The holidays mean festive tables piled high with a seemingly endless array of freshly baked desserts. There are the requisite delicious Christmas cookies, of course, but also pies, cakes, and sweet treats of all kinds. But what goes into those delectable desserts that you and your family enjoy?
Joanna Gagis, host of Life & Living with Joanna Gagis, sat down with Geraldine Keogh and her daughter Lindsay, owners of The Dessert Ladies in Stirling, to find out how Geraldine, an Irish immigrant, went from being a day-care operator to owner of one of the most successful bakeries in New Jersey.
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Just how successful, you ask? They catered the Super Bowl’s VIP party last year.
“It happened completely by accident,” Keogh says, who was inspired to start her business during the economic downturn of 2008. She first offered small-scale baked goods as affordable corporate gifts. It started with chocolate-covered pretzels — and demand quickly skyrocketed. Lindsay, who studied marketing in college, jumped on board to help her mother meet demand, and the combination of savvy marketing skills and quality product led the two to open The Dessert Ladies.
Now, with their product line of made-to-order cakes, as well as cupcakes, the chocolate pretzels that started it all — and unique offerings such as pushy cakes (push pops made of cake and filling, pictured), the Dessert Ladies cater to both non-corporate and corporate clients.
Click below to watch the Keoghs talk about the challenges of being a small business on Life & Living with Joanna Gagis— and, of course, to see some tempting treats!
For more stories that impact New Jersey residents, click over to our Hot Topics in NJ series.
Main image courtesy: Facebook / The Dessert Ladies
Additional Photo courtesy: Facebook / The Dessert Ladies
