

Meet the team

Aaron's rich culinary passion dates back to his great grandfather, Joe Romo, who owned and operated "The Holbrook Bakery" in Holbrook Arizona. Joe passed away in 1979 though his legacy was continued through his son Esequiel Romo, or Sikie as he was known around town. The Romo legacy of fresh baked donuts, cakes, & pastries was well known in the Holbrook and throughout Northeastern Arizona. Aaron's mother, Elaine, told stories of gathering money and skipping class to go down to the shop just to buy fresh donuts for the class.
Aaron J. Curiel
Chef & Owner
Aaron began his culinary journey his freshman year of high school in 2004 with a class called "Foods 1" taught by Kay Shores. He loved this class so much he took "Foods 2" the following year followed by "Culinary 1-4" for the remainder of his high school tenure. He competed in five competitions during that time walking away with a Bronze, two Silver, a Gold, as well as a First Place Team win, along with attending a National Culinary Competition.
Aaron advanced to The Art Institute of Phoenix where he earned his way onto the Dean's List for three consecutive semester's. Graduating in 2006 he wasted no time and began work in his industry as a Tournant Chef to learn every aspect of the kitchen before settling on his passion of working with sweets. He displayed the want to learn, excel, and create nothing but the best. A value which he still holds to this day.
In 2010 he began laying the foundation for what is now "The Velvet Buttercream". He began pouring endless hours and money into his R&D projects to bring you the best he has to offer. No stone has been left un-turned, no cup of sugar left uncooked. He is truly in it to change your perceptions by combining new modern with old classical.
Many thanks go to his mentor's: Executive Chef Matt Simon, Marketing mentor Bobby Gordon, Graphic Design Artist Kevin Hustler, Bakery Manager Breanna VanHouten, Cake Decorator Joseph Valenzuela, Morgaine Purdue, Andrew Therault, and Business Owner @Persnikkity's - Nikkie Rose, and last but definitely not least Mrs.Kay Shores Culinary teacher at Blue Ridge High School.

Elaine
Manager
Mother to The Velvet Buttercream's owner, Aaron. Elaine is our office manager helping with emails, invoicing, and phone calls. Be sure give her a warm welcome if you get an email from her!

Anilu
Cake Decorator
Anilu is a very talented cake decorator and helps out the shop during our busiest days. She makes a lot of the display cakes and small desserts that you see in our case every weekend! She comes to us from Starbucks where just by chance we had spoken about cake decorating and she had expressed interest.

Qiara
Cake Decorator
Qiara is our display case cake decorator and comes to us from Whole Foods. She keeps our display case looking spectacular as well as helping out with cake orders when we need the support. Qiara joined our team in 2024, be sure to say hi!
Kurtis

Baker
Kurtis joined our team in December and is a recent Culinary school graduate looking to continue his education. We are more than excited to teach him everything we know, be sure to say hi next time you see him!

Danika
Bakery Clerk
Danika is the niece to our owner, Aaron. She's always had an interest in the business and now she works with us on the weekends. You may from time to time see her decorating some cupcakes, or other little projects. Be sure to say hi!

Wendy
Manager
Wendy has been with us since day 1 at the shop, she has been a very integral part of our team here! She's a very talented cake decorator and comes to us from California where she was a bakery manager. Wendy was promoted to Manager and is also our lead cake decorator!

Mayra
Cake Decorator
Mayra just joined our team in November, she has a good amount of cake decorating experience. We are excited to see how far we can go with her in our team!
Emily

Baker
Emily joined our team in September and has done a great job of learning the in's and out's of the bakery. She has quickly become an integral part of our team.

Bakery Clerk
Samantha is a new hire at the bakery, she has quickly become an integral part of our team and is wanting to learn more of the baking side of things. We are very excited to have her on the team!