doughnut, Macon — who also goes by Confections of a Martian, an ode to a nickname she picked up in high school — knew this was exactly where she wanted to be as a pastry chef. But it took several years of trial and error to realize this.
Love for doughnuts born out of always being hungry
Most chefs credit their love for the kitchen to watching a relative or mentor show them the ropes. But for Macon, her love came from a need to simply feed herself as a growing, hungry child.
“Both of my parents were in the military. While my mom was stationed in South Korea, I lived with my grandmother. While she certainly kept us well-fed, I was still always just a hungry child. So she told me, ‘If you are that hungry, you better get in the kitchen and learn to cook for yourself.’”
From instant mashed potatoes to box cakes, Macon slowly got the hang of cooking and baking. And it eventually evolved into a love.
After speaking to a Johnson & Wales graduate during her high school home economics class, she knew that she wanted to pursue the industry further.
“I had never visited Charlotte until I went for an open house at JWU during my senior year of high school,” she said. “All that time, and I only lived an hour away. But once I got here, I fell in love with the city. It felt like the safe choice.”
‘From the moment I started making doughnuts, I knew it was what I wanted.’
After graduation, she knew she didn’t want to go into a restaurant or a hotel, but rather sharpen her skills in a small business because of the work-life balance it could provide.
“I knew I had to start somewhere. I landed an internship with a chocolate boutique in Charlotte, because I just knew I would end up as a chocolatier. But after working my internship and later a job with Davidson Chocolate Co., I came to the realization that working with chocolate wasn’t for me.”
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On a whim, Macon came across a posting for Charlotte’s first doughnut truck in 2016 — in an era where gourmet cupcakes reigned supreme. Although she only made doughnuts once while at JWU, she couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Watching YouTube videos to help sharpen her skills, Macon was hired by Sugar Donuts — and the rest is history.
“From the moment I started making doughnuts, I knew it was what I wanted. Every doughnut was a blank canvas for me to create on. And while I enjoyed learning the industry while working in small businesses, I ultimately knew I wanted to one day have my own shop.”
Now, nearly 6 years later and after getting her shot with chef Greg Collier to become the pastry chef for Leah & Louise, she will soon get her wish.
“It’s all so crazy because I reached out to him after my close friends, chefs Oscar Johnson and Daryl Cooper of Jimmy Pearl’s, pushed me to contact him. I’m so thankful they did that.”
Leah & Louise pastry boxes
During her time at Leah & Louise, she always let Collier know that doughnuts were her love. While the menu didn’t always call for them, she jumped at the opportunity to make them when she could.
“Every time we did a pastry box for Leah & Louise, I made sure to add in doughnuts.”
Seeing the twinkle in her eyes, when Collier and his wife, Subrina, launched their Bayhaven Restaurant Group, they approached Macon with her dream opportunity — the chance to run her very own doughnut shop.
B.A.D. is one of four concepts introduced by the couple’s group, slated to open in late summer/ early fall 2022, and Macon says you will certainly see her “out of this world” personality shine through.
“Ideally, I want people to get a sense of who I am when they come in the shop. From the characters involved to the names behind my flavors, everything will have a meaning. Most of it is inspired by my close friends and family, as well as my alien persona.”
There will be six staple flavors and four seasonal flavors on the doughnut menu. Additionally, Macon will have cinnamon rolls, bread pudding and fritters. She plans to lean heavily on local growers, especially when it comes to choosing her seasonal options.
The pop-up shop struggle
Since October 2021, Macon has hosted her bi-weekly Saturday morning pop-ups at Hex Coffee. Demand has grown significantly over the months, but things weren’t always a walk in the park.
Starting at 2 a.m. on Saturday mornings, she had to prep and cook all of her doughnuts in a commissary. By 8 a.m., she had to make sure each doughnut was iced and decorated, carefully stored and then transported to Hex Coffee. That doesn’t even include the 24-hour period needed for her enriched brioche dough to sit.
“Running the pop-ups has definitely been an adjustment,” she said. “My first few weren’t good at all. From trying to get used to a new kitchen, to loading products and getting them from point A to point B while fighting against certain weather conditions, it was not easy. I always have to take the weather into consideration when I plan out my flavors, so it would limit me sometimes on what I could offer. But, despite all of this, I am so grateful for the people who still supported me and extended grace when things weren’t perfect. I really appreciate that.”
This is all truly a full circle moment. Despite the upcoming shop’s acronym, it has certainly been a “beyond amazing” journey for the pastry chef, and this is only the beginning.
B.A.D.
Location: Camp North End, 201 Camp Rd, Charlotte, NC 28206 (opening later this summer)
Neighborhood: Lockwood/Druid Hills South
Instagram: @confectionsofamartian and @b.a.donuts.clt
This story was originally published May 6, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
