Levy's little tastes of heaven

Krysta Anderson, Gleaner Writer

With a father who is an established chef and caterer and an aunt who is a seasoned wedding-cake creator, it is no wonder that Nicole Levy followed the natural culinary path into the wonderful world of desserts. For this week's Sweet Treat Corner, Food decided to add a touch of youthful exuberance the second time around and visited the home of the 26-year-old to find out how her passion for sweet treats progressed from just a hobby to a full-time entrepreneurial pursuit.

Levy was always a budding businesswoman and she tapped into that market at an early age. "I used to sell cupcakes and cakes part-time in high school, almost got expelled because of it actually," she confessed. Her market expanded to students attending both the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the University of Technology, while she pursued a major in psychology at UWI.

A cheesecake lover at heart, she often bothered her aunt to bake the guilty pleasure just for her. Her aunt grew frustrated and decided to teach her how to make it. It was then that she got the idea to bake her delights out of the comfort of her home. Levy's Goodies started about three years ago and she has not looked back since. "My father carried on his family name for his catering company, and I wanted to pay homage to my own family name since I am an only child," Levy noted in explaining the name of her company. She continued, "I played around with the name 'Levy's Pastries' but I didn't want to limit myself to just making pastry. When I came up with goodies, it felt like the right fit."

With no formal culinary training, she began baking by trial and error, and when she made a mistake, she was forced to consume the products. That made her an even greater pastry chef. She sticks to weight and measurement for desserts that are unfamiliar or those she has yet to master, while she goes for the natural feel of ingredients for those which are second nature to her.

Placing a creative and even fashionable twist on her goodies, Levy has now branched out into vegan products - tapping into that healthy niche market. She does custom cakes and cupcakes and, because people take a very personal approach to desserts, she has learned that customer care is key in her line of business. The journey for this young entrepreneur has been bittersweet. "Initially, when I began baking, close friends would make their purchases. Pretty soon, my clientele just grew. It is still hard to pursue this passion full-time, because this business is quite seasonal," she revealed. But she remains hopeful.

With a long-term goal of getting a store location for Levy's Goodies, her advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is, "Everything you do must benefit your dreams or your company. Be prepared to make sacrifices, making reasonable short-term goals, and never stop working until you achieve them one by one. Also, network with the accomplished business-persons, get as close as you can and take advice from them."

Just in time for Valentine's Day, Levy shared her scrumptious brownie recipe on page D1.

krysta.anderson@gleanerjm.com

Food

THE GLEANER, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2014

SECTION D

Levy's little

tastes

heaven

Dutch cocoa brownies

Ingredients

3/4 unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

Method

1. Pre-heat oven, to 350°F. Lightly beat sugar and eggs (add eggs one at a time).

2. Add flour, baking powder, salt, vanilla and cocoa powder and butter, and mix till smooth.

3. Pour in lined brownie pan or lined cupcake pan. Bake for 30 minutes (middle does not have to be completely set).

Cool and serve.