My October was full of sweet treats even before Halloween hit—and I’m not complaining, LOL! I have a voracious sweet tooth so I was in heaven! Some of the great pastry and candy items that I sampled are written about below!
One of the best moments of October was getting to go to the NYCWFF and getting to taste many of the fabulous items served at Sift Bake Shop in the Mohegan Sun Hotel in Connecticut. At the Taste Of Tomorrow helmed by Chef Marcus Samuelsson, they served amazing Yuzu Macarons and at A Brunch Affair, they served Pistachio Croissants which had a pistachio custard filling. Let me add that I also fell in love with the whiskey truffles served during the FOODIECON event (you can see them pictured above). For more info on other places where Sift (helmed by acclaimed pastry chef Adam Young) will be having booths, follow @sift_bake_shop on Instagram! You can also see all their goodies and place orders at siftbakeryshopmystic.com.
How gorgeous is this La Maison Du Chocolate Triomphe Advent Calendar for Christmas 2025? It’s a total wow and you can reuse it year after year. Here’s the deal—you can go into any La Maison Du Chocolat store now through Christmas and fill your own calendar with the chocolates of your choice. You get to select 26 pieces on a card featuring photos of all the chocolates available, hand your card in to someone at a counter and then a friendly staff member brings all of your choices out on a white plate. You then sit down at one of the tables in back of the store and fill the calendar yourself. The middle section of the calendar (representing the 24th day) gets three chocolates instead of one. I filled my Triomphe Advent Calendar at a special influencer event in 78th and Madison store and was heavy handed on the praline filled chocolates because those are my favorites! Starting price for a “do it yourself” La Maison Du Chocolat Triomphe Advent Calendar is $100. For Triomphe Advent Calendar appointments, go to to the special La Maison Du Chocolat event listings page: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/la-maison-du-chocolat-usa-78233667873. You can create your LMDC Triomphe Advent calendar on 11/6 to 11/9, 11/13 to 11/16 and 11/20 to 11/23. Times and quantities are dependent upon store location.
Congratulations to world renown pastry chef Zac Young on the 10th anniversary of his master project, PieCaken, which you can purchase through Goodbelly for shipment nationwide. I had the pleasure of joining Zac and his colleagues at a special event at Society Cafe in the West Village’s Walker Hotel and stuffed my face with the pumpkin and pecan pie PieCaken being served. At the event, Zac introduced the latest PieCaken featuring dolce de leche and cookie dough pieces; you can it on the top right side of my photo above but sadly it did not get cut up for guests. (A chunk was missing so someone got a piece on the down low, LOL!) Guests also got to have specially themed cocktails for the anniversary and do a grab and go gift bag—guests got to stuff their bags with tshirts, Sprinkles Bakery cookies, good rubber duckies, Piecaken logo totes and more. Just for the record, Society Cafe is the only place in NYC where you can get PieCaken for dessert and Zac will be curating and cooking a special dinner there on 11/12/2025. For more info on PieCaken, get to PieCakenshop.com.
I had a ball sampling five of the well-reviewed SusieCakes at Magrino PR meeting room recently. Flavors pictured are chocolate marble (top left), carrot, red velvet, Celebration Cake (yellow cake with vanilla buttercream colored mint green) and classic chocolate layer cake made with dark chocolate buttercream. Which one did I enjoy the most? The carrot cake—and that is because you get lots of shredded carrots and pecan chunks in each slice! It feels genuinely like a homemade cake made from a generations old recipe. I strongly recommend this cake for any holiday—and let me add that the red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting is perfect looking for your holiday table but tastes as good as it looks. For more info or to order, go to susiecakes.com or Goldbelly.com.
I was so excited to be invited to the opening day of Bissinger’s chocolate boutique on the sixth floor of Macy’s in Herald Square (there is also a mini booth set up on the first floor which is perfect for grab and go Christmas presents). “We are excited to be bringing Bissinger’s to our iconic New York flagship – it will be a must visit destination for our customers,” said Tom Leuer, Vice President, Food & Toys at Macy’s. Bissinger’s is a remarkably creamy chocolate that was eaten by royalty way back in the golden years of Versailles and the royalty went crazy for it. The same recipe is used today and the company has expanded to include cakes–I strongly suggest ordering their carrot cake petit fours for your Easter table as your guests will be dazzled but let me add that there are also chocolate petit fours with candy pumpkins that are perfect for Halloween or Thanksgiving. The Bissinger’s staff at Macy’s is very kind about giving out samples, so just go up to the counter and ask! This company has served chocolate to Louis XIV and other nobility, and I bet you can’t wait to find out why it satisfied the fussy palates of royalty! For more info on this well-respected luxury chocolate brand, go to bissingers.com.
The pear tart with dulce de leche which concluded the Fourth Annual Shoe Museum Gala at St. Bartholomew’s Church was a winner. It was the perfect degree of sweetness and the glittery paper high heel on each portion was just too cute! This event always has nightlife and society luminaries in attendance but the atmosphere is friendly and relaxed. Shoe designer Vanessa Noel is always the host and she has magical guests who perform and donate shoes. This year’s main performance was by “America’s Tenor,” Christopher Macchio. Did I fail to mention that there are about seven rounds of bingo each year for luxury vacations including a one week stay in Vanessa’s12-room Jamaican villa? Keep an eye on the IG account @vanessanoelshoes for announcements on next year’s gala. You can check out and order Vanessa’s amazing handcrafted shoes at https://www.vanessanoel.com/shoes/.
