It’s A Woman’s World: Silvia MacLean of Silvia’s Kitchen in Norwalk Interview It's A Woman's World Baker Bakery Interview Norwalk Andrew Dominick February 04, 2025 In the middle of 2024 at my dear friend, Anne Grossman’s Rebel Daughter Day, I just about stopped in my tracks when I saw what was on one of the vendor’s tables. Boxes of beautiful, chocolatey brigedeiros, alfajores, and an array of different hand rolled truffles and baked goods that weren’t just from Latin American countries, but a mixture of confections we’re familiar with in the states, too. Silvia’s Kitchen, created by Silvia MacLean, is the face behind the brand, and she bakes out of Rebel Daughter Cookies’ commercial space where you can preorder for pickup or delivery, plus you can find her sweets at various stores and farmers markets in the general area. Read More
Wave Hill Breads Expands in Norwalk with New Cafe Featuring Pizza, Coffee, + More Features Ingredients Interview Bakery Norwalk Pizza Pastry Baker Wave Hill Breads Homepage Andrew Dominick September 05, 2024 When I sat down with Tim Topi to talk about his bakery’s expansion, and second location, this time in the form of a sit-down café, I jokingly told him that Wave Hill Breads could very well be the most mentioned place in the history of this website. It may not actually be a joke, though. Countless restaurants swear by Wave Hill and prominently feature their sourdough or burger buns on their menu and others have a deal with Topi’s bakery for custom loaves or buns. Off the top of my head? Damon Sawyer’s 29 Markle Ct uses their brioche buns, Jeff Taibe of Taproot serves Wave Hill sourdough with either butter or pimento cheese and bacon jam, Josie & Tony’s has them custom bake semolina for their terrific sandwiches, and they bake milk buns for Cwispy Chkn’s tasty fried chicken sliders. I’m sure I’m leaving out dozens more, but you get the idea. Read More
It's a Woman's World: Andrea Clark of Little Gem Bakery Interview It's A Woman's World Interview Bakery Baker Baked Goods Andrew Dominick March 05, 2024 Towards the end of the 2023 edition of summer, Emily Mingrone’s restaurant, Tavern On State, posted a strikingly beautiful ube tart set in a vanilla cookie crust, topped with a dollop of whipped yogurt and grapefruit segments, stating that “it’s the most addictive item on our dessert menu.”The creator of the purple pie slice that received a lot of Instagram attention in terms of likes and comments is Andrea Clark of Little Gem CT. Read More
Kouign Bakery in Wallingford-Just the Right Amount of Sweet Restaurant Features Bakery Wallingford Baker Dessert Sandwiches Pastry Chef Homepage Chloe Zale January 20, 2024 In a small shopping center off a main thoroughfare in Wallingford, CT, across from a McDonald’s and a Rite Aid, a unique bakery is challenging the status quo of baked goods in central Connecticut. At Kouign, Chef Chelsea Tripp is giving classical Patisserie a facelift, creating innovative pastry concepts like cranberry brie danishes and blueberry cardamom scones in an area that has historically lacked culinary distinction. “It was a lot of chocolate on chocolate when we opened here in 2021” Tripp says with a wry smile. As someone who’d “rather eat a cheeseburger than a slice of cake,” Tripp creates pastries that meld sweet and savory in unexpected ways, with a menu that changes each week. “People find it weird at first, but then they try it and enjoy it,” she says, describing how she incorporates ingredients such as miso and turmeric into her sweets. “It just works – I promise I won’t steer you wrong,” she declares. Read More
It's A Woman's World: Pastry Chef Jessica Spivey of Oyster Club + The Port of Call Interview Restaurant It's A Woman's World Baker Pastry Chef pastry Mystic Interview Andrew Dominick December 14, 2023 Oyster Club in Mystic, its alter ego concept, Treehouse, and their sister cocktail and bites bar, The Port of Call, aren’t only popular in Connecticut, but they’ve received some serious national coverage, including a 2023 James Beard nomination for chef Renee Touponce.Part of the restaurant group’s stellar squad is pastry chef Jessica Spivey, who just received a nod of her own as she was nominated for Best Pastry Chef by the Connecticut Restaurant Association for its annual CRAzies Awards. Read More
Election Cake Bake-Off Seeks CT Bakers To Compete: CTbites to Judge! Features Cooking Contest Baker Bakery Stephanie Webster October 04, 2022 On Saturday, November 5 from 1:00 - 3:00 pm, Connecticut’s Old State House in Hartford will host its first in-person Election Cake Bake-Off, a competition featuring entries from professional bakers and pastry chefs from across the state….and CTbites will be there to help judge the winner!Bakers who would like to participate may contact Nicole Sousa at [email protected] or 860.522.6766, or can apply directly here: bit.ly/ctosh2022bakeoff.Inspired by the Early American custom of celebrating Election Day with the traditional Hartford Election Cake, this festive Bake-Off invites chefs to submit their modern interpretation of the traditional spice cake, which will be judged on taste and creativity of decoration.This year’s judging panel includes Stephanie Webster, founder of the foodie website CTBites, food blogger David Milton of @thedamgram on Instagram, Executive Sous Chef Jamey Maloof of Sift Bakery in Mystic, former Connecticut Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, and 2022 Connecticut Kid Governor Makhi Etienne-Modeste.The winning baker will have their cake featured in a statewide publication and on social media, along with other to-be-announced prizes. Read More
Uncle Matt's Bakery & Café: Breakfast, Lunch, Artisan Bread & Pastries in Sandy Hook Restaurant Bakery American French Café Breakfast Breakfast Sandwich Lunch Bread Shop Baker BEC Openings Stephanie Webster February 08, 2022 If you live in Connecticut, you may recognize Matthew Kirshner. He is the pastry chef, bread baker, and owner of the popular Sandy Hook newcomer, Uncle Matt’s Bakery and Café, but he has spent time baking in our fair state for over 20 years. Kirshner has graced the kitchens of The Roger Sherman Inn, Wave Hill Breads, Bantam Bread Company, and even the Russian Tea Room in NYC. (Side note: Wave Hill and Bantam were just awarded “Best Bread in CT” by Food & Wine). But in June of 2021, after years of being covered in flour in other people’s kitchens, Matt decided it was time to get dirty in his own. Thus, one of Sandy Hook’s most beloved spots, Uncle Matt’s Bakery, was born, serving breakfast, lunch, as well as a wide array of outrageously good pastries, and artisan bread. Read More
The Cheesecake Collection Launches with Stunning Insta-Worthy Custom Cheesecakes Features Bakery Baker Custom Cakes Cakes Dessert Caterers Baked Goods Stephanie Webster January 18, 2022
Atticus Cafe & Market Opens 2nd Location in New Haven: It's All About The Grains Restaurant Features Bakery Bread Shop Local Artisan Breakfast Lunch New Haven Bread Openings Baker Homepage Erik Ofgang October 06, 2021 Bite into a sourdough loaf from Atticus and you’ll taste the difference immediately.It's heartier and nuttier with an addictive chew and bolder character than most other breads, even from other artisan sourdough bakeries. The bakery’s pastries also have a wonderful and unique flavor.The bakery’s not-so-secret ingredient is simple: whole grains.The new market is Atticus’ second location. It joins the Atticus Bookstore Cafe in downtown New Haven, which has been a bookstore since 1976 and a cafe since 1981. The location has been dabbling in artisan bread and pastries since 2016. Read More
Tina Zaccardi: The Woman Behind The Italian Cookie Features Baker Cottage Bakers Custom Cakes Cakes Cookies Caterers Westchester Donna Monaco Olsen July 20, 2021 Do you follow Tina Ziccardi Bakes, aka @theItalianCookie? Her media pages are loaded with baked deliciousness that is not only drool worthy, but is downright eye-candy perfection! Following her grand win on “The Great American Baking Show” Season 4 (Hulu), Augustina Zaccardi (Tina) became a bit of a local celebrity right here in Westchester. Her huge fan base from her hometown of Eastchester rooted her on with each baking challenge, becoming more difficult as each week passed. We all watch in amazement as contestants fly through the challenges on each food competition, but meeting with Zaccardi and listening to her describe what it is really like to be on a cooking show was enlightening. She described the experience, which filmed in England, to be competitive yet jovial and the contenders to have more comradery than might be expected in a contest pitting bakers against each other in difficult timed elimination assignments. Although they were in a heated competition, they became somewhat of a family and are still in close contact with each other today. Read More
New Cookbook from CT's Own Dorie Greenspan: BAKING WITH DORIE: SWEET, SALTY & SIMPLE Features Cooking Cookbooks Baker Baking CTbites Team July 15, 2021 Known for her multiple James Beard Award and IACP Award-winning cookbooks, CT’s own Dorie Greenspan is back with 150 all new signature recipes in BAKING WITH DORIE (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; October 19, 2021; $35.00;). This new collection, her fourteenth cookbook, arrives exactly thirty years after her food writing debut, much to the delight of her legion of fans. Read More
Small State Provisions IS OPEN: Let Them Eat Bread! Restaurant West Hartford Local Artisan Bread Openings Baker Bakery Bread Shop Kristin L. Wolfe July 14, 2021 Are you ready to carb out on THE MOST tremendous bites of bready goodness your lips have savored? Small State Provisions in West Hartford’s GastroPark has finally opened.Owner, and head baker Kevin Masse has been incredibly patient this last year waiting to open his storefront bakery. Despite it being a difficult time for any industry, Masse’s fan base has multiplied; and, to see him finally open the doors to his beautiful brick and mortar was a pretty emotional moment. As he opened the doors for the first time on Saturday, July 3, he grabbed his camera to capture the smiles and cheers in the line as it wrapped around the door in the parking lot of the GastroPark, now THE place to “Gather and Graze” in WeHa. Small State Provisions’ goodies were sold out in 45 minutes! Read More
