This L.A. baker started a COVID cookie company. Then Issa Rae and A24 came knocking
Sure, everyone started baking during quarantine. But Lara Adekoya, a former sales associate at Nordstrom at the Grove, started baking. She launched a cookie company, Fleurs et Sel, last April after being furloughed in March from her job selling designer shoes. A year later, Adekoya’s cookies are some of the most coveted in L.A.
The cookies, in flavors like caramelized butter pecan and the signature sea salt chocolate chip, are beloved by Issa Rae, Lena Waithe and country singer Mickey Guyton, as well as major studios including Netflix and A24, which have placed orders for their sets. But it’s the swaths of Angelenos who drive from all over the city to pick up cookies at Adekoya’s West Hollywood home or at her pop-ups who have made Fleurs et Sel a culture all its own.
“What I’ve created, everyone can kind of see themselves in,” Adekoya says. “I honestly think that’s what has kept people coming back. Yeah, the cookies are really good — trust me, they’re good. But a lot of people make cookies in L.A. It’s the strength of what Fleurs et Sel means — it’s really cookies, community and compassion.”
The mantra keeping me sane right now:
I’m unwinding lately by:
What’s getting me out of bed in the morning:
A flavor I’m obsessed with lately:
My favorite scent right now:
A gadget I can’t live without:
The best place in L.A. to eat Fleurs et Sel cookies:
A power outfit:
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My playlist right now
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A selfie that captures my mood this month:
“This is me — typical “Yaya.” That’s my nickname! Curly hair in a bun with my gold hoop earrings on. Digital darling. These days I have more of an appreciation for natural and simple beauty. Feeling beautiful in my own skin and the confidence that comes with that.”
The last thing I wrote in my Notes app:
“Oftentimes I am on the go or have my hands full while in the kitchen. I use my notes to stay organized, and they’re mostly filled with random notes about cookie orders or brand partnership stuff. It’s really exciting how Fleurs et Sel is growing and the reach that I have had so far. It’s motivation to keep going.”
The meme I can’t get out of my head:
“I’m a cancer ♋️ (a triple cancer if we want to get into that ...). I came across this meme and it just makes me laugh. This is me. As a Bratz doll of course ...”
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Know someone in L.A. who should vibe with us? Email julissa.james@latimes.com.
