{Flavia's Favorites} SWEET Bakery
I've been bursting at the seams with excitement to bring you this month's second {Flavia's Favorites} post. I recently decided to start assigning myself projects to continue improving my blogging and photography skills. One of these projects is interviewing local businesses and featuring them here on my blog. I am a big believer in supporting local businesses, both in my hometown and wherever I travel. After all, they are what make a city and a community unique. A little over a month ago, I stopped by one of my new favorite local businesses in Houston, SWEET bakery, and asked if they would be willing to do an interview with Flavia's Flavors. To my delight, they were excited to be featured!
Owned and operated by two longtime friends, SWEET opened its doors in February of this year in the new City Centre shopping center. It has been constantly bustling with people coming in to enjoy their beautiful and delicious desserts: cupcakes, truffles, cake balls, cookies and their signature macarons {my personal favorite}. They also serve a variety of teas, cappuccino, espresso, or a cold glass of milk to go with the sweet of your choice. Peter and I are frequent visitors to SWEET not only because we enjoy their desserts, but also because we adore the ambiance of their store with its clean, bright interior, and their smart combination of modern and vintage decor, most of it re-purposed and recycled {love that!}.
Please welcome SWEET bakery to Flavia's Flavors!
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You are both self-taught bakers and have catered for many years. Tell us about how you decided to make the transition to owning and running your own bakery.
We've always had a passion for all things sweet and for years, we felt Houston lacked a great bakery that was not only inviting, but provided all the sweets we're currently addicted to. We baked with our moms and our grandmothers and it's been passed on from generation to generation. It's always been a hobby among our families, though. So this is the first entrepreneurial endeavor!
Your macaron flavors are so creative. Where do you draw your inspiration for your macaron recipes? How does seasonality play a role in your recipe development?
We are big foodies. We love to eat so a major inspiration behind our macaron flavors come from our travels and all the things we eat. Seasonality plays a very important role in our recipe development as we try our very best to stick to what's locally and seasonally available. So for this summer, it's been very fun to work with berries of all kinds! We're looking forward to doing a lot of savory fiavors for the fall!
What inspired the look and overall aesthetic of your store?
We've always had a passion for all things creative and artsy. Our inspiration came from our personal taste and all our travels. There were no professional designers hired behind our bakery design. We literally brought to life what we envisioned in our mind based on our likings. As for the cupcake designs, after countless hours in the kitchen, we wanted to keep our cupcakes not only original in design, but simple and natural. This also means we didn't want to pursue the "all modern, all uniform" and "perfect" looking cupcakes. We wanted them to not only taste real, we wanted them to look real and natural in their own unique way.
I admire your comittment to using eco-friendly packaging and organic and sustainable ingredients. Why was it important for you to incorporate this philosophy into your business model?
We appreciate all customers that appreciate and join us in our green efforts. This is extremely important to us. We feel that if we truly support our local farms and our environment through use of organic and sustainable ingredients and products, we must be responsible for our waste and use of all our packaging that has a very high impact on our environment. This is one big cycle so we can only lead by example and hope our customers join us in our green philosophy.
Cupcakes and macarons have been enjoying some serious popularity in the last several years, even though they are sweets with a long history. What do you think is the next confection that will have a resurgence in popularity?
We definitely think cookies are going to make a come-back, and whoopie pies! We'd also like to bring back some classic, old-school candies as well!
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Thank you, SWEET bakery for taking the time to do an interview with Flavia's Flavors! I had so much fun photographing your store. I can't wait to see what delicious sweets you create next!
Be sure to check out the SWEET website, Facebook page and follow them on Twitter. If you live in the Houston area, make sure you stop in sometime to treat yourself to a SWEET treat!
Scroll down to see more photos of SWEET and stop by my Flickr page for even more photos!
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oh my gosh! I have never heard of this place! I am sooo going to check them out! Thanks for sharing!
You did a fantastic job of making me feel like i was there - from your pictures to your content. Thanks for making my mouth drool and then not allowing me to have any. :p
I am craving sweets now:) Your photos are gorgeous!
Wow great post and great pictures!
Hope you had fun with this new feature of your blog. You did a great job with your questions and now at 10pm I'm craving cupcakes because of your lovely photos!
I want to live there!!!!!
Great post and fantastic pictures Flavia! It looks like a really neat place to go for an espresso and dessert. Also, it's so great that you are featuring and
promoting local businesses!
Oh my goodness, gracious!!! That place looks magical! MUST put it on my t-do list! Thanks, Flavia!
This looks like my kind of place! I have not had any cupcakes lately because it is too hot to bake, but I'd love to take a bite out of one of those.
Now I wish I lived in Texas because I really want to go there! Their treats look sooo good.