Kelly Jacques co-owns Ayu Bakehouse, a beloved modern bakery in New Orleans, with her friend and longtime colleague Samantha Weiss. As chef, Kelly has led the bakery to critical acclaim for its creative interpretation of flavors—from Kelly’s Southeast Asian heritage and Samantha’s New York upbringing to their adoptive hometown of New Orleans—through the lens of pastry. Together with Samantha, she has also parlayed her passion for mentorship into programs like Ayu Schoolhouse, a paid employee benefit that teaches entrepreneurial and practical skills.

Kelly grew up in Annapolis, MD, but found her way to New Orleans in 2006, when she enrolled at Tulane University. She fell in love with the city in the ensuing years and, after graduating, began work as a pastry cook at Emeril’s NOLA. On the side, she launched her first entrepreneurial venture, The Bikery, a bike-delivered baking pop-up. Seeking to broaden her pastry experience, she moved to New York City in 2012 to start pastry school at the International Culinary Center.

In 2013, Kelly found a job on the opening team of Breads Bakery. During her nine-year tenure, she climbed the ranks from bread baker to COO, always honing a skill for producing quality at quantity as the bakery grew in tandem with her. Perhaps most significantly, it was during Kelly’s time at Breads that she reconnected with Samantha Weiss, whom she had met at ICC.

Kelly always knew she would return to New Orleans and finally made it back in early 2020, just weeks before the pandemic began. Samantha was not long behind her, and in June 2022, Ayu Bakehouse opened its doors. Within its first year of business, Ayu was featured in Southern Living’s “40 Best Restaurants in New Orleans For Every Price Point”; in 2024, Bon Appétit named it one of the most exciting bakeries in the country. Ayu Bakehouse has since earned praise in Food & Wine, Bloomberg, and The Infatuation, and its king cake was voted best in New Orleans in NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune’s readers’ choice king cake bracket.

When she’s not at the bakery, Kelly enjoys making ceramics and hanging out with her neighbors in New Orleans’ Bywater with her husband Jake, their baby daughter Josie, and their dogs Boogers and ChiChi.