By day, I write software.
The rest of the time, I bake.

I studied computer science, earned my degree, and built a career as a software engineer — good, stable, everything you're supposed to want.

But the hours I looked forward to most were never at my desk. They were in my kitchen: weighing chocolate, chasing the perfect molten centre, feeding whatever I'd made to anyone who'd stand still long enough.

I'm still at that desk, by the way. The job is still there, and so are the deadlines. Jo & Co. Bakes happens around it — early mornings, late nights, most of my weekend. I'm not doing this instead of working. I'm doing it as well as working, because this is the thing I actually love.

Everything here is made by hand, in small batches, baked to order in my own kitchen in Karachi. Right now that means one thing, done properly: chunky NYC-style cookies — a shell that cracks, a centre that's still molten.

Every cookie comes two ways. Classic is made with good, honest chocolate. Signature is made with Callebaut Belgian couverture — deeper, glossier, less sweet, and noticeably more expensive to buy. I keep both because not every occasion needs the good stuff, and some occasions deserve nothing less.

Here's the honest dream behind all of it: my husband and I want to build this into something big enough that we can both leave the 9-to-5 and do what we love, together, full-time.

We're not there yet — but every order gets us a little closer. So if something here makes your mouth water, know that ordering it isn't just a treat for you. It's a real family chasing a real dream, and you're helping make it happen.

Thank you for being here at the beginning. It means more than you know.

— Javaria