All about Coco Bakes
Baking is in my DNA.
I grew up in a house that smelled like a bakery. The Santa Monica Wednesday Farmers Market was a ritual, browsing the stalls, getting to know and talking to the farmers, bringing them cookies. I learned to bake at my mom's side, often using her very first and only Kitchen Aid Mixer. That mixer was a staple of my childhood, turning it on and off, cracking eggs and adding ingredients and best of all, licking the blades. My brother, sister and I rolled the leftover pie crust dough and made our own creations and were so proud of our treats. I lived for moments in the kitchen. We traveled, often renting houses on holiday so we could get to know the farmers market and cook like a local. It was always about the "amazing" tomatoes or eggplant or lettuce.....always seeking something new and delicious. Food became a huge part of my independence as a teen. Before I could drive, I would bike through the city to See's Candies and Pane Fresco and other destinations, most all of them with food as a goal. My friends and I would gather and eat or drink or just shop for candy and baked goods. And I continued to bake and watch my mom and aunt and godmother in their kitchens, watching them make magic.
It wasn't a shock when, after college in Claremont, I chose Le Cordon Bleu in Paris over law school. In that (crazy) delicious and highly disciplined milleu, I discovered an intolerance to dairy and a malaise that I later found was a reaction to gluten. When I returned from Paris, I began working at Huckleberry Bakery and Cafe. After mornings in the bakery, I tried to create equally delicious things that I could enjoy and still feel healthy.
After years of developing my own recipes, I'm excited to share them with you. They are gluten and dairy free.