Whimsy & Spice was founded in 2008 by the husband and wife team of Mark Sopchak and Jenna Park, who combine their skills and more than 12 years of experience in culinary arts and graphic design to produce a distinctive line of handmade sweets.

Mark developed a love of spices early on in life. Even at the young age of eight, he was taken by the savory spiciness of the scents emanating from street vendor stands during his time living in Yemen. He later discovered the complexity of both Thai and Indian cuisine and sought to recreate the flavors in his own kitchen by making his own curry paste, curry powder and garam masala blends. While working as a Pastry Chef in the kitchens of some of NYC's most popular restaurants, the spices from his early culinary experiences naturally made their way into his desserts, which always focused on unique and sometimes unexpected combinations of flavors.

Jenna is an award-winning art director, designer and artist who freelances with various design agencies in New York City, primarily in the arts & culture, museum, education and non-profit sectors. Some of her projects have included websites for the Smithsonian Photography Initiative, the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Fenimore and Farmers' Museums, and the NYU School of Medicine. Her discerning palette and distinct eye for elegant and clean design leads all of the company's branding and creative efforts.

We have our eye on Whimsy & Spice and hope to add them to our already fabulous list of vendors.
http://www.WhimsyandSpice.com

Why I love the holiday season.....Any excuse to eat dessert. The richer the better. Yes, we need all that extra fat goodness because it is getting cold and we need the fat to help us make it through the rough weather that is soon to come. Right?? You betcha. These are some amazing looking treats for the holidays. The first one is my favorite because it is a combination of Creme brulee and pumpkin cheesecake. These wonderful deserts were created by http://www.Cakeonthebrain.blogspot.com. Please visit the blog site to get the recipes.

More Treats for you...Boule in LA










Well, I guest my late night cupcake adventure was not enough
for me so I decided to let you in on one of my LA secrets. What
is so amazing about Boule is that they have such a great variety
of goodies. They even make their own ice cream and sorbet.
But, what caught my attention the first time was not even the
products. It was the beautiful and simple and pretty decor.
They are so worth the 2.5 hour drive from Ridgecrest.

One of the things I do before my husband and I head out to LA
is I do a major online search for pastry shops, bakeries,
farmers markets, New York style pizza shops and of course
tea shops. We are so serious about this we even go as far
entering all our finds into our GPS unit so we can plan out all
of our stops. I also MapQuest every location so I know where
we are going and the distance between each stop.

Sometimes these LA adventures take the whole day. We travel
all over LA and the surrounding communities. We have gone
from downtown LA, to Burbank, to Venice, Culver City, Santa
Monica and Pasadena all in one day. It is always such a treat
and we always are amazed at all the other fabulous places
we find on the way.

LADUREE PARIS...Je Taime

As I sit here I am thinking about my last trip to
Paris over 5 years ago. I am wondering why I
haven't been back in so many years. I suppose
it has to do with owning my shop and not having
much time to travel overseas since moving to
Ridgecrest.

Thinking back to my last trip there I began to think
about what I did while I was there. Well as I remember
it I didn't really do much except eat! I didn't visit any
of the museums, famous dress shops, Eiffel Tower..nothing.
I did though eat lots and lots of baked goods, wonderful Ethiopian
and Indian cuisine.

But what I remember the most is the incredible tea, chocolate and desserts. They are the most memorable.
At the time I had never heard of this most special tearoom. It was by accident that I ran into this most amazing place. It was something out of a dream. It was like walking into the Jimmy Choo of tea and desserts.
It was so beautiful, elegant, clean, colorful in a classy way that only the French could pull off. It was like a museum of beautiful things that should not be touched just admired.









Just so you know this is no ordinary tea shop or bakery or pastry shop. Every detail is taken into consideration. The decor, the packaging, the lighting, the colors and the amount of sunshine that shines through. I even think they pay beautiful people to just sit in there all day long drinking tea and eating their deserts, because even the people look delicious LOL. Well ok maybe it was all that sugar going to my head and flowing through my blood.

So if by chance you find yourself in Paris this fall or winter please make sure to spend some time here.
Do bring lots of cash and an empty stomach.
P.S. I am looking into importing their teas.
pictures are from the Laduree website.