Comstock says she has become comfortable handling the unpredictable obstacles that arise on a daily basis in China.

During the course of an interview for this article, Comstock answered a knock on her apartment door from her water provider, who demanded that she pay for a broken water jug. Comstock argued her case and convinced him to continue his rounds in effortless Chinese before resuming the interview.

During the day, Comstock divides her time between the kitchen and her shop, which is called Pantry and is located a ten minute walk away. Aside from Comstock’s popular cookies, the shop boasts a variety of jams, bagels, cupcakes, and sandwiches, sold by four other women who also run gourmet food businesses.

Pantry operates as a cooperative business, according to Comstock. The business owners split the rent and are required to reach a benchmark for sales before they can receive a portion of the profits.

Because of the shop’s proximity to her kitchen, Comstock often finds herself running back and forth between the two locations in an effort to keep tabs on both sides of the business.

“I’m constantly able to go in [to Pantry],” Comstock says. “I talk to the girl who runs the shop and get feedback from customers. Sometimes I’ll stay in the shop for hours, just meeting customers.”

Comstock says that she sometimes receives odd cookie orders.

A customer once requested 21 cookies—three of each of the seven varieties—for him and his girlfriend to sample at piping-hot temperatures.

Comstock had her baker run over from the kitchen with a tray of hot cookies.

“They’re honestly just being like weirdos, and I love it,” she says.

When Comstock first started, news of her cookies spread only by word-of-mouth. Since then, she has launched a website, and her business has been written up in the Wall Street Journal, City Weekend, and Shanghai Talk.

FROM CAMBRIDGE TO CHINA

Comstock says the planning skills that she learned at Harvard did not prepare her for the twists and turns involved in running a small business in a foreign country.

When she was a student, she counted on schedules and routines to manage her time efficiently. “Having this company has totally changed all that,” she says. “It’s good because it’s important to be able to roll with the punches, but it’s a totally different lifestyle.”

Comstock was also not an avid baker during her time at Harvard, according to friends. Back in the day, she found HUDS cookies a simple pleasure.