I may have been a curly-haired little tomboy, but oh how I loved being in the kitchen with my mom and grandma. The Easy Bake didn’t do it for me; the "baked goods" that came out of it just weren't any good. I was different as a kid (and still am now), especially when it came to my taste in desserts: ginger pepper cookies, sour cherry pie, dark chocolate brownies and spumoni ice cream…not the typical kid’s taste in treats—and I loved sharing it with others.
When I gave a present to one of my teachers, it wasn’t a lame gift card or some shit they'd never use—it was something uniquely delicious, like a plate of black licorice self-frosting cookies or a rhubarb pie. Same for the cafeteria workers, the garbage man, or anyone else I could feed.
Every week as a teenager, I’d make my grandpa a batch of ginger pepper cookies. We both loved the smell as much as the taste. I did it for the smiles—and still do. My grandma made the best maple coffee bars on the planet. She passed that recipe down to me, along with her authentic love of baking. When I bake, the aromas are a time machine reconnecting me with the past.
I may have been a curly-haired little tomboy, but oh how I loved being in the kitchen with my mom and grandma. The Easy Bake didn’t do it for me; the "baked goods" that came out of it just weren't any good. I was different as a kid (and still am now), especially when it came to my taste in desserts: ginger pepper cookies, sour cherry pie, dark chocolate brownies and spumoni ice cream…not the typical kid’s taste in treats—and I loved sharing it with others.
When I gave a present to one of my teachers, it wasn’t a lame gift card or some shit they'd never use—it was something uniquely delicious, like a plate of black licorice self-frosting cookies or a rhubarb pie. Same for the cafeteria workers, the garbage man, or anyone else I could feed.
Every week as a teenager, I’d make my grandpa a batch of ginger pepper cookies. We both loved the smell as much as the taste. I did it for the smiles—and still do. My grandma made the best maple coffee bars on the planet. She passed that recipe down to me, along with her authentic love of baking. When I bake, the aromas are a time machine reconnecting me with the past.
I was the first in my family to go to college, graduating from John Carroll with a BSBA in Business and a concentration in human resources. I also minored in French, which doesn’t hurt when you’re into baking. Having big aspirations for myself, I went back and got my MBA in 20__. In the years since, the kitchen became a refuge from the stress and bullshit. You’d find me baking into the wee hours pushing the envelope and making old recipes my own—like when my mother-in-law had to go gluten-free.
As a little girl, I remember going with my grandma to Rickard's on the square in Chardon, amazed at all the cakes and pastries and of course, that glorious smell. Rickard’s is long gone, but I’ve always wanted to have a place like that where I could live my grandparents' motto "be nice, be happy, and SMILE."
I was the first in my family to go to college, graduating from John Carroll with a BSBA in Business and a concentration in human resources. I also minored in French, which doesn’t hurt when you’re into baking. Having big aspirations for myself, I went back and got my MBA in 20__. In the years since, the kitchen became a refuge from the stress and bullshit. You’d find me baking into the wee hours pushing the envelope and making old recipes my own—like when my mother-in-law had to go gluten-free.
As a little girl, I remember going with my grandma to Rickard's on the square in Chardon, amazed at all the cakes and pastries and of course, that glorious smell. Rickard’s is long gone, but I’ve always wanted to have a place like that where I could live my grandparents' motto "be nice, be happy, and SMILE."
Last year, I enrolled in the Loretta Paganini School of Cooking—the first step toward achieving my dream. Pursuing a pastry degree turned my spark into a blaze. I’m not where I want to be yet, but I can taste it—and whether you’re paleo, vegan, gluten-free, or traditional, I can’t wait for you to taste it, too.
Last year, I enrolled in the Loretta Paganini School of Cooking—the first step toward achieving my dream. Pursuing a pastry degree turned my spark into a blaze. I’m not where I want to be yet, but I can taste it—and whether you’re paleo, vegan, gluten-free, or traditional, I can’t wait for you to taste it, too.
