sweets-awards

Teuscher: Distinctive Chocolates from Switzerland

Filed under: Dining

On a blustery day in the Alps some 70 years ago, a curious man was thinking differently about chocolate. That man, Dolf Teuscher, soon started a chocolate company of the same name. Nearly a century later, Teuscher Chocolates of Switzerland is one of the world's finest chocolatiers – and a Luxist nominee in the best chocolate candy category.

Dolf Teuscher founded the company in 1932, wandering far from his Alpine roots to comb the globe for the best cocoa, marzipan, fruits and nuts he could find. Over years of experimentation, he developed the distinctive recipes that brought Teuscher to the pinnacle of the chocolate world today.

Dolf's son, Dolf Teuscher, Jr., now oversees an international confectionary empire with stores in major cities from New York to Qatar to Singapore. Its kitchens in Zurich make over 100 varieties of chocolates using the original recipes; all of its products are free of chemicals, additives and preservatives.

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Tate's Bake Shop: Southampton's Award-Winning Cookies

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Tate's Bake Shop is a nominee for a Luxist Readers' Choice Award in the Best Cookie category.

This nomination will come as no surprise to anyone who has ever tasted the signature cookie of one of the country's leading independent bakers.

The company was founded by Kathleen King, who has been baking professionally since she was eleven. Born and raised on North Sea Farms in Southampton, she started to baking cookies to earn spending money. Packaged simply at first, Kings' cookies came in plastic bags with twist ties.

Gallery: More from Tate's Bake Shop

Tate's Bake Shop's award-winning cookies.

The exterior of Tate's Bake Shop in Southampton, N.Y.

By the time King was in high school, she was baking 12-hours a day, and perfecting her thin, crisp, buttery and caramel tasting chocolate chip cookies. She was so successful, her baking put her through college: SUNY College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill, New York. When King was 20, she opened her first bakery and within one year she had made a name for herself in the fashionable communities on the south fork of Long Island.

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Crumbs Bake Shop: Cupcakes Like Mom Used to Bake

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Crumbs Bake Shop is a nominee for a Readers' Choice Award for Best Cupcake.

Crumbs is famous for its Signature size cupcakes. At each of its bake shops, it offers more than 50 varieties baked fresh daily and a new cupcake of the week every Monday. Crumbs also offers a variety of delicious cakes, from Red Velvet to Vanilla Cake and Chocolate. Accordingly, Crumbs Bake Shop is also a nominee for a Readers' Choice Award for Best Cake.

Made with the finest ingredients, Crumbs' cupcakes remind us that the best things in life are simple. Crumbs offers a selection in three different sizes: Classic, Signature and Taste size cupcakes. "Classic" cupcakes are the largest variety and are sold individually. The medium sized cupcakes, "Signature", are sold individually in stores, and can be ordered online in increments of six. Customers can create their own individual six packs or choose a pre-selected assortment. The smallest size, the "Taste" size cupcakes are offered by the dozen in single flavors and pre-selected favorite assortments. At this time Crumbs is not shipping its classic size.

Gallery: More from Crumbs

Its founders, Mia and Jason Bauer, opened their first Crumbs bakery in March of 2003 on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Mia had been an avid baker since first discovering her fierce sweet tooth as a child while helping her mother bake when living on a farm in Israel. An attorney by training, owning a bakery is the culmination of a life-long quest to combine her passion for baking with building a successful business that is both a neighborhood meeting place and a destination for all New Yorkers. Mia's husband, Jason, is a true entrepreneur who has spent his career building businesses in various fields. Prior to opening Crumbs, Jason started Famous Fixins, a manufacturer of celebrity licensed products.

Currently, Crumbs has locations in California, Connecticut and New Jersey. Crumbs treats can also be ordered online.

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Baked: Cupcakes to Die For

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Baked, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based bakery is a nominee for a Readers' Choice Award for Best Cupcake.

The company's founders, Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, came from the world of advertising, in which Matt was a producer while Renato was a graphic designer. Their thoughts were never too far from cake and coffee, and slowly (even unbeknownst to them) the idea for Baked was born.

Matt wanted to open a bakery that celebrated American desserts beyond the cupcake, and Renato had always been hankering to open a neighborhood cafe, so together they scoured New York City for the perfect location. They found a small, storefront church in the largely industrialized and gritty section of Brooklyn, and together with Rafi Avramovitz, set about building their inspiration. Finally, after many long delays, they opened Baked in 2005 on the shores of Red Hook, Brooklyn with just a few ovens, some mixers, and an espresso machine.

Gallery: More from Baked NYC

Baked is both a neighborhood spot, and a nationally recognized bakery. Baked has been featured on the Martha Stewart Show, the Today Show, the Food Network, and the Style Network. Baked has also received an awards from Time Out, French Culinary Institute, Citysearch, and America's Test Kitchen. Oprah recognized their brownies as a "favorite thing" and they have written recipes for Food and Wine, Bon Appetit, and many more.

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Crumbs: An Oasis of Delicious Cakes

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Crumbs Bake Shop is a nominee for a Readers' Choice Award for Best Cake.

Its founders, Mia and Jason Bauer, opened their first Crumbs bakery in March of 2003 on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Mia had been an avid baker since first discovering her fierce sweet tooth as a child while helping her mother bake when living on a farm in Israel. An attorney by training, owning a bakery is the culmination of a life-long quest to combine her passion for baking with building a successful business that is both a neighborhood meeting place and a destination for all New Yorkers. Mia's husband, Jason, is a true entrepreneur who has spent his career building businesses in various fields. Prior to opening Crumbs, Jason started Famous Fixins, a manufacturer of celebrity licensed products.

Gallery: More from Crumbs

Crumbs offers an irresistible blend of comfort-oriented classics and elegant baked goods. Crumbs homemade cakes come in a variety of delicious flavors, from Red Velvet to Vanilla Cake and Chocolate. The bakery is also famous for its cupcakes (and has been nominated for a Readers' Choice Award in the cupcake category, accordingly).

Currently, Crumbs has locations in California, Connecticut and New Jersey. Its baked goods can also available by placing an order online.

Vote for the company you believe makes the best cakes. Readers' Choice Winners will be announced on March 1st.

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La Maison du Chocolat: Taking the Art of Chocolate to a Higher Level

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Shortly after Robert Linxe opened his first store in Paris, he was dubbed "The Wizard of Ganache." Small wonder the company he founded, La Maison du Chocolat, is a Luxist Readers' Choice nominee in the best chocolate category. The company is also a nominee in the best truffle category.

Linxe founded La Maison du Chocolat in 1977, taking up residence in the basement of a building formerly used as a wine cellar. Back then, there were very few shops of its kind; chocolate was more of a seasonal delicacy than a year-round staple. By 1987, Linxe's shop became such a hit with Parisians that he was able to open a second shop. Three years later, he expanded to the U.S. with a location on Madison Avenue in New York. La Maison du Chocolat continued to expand and now has locations in Hong Kong, London, Tokyo and Cannes, in addition to seven locations in Paris and four in New York (the chocolates are also available at Bergdorf Goodman).

Gallery: More from Maison du Chocolat

La Maison du Chocolat sets itself apart from other chocolatiers in a number of ways, perhaps none more important than the incredible detail paid to the component parts of its chocolates. Linxe's company combs through plantations in South America and Africa; they study not only the cacao beans, but various vintages and the differences between them.

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Magnolia Bakery: Old-Fashioned Cakes from an Eponymous Manhattan Bakery

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Magnolia Bakery, located in the West Village of Manhattan, is a nominee for a Readers' Choice Award for Best Cake.

Open since 1996, the family-owned bakery is a throw-back to another era. It is famous for its old-fashion desserts, especially its cupcakes and home-style multi-layered cakes. There's a reason why has had staying power. Its baked goods are made fresh from scratch on premises, all day, every day, using the finest ingredients. Magnolia Bakery is also a nominee for a Readers' Choice Award for Best Cupcake.

Magnolia Bakery specializes in such classic cakes as red velvet, ice box, German chocolate, devil's food, coconut and banana pudding. In addition to cakes and cupcakes, other dessert specialties include brownies, magic cookies, peanut butter toffee bar, lemon squares, pies and cheesecakes. Magnolia prides itself on tradition and quality and strives to satisfy loyal patrons while maintaining the integrity of the brand. All Magnolia Bakery locations are certified as Kosher by the United Kosher Supervision.

Gallery: More from Magnolia Bakery

Its original store is located at 401 Bleecker Street on the corner of West 11th Street. Additional locations in Manhattan can be found at 200 Columbus Avenue, on the corner of West 69th St. and at 1240 Avenue of the Americas. A store in Manhattan's Grand Central Terminal is expected to open later on this month and in Los Angeles in April. Magnolia Bakery's first overseas location will open in Dubai. For more information and location hours, please visit Magnolia's website.

The bakery's founders, Allysa Torey and Jennifer Appel, are the authors of a cookbook entitled "The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook: Old-Fashioned Recipes from New York's Sweetest Bakery."

Vote for the company you believe makes the best cakes. Readers' Choice Winners will be announced on March 1st.

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Readers' Choice Awards for Best in Sweets

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Services

Is there a maker of fine chocolate candy that makes your mouth water just thinking about it? Who makes the most sumptuous chocolate truffle you've ever had? Which bakery makes the most magnificent cupcakes in the world? Can you recommend a bakery that makes cakes that are worth telling the world about? Which bakery makes the best cookies? If you know where to find the best chocolate, truffles, cupcakes, cakes and cookies, we want to hear from you!

The Luxist Readers' Choice Awards for Best in Sweets will be awarded based on your nominations and voting. We're currently seeking nominations for the best-of-breed in the following categories:

Best Chocolate Bar
Best Chocolate Candy
Best Cupcake
Best Cake
Best Cookie

One nomination per category, please. Submissions can be filed until February 15, 2010.