© Anushka Bose. All rights reserved.*
I had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with Fadi Jaber in late 2023 at his quaint CakeRoom bakery, nestled within the bustling Adams Morgan neighborhood, famous for its local restaurants. Our conversation spanned his life in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, his transition from corporate life, and his journey to opening bakeries across the Middle East and the United States. His story highlighted all the feats that hard work, determination, and faith in yourself can achieve, especially as an immigrant.
Life in Saudi Arabia
Fadi Jaber was born in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, on August 15, 1977. His father had moved there from Lebanon in 1967 to pursue a career as a doctor at the local hospital, having earned his MD from the American University of Beirut. Fadi’s early years in Saudi Arabia were filled with cherished memories, especially the annual AEA Fair in November and weekends spent at the HMYA Beach Club. He fondly recalls fishing, swimming, and enjoying the sun every weekend.
From Corporate Life to Bakeries
His love for baked goods began as a young kid–Fadi always preferred his American classmates’ cupcakes, brownies, and chocolate chip cookies to his mother’s pastries: knafeh, qatayef, and baklava.
But his professional journey from corporate life to running bakeries began with a spark of inspiration during a visit to Magnolia Bakery in Greenwich Village, New York, in 2004. He was captivated by their vanilla-frosted vanilla cupcake, which changed his life. Fadi decided to quit his marketing job at Unilever and used his savings to enroll in a baking and culinary management program at the Institute of Culinary Education in Manhattan. After an internship at Billy’s Bakery in Chelsea, he was ready for his next move.
In July 2007, in Amman, Jordan, he opened Sugar Daddy’s, the shop that brought the cupcake craze to the Middle East. His entrepreneurial path was fraught with challenges, particularly financial ones. The bakery struggled to generate enough revenue to pay its bills for the first two years, leading Fadi to recruit investors to help keep the business afloat. However, the bakery quickly became popular, and members of Jordan’s royal family were known to stop by in jeans and sweatshirts, ordering boxes of cupcakes while their bodyguards waited outside. It is rumored that Queen Rania is a fan.
Fadi’s multicultural background significantly influenced the concepts and offerings of his bakeries. He successfully introduced a staple of Middle Eastern cuisine—dates—into one of their cakes, which quickly became a signature item on the menu. His experience introducing American desserts to a Middle Eastern audience was met with excitement and enthusiasm. Flavors like red velvet and banoffee pie were new to the local palate and swiftly gained popularity.
Opening The Cake Room in Washington, D.C., presented unique challenges compared to his ventures in the Middle East. Fadi noted that staff loyalty in the U.S. was lower, leading to high turnover and frequent recruitment and retraining. Additionally, word-of-mouth marketing in the U.S. was slower than in the Middle East. Despite these hurdles, he introduced innovative desserts that blended American and Middle Eastern flavors, such as the Pistachio cupcake, incorporating spices like cardamom and orange blossom water.
Fadi’s journey is a testament to perseverance and hard work, qualities he attributes to his Palestinian heritage. He expressed that Palestinians are known for their perseverance and work ethic, having faced major setbacks during periods of expulsion. They were forced to make new lives for themselves elsewhere. Similarly, opening a business meant facing never-ending challenges and continually jumping over hurdles. Being Palestinian taught Fadi to never give up and to resolve issues that came his way, no matter how frequent.
The most heartwarming feedback Fadi received was from customers in both Jordan and D.C., praising his cakes as the best in town. Looking ahead, he has no plans for expansion, focusing instead on maintaining quality and service. Fadi believes in fostering cultural exchange and appreciation through food, with cakes playing a unifying role in bringing people together.
When asked about his personal inspirations, Fadi noted that he was inspired by the founder of Magnolia Bakery—he deeply admired their cake decorating aesthetic.
When he is not baking for customers, his personal favorite dessert to bake is Knafeh, a nostalgic treat evoking childhood memories and cherished occasions.
Fadi Jaber’s journey from Dhahran to The Cake Room in Washington, D.C. is a rich story of cultural fusion, perseverance, immigration, and a deep love for baking. His story celebrates how food can bridge cultures and create lasting bonds.
One noticeable pattern in his journey is the human craving for the “other.” As a child, Fadi preferred American baked goods over his mother’s Middle Eastern desserts, a preference that later influenced his business. Similarly, at Sugar Daddy’s in Jordan and Lebanon, American treats became a status symbol. In his D.C. venture, The Cake Room, Fadi integrates Middle Eastern flavors like pistachio and orange blossom water into his creations. His favorite dessert, knafeh, remains a nostalgic reminder of his heritage. This longing for the "other" and the integration of diverse cultural elements into our lives is a common expat experience, striving for a sense of cultural homeostasis.
Grateful for his roots, Fadi maintains close relationships with many of his childhood friends from Dhahran, keeping in touch through visits, texts, and phone calls.
You can learn more about Fadi’s bakery, the Cakeroom, here.
Anushka is a current PhD Student at American University in Washington, D.C. She spent her youth growing up in Dhahran, where she attended Dhahran Elementary, Dhahran Middle School, and Dhahran Academy High School. She loves learning about new cultures and is fascinated by the diversity that brings us all together, especially the expatriate community, where the only thing that is common is that we are all different, in culture, language, and the perspectives we hold. One day she hopes to publish a book on the Third Culture Kid experience. Dhahran continues to hold a big place in her heart.
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