CINCINNATI — DeMarco Peyton loves baking, and he’s using his kitchen skills to “share love” on the city’s West Side and also to raise awareness about living with cerebral palsy.
Peyton, 31, owns Be Charmed Bakery. He started the business 10 years ago in his mother’s kitchen in East Price Hill.
At first, he baked assortments of cookies, cakes and other sweet treats as a “way to be generous” to friends, family and neighbors, he said. But with the help of Hamilton County Developmental Disability Services, he’s exploring potential options to get his food to more people.
“To be honest, I love baking because it’s where I found something I really wanted to do for my whole life,” said DeMarco, who was born with cerebral palsy, a developmental disorder.
What You Need To Know
- DeMarco Peyton started Be Charmed Bakery in his mother’s kitchen to share his love for baking and his personal story with the world
- The 31-year-old was born with cerebral palsy
- DeMarco’s grandmother taught him how to bake after the two watched cooking shows together growing up
- While he has some physical limitations, DeMarco would like to grow his business to a larger scale eventually
The disorder can manifest itself in several ways, but mostly it affects a person’s ability to move and maintain balance and posture.
DeMarco, who was just 3 pounds when born, also had hydrocephalus, a neurological disorder caused by an abnormal buildup of cerebrospinal fluid in the cavities deep within the brain.
Doctors told DeMarco’s mother, Andrea Peyton, that her son would never walk or talk.
“I’ve always told my son could do anything he wanted in life,” said Andrea. “He’s proven he can do just that.”
DeMarco has some physical challenges inside the kitchen and out of it, his mother said. He always has to have someone with him, whether it’s his mother or in-house care staff from HCDDS.
Because of those limitations, DeMarco stuck around his house a lot growing up, Andrea added. But through his baking, she’s seen him venture out more into the neighborhood in order to share his gift.
DeMarco designed a Thanksgiving cake in the shape of a turkey. He learned some of his skills watching designer bakers like Duff Goldman. (Photo courtesy of Andrea Peyton)
Having cerebral palsy isn’t always easy, DeMarco admitted. But he noted that “as long as you follow your dreams, you can accomplish anything.”
“I won’t let people discourage me,” he added.
Baking isn’t DeMarco’s only hobby. He also loves playing video games, watching anime and taking long neighborhood walks with his mom. But he fell in love with baking, he said, because of its connection to his grandmother, Barbara Peyton.
The pair would regularly bake cookies, pies and cakes growing up, DeMarco said. They’d also watch a lot of cooking shows, DeMarco said. His favorite chef is Duff Goldman.
DeMarco’s bakery is named partly in honor of Goldman’s Charm City Cakes in Baltimore, Andrea said. It’s also a reflection of his “smiling personality.”
Andrea called DeMarco a “total granny’s boy.”
“They were inseparable,” Andrea said.
“My mother gravitated to him most because she felt he needed her most,” she added. “He became her heart. DeMarco was her soul.”
Barbara passed away when DeMarco was only 15. It was devastating to the entire family, Andrea said, but especially DeMarco.
Andrea’s typically smiling, happy son retreated into his shell for a time, she said.
But one day, a couple of years later, DeMarco, then about 18, approached his mother out of the blue with what she described as his plan for life.
“He came up to me and was like, ‘Mom, I know what I want to do; I know what my passion is,’” she recalled. “I want to bake like I did with grandma.”
At first, Andrea said she was surprised that’s what he wanted to do. She had never seen him cook anything before and joked she was not much of a baker.
“I didn’t even know if he knew how to use a stove,” Andrea said of her then-teenage son.
But to his word, DeMarco went into the kitchen and baked his mother a cake.
“It was the best cake I’d ever tasted in my life,” the still-proud mother said of the layered yellow cake with butter-cream frosting.
“There’s nothing he can’t bake,” she added. “There’s nothing he can’t do.”
For the past 12 years, DeMarco has been baking anything and everything — various types of cookies, brownies, cupcakes, torts, pies, pastries, many cakes and an assortment of other sweet treats.
DeMarco started his business by baking in his mom’s kitchen and then walking door-to-door to deliver them. He’s hoping to grow the business in the future. (Photo courtesy of Andrea Peyton)
Regardless of what he’s baking, DeMarco is usually singing or dancing in the kitchen, according to his mom.
His best dish, DeMarco said, is his cheesecake. He used that recipe, which he came up with by himself, to concoct bite-sized versions for a surprise party for a close family friend, Chrishauna Wilson. “It was the highlight of the party,” she said.
Now, Wilson asks him to bake for all family events, including football games on Sundays.
“They’re always a hit,” she said. “His baked goods really bring people together and you can tell they’re made with love,” she said.
Qwinota Johnson first met Peyton about eight years ago through her partner, one of DeMarco’s cousins. One of the first dishes she tried was his chocolate chip cookies. At that point, she thought they couldn’t be topped. But over the years, she’s pleased to have been proven wrong “time and time again.”
“Baking is the air (DeMarco) breathes,” Johnson said.
“No matter what’s going on, we always try to sneak some of his delectables in before dinner,” she added. “His food just makes you feel at home.”
DeMarco started his business to bake for friends, family, church and community events, his mother said, to “be generous” and “share his gift.” But over the last decade it’s “taken off.”
Right now, he bakes goods and hands them out to the community — sometimes, they’re free, other times there’s a small charge. He delivers each item in a custom pastry box along with a copy of his business card that he hopes customers will share with friends and family.
“Suddenly, everybody started talking about Marco, saying, ‘he made this cake for me’ or ‘I had his cookies at so-and-so,’ and it’s just been great for him personally.”
Things escalated further to another level after DeMarco shared a goodie box with his support team from HCDDS, his mother said. She said they wanted to get DeMarco’s story, and his food, “out into the world.”
His mother voiced being a “little scared” about DeMarco expanding his business. But if they could assemble a support team, she’d love to see her son baking in a commercial kitchen so he could sell them at places like coffeehouses.
Andrea said she’s looking into programs through HCDDS, which offers support to people with developmental disabilities and their families.
They provide case management, funding and other services through a group of community partnerships to ensure their clients can live a full life in their communities.
The organization has more than 8,600 people across Hamilton County.
“They’ve been absolutely great,” Andrea said of HCDDS, which provides services from birth to old age.
“Anything that DeMarco or I have ever needed, they’ve always been there to help,” she added.
Lisa Danford, a spokesperson for Hamilton County DDS, called DeMarco’s story a perfect example of person-centered services being used to empower people to reach their goals.
“We’re excited that our agency could help DeMarco achieve his dream,” she added.
There are no immediate plans for Be Charmed Bakery to move into any brick-and-mortar locations. More information is available on its Facebook page.
It isn’t yet clear what DeMarco plans to do next. Right now, he’s just happy to be sharing his food and his story.
“Always believe in yourself,” he added.
