Like many people during the pandemic who found themselves sidelined, wardrobe and prop stylist Pascale Lemaire was looking for something to do with her newfound free time.

Lemaire, a former fashion and bridal editor at Baltimore, had always loved cooking and baking. So it was only natural for her to turn to Christina Tosi’s Bake Club on Instagram Live.

“I did it every day for 100 consecutive days,” says the Port-au-Prince, Haiti, native. “On the first day, we made cut-out cookies. At a time when everyone was stressing, this was the thing that made me happy.”

Her baked goods made her Instagram followers happy, too. After cooking class each day, Lemaire posted photos, including waffle cones, brownies, and Payday Pie. At the same time, she baked her late mother Suzy’s rum cake.

“Baking is in my blood,” says Lemaire. “My mother started baking all our birthday cakes, like one that was a Barbie with a dress made from frosting. In high school, I was in a production of Our Town, and my mom made the entire village in cake. She started catering for extra money.”

In December 2020, after posting a photo of the rum cake, Lemaire landed her first commission—and soon, she had a business on her hands. She dubbed it “Pascale Baking Diva,” an apt name for someone whose colorful career knows no bounds. (Styling stints include WE TV’s Style Me and Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Potomac, as well as clients like Under Armour and Jill Biden).

Though she has returned to styling by day, Lemaire does several pop-ups a year and fills special orders through DM on Instagram (@pascalebakingdiva). Lemaire brings her styling background to her baked goods, like lipstick-shaped cookies, and also honors her heritage by adding Haitian vanilla extract to her sweets.

“Baking and cooking is about giving joy,” she says. “Cookies are my love language.”