Getting Ready To Launch!
Why the hell am I opening a food business during a pandemic??!?!?!! It's simple...I have been cooking, baking and barbecuing since I was five years old. I find it incredibly cathartic. And, funnily enough, after watching friends and family fawn over my meals, BBQ and desserts, my wife has been driving me crazy to do this for years. So last Thanksgiving, she literally threw together a graphic for me to sell pound cakes and sent them out to her friends...not really telling me what she was up to.
As each order of Original, Almond and Lemon Pound Cake was delivered, the testimonials kept pouring in...and so did the re-orders. Thankfully at that time, based on the graphic, it was clear that this was seasonal. But that gave me pause to wonder if this was a sustainable business, regardless of COVID-19's impact on the economy and the all-consuming public's taste buds. After speaking with a few people who ordered the pound cakes, and have eaten my food over the years, it was clear I just couldn't fight this any longer.
So now that I had decided to embark on this journey, I began looking through would-be competitors, actual retail locations' products, etc. Of course there are TONS of bakeries and food businesses around New York City, and in every town and city across the nation. So I had to think through what could possibly differentiate my food business from all of the others. Then an old episode of FRIENDS came on ("The One With Ross' Sandwich") and it hit me like a ton of bricks...like Ross' sandwich, it was made with love and a throwback to various dishes and products that so many used to cherish; just like my pound cake. So I started putting together recipes I've created over the years and researching old dishes that have been popular around the globe. Next thing I know, I am spending hundreds of hours testing recipes I had developed throughout my life, making slight adjustments to ingredients, baking times and more.
I made the mistake of telling some people that I was doing this and then the special requests started pouring in...whether it was one of my dear Irish friends asking for a Banoffee Pie (VERY Irish dessert in a graham cracker crust with banana, dolce de leche, and whipped cream) or an American friend asking for some of the brownies I made for her years ago, I knew I had stumbled onto something. Maybe in the beginning it should be about classic baked goods and flavor profiles we haven't seen in a while. Maybe it should be about changing some things up a bit to elevate the flavor on a pedestrian dessert. So I decided to do both! As an example, I know I worked on updating my brownie recipe for weeks, creating 27 different batches until it was JUST the way I wanted it to be...THE creamiest, fudgiest, melt in your mouth brownie anyone had ever tasted. Apparently I did it as my tester pool of 10 souls went absolutely crazy over it. The same for my chocolate chip cookies...I wanted them to taste more like the classic cookie I ate as a child, so I started looking at ingredient lists from the 60's and 70's for cookies. After the 15th batch, I hit the nail on the head! Then I started developing fun and different recipes on classic dishes like spaghetti and meatballs...creating an Asian-inspired version called Teriyaki Spaghetti & Meatballs.
My point is simple...I love food and cooking. I also love providing experiences for people. So why not marry the two??? Now let's get this sweet journey going together, and have some fun!!
Oh, and before I forget, for the first six months, we will be focused strictly on baked goods and desserts. Then we will be launching actual dishes and meals for delivery too! So sit tight and get ready for one helluva delicious rollercoaster ride!