Oxana Ramirez, born in August 1969, Bendery, Moldova, is the eldest of her siblings and has a sister who is four years younger. She grew up in a middle-class family, which was common for the majority of the population of the Soviet Union at the time. Both of Oxana's parents had worked in the construction industry. The construction work was incredibly tough and demanding. Her mother wanted Oxana and her sister highly educated, to avoid this kind of labor.
Oxana attended school from 1975 to 1986 and graduated with a high school diploma at the top of her class. The learning process was easy for her. She was completing her homework and project assignments ahead of time, so she could dedicate her free time to her passions—baking and crafts, specifically making flowers out of fabric, flower molding, and floristic arrangements.
Oxana graduated from college two years later with an associate’s degree in economics, this degree set her free from her mother's long-term dream of having a college degree.
Gastronomy in the Soviet Union was standardized by the government and very uniform. In Oxana's experience, no creativity is required, the expectation is to follow the standard. The cakes that are bought for any occasion, have the same flavor, the same decorations, and the same colors associated with them for a variety of years. Oxana wanted something different – a homemade creation.
Her baking experience began when she received a portable electric stove for her 14th birthday. Oxana tries to turn every good she's baked into something exceptional and memorable.
Working in the economics field was prestige, but boring. In order to counter the mundane, she baked at home to make herself happy.
In 2004 Oxana meet her new family in the United States and realized the great opportunity for her dreams to come true. She joined the American Military which made her eligible for the educational benefits which she applied towards her associates in Arts of Baking and Pastry.
Oxana is a proud veteran and a homeowner who is pursuing a degree of her passion.
"Life is what you bake of it. "
“If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life”.
Marc Anthony