Saturday, September 28, 2013

  1. Gee, where should I begin? It has been super insanely crazy these last few weeks! Last weekend when I did the Bayport festival to raise money for St. Jude's Children's Hospital, I was tired and run down from all the work in my teaching career. I was so frustrated that it was beautiful outside and I was stuck doing another fair that first appeared to be slow & boring! However, I was the only vendo...r who seemed to be making a killing! After 2 hrs or so, I was bored so I asked the organizer of the show if she knew any motivated, smart, young sales people who may want to earn some fast cash for selling the delights...so I could sneak around the corner to watch Thomas baseball game. We'll wouldn't you know it...the event planner brings me over a 16 year old beautiful smart strawberry blond teenager with a million dollar smile & the gift of gab! Mollie was her name and she lives in Locust Vallyey. She was in Bayport at her cousins house and just hanging around the fair w/ family. After she watched me for a half hour, she seemed to have the mission, one liners, and the money thing all down pat! So, I left for the ball game. Two hrs later this beautiful smart young girl basically sold out of all the breads! That's it...your hired I inform her! She is thrilled at the idea of doing demos in Nassau county as well as being my assistant for the Oyster Bay event in October! Incredible that I found a mini me with energy, drive, passion, and the gift to sell like crazy! So happy to have Mollie aboard! Hats off to my new fair assistant! Love it!!!

    1. This week was an amazing week in sales! Inter county bakers ordered 27 cases of pumpkin & zucchini! Monday I sold 30 cases out to my distributors and continued to do 7 to 10 cases every day after Monday! Then the icing was slapped right on the cake when I got the paperwork on that big huge amazing account that I worked on all summer! And to boot, my interview with Best Yet was a home run!!! Produc...tion will start this week for Best Yet Markets! The other big, huge amazing account I have been referring to all these months is supposed to go to the shelf as early as next Friday! Once, I can buy the double pak of pumpkin cakes at this awesome store; I will finally announce the account of a lifetime! Oh yeah baby, u rock baby! This was my mom's favorite place to spend money! Mom, I can't wait to post this baby! Love u and miss u to pieces! Thanks for always watching over me, b/c these past two weeks were filed with major sleep deprivation! Tomorrow, I will sleep the day away! BTW, did I neglect to mention that I did fabulous sales today at the IGHL (Independent Group Home Living) benefit! I even lowered the price one dollar on the cakes due to the nature of the fund raiser! The staff at IGHL were the most amazing group of people!!! I got there a few hrs late due to my sleep deprivation this week and my very bad car accident that I had last week on the LIE. Anyway, the IGHL staff help me unload my entire van and then they set me up! I gave each young man that helped me a cake of their choice. I also gave the woman running the event 2 cakes for her family at home and a few more for all the volunteers! Like I said what an amazing job these people do for the handicapped adults that they service! Time to sleep now! Night night!

Saturday, September 7, 2013

I did the East Northport festival today! It was pretty damn good! I made a few bucks and I was able to spread the word about the big wholesale food industry I may be going into this fall! I cant wait for this day to arrive! I hope to be the first consumer to buy my very own product! What a scream Right! Anyway, the fair was a lil slow than what I usually experience. But I did have the opportunity ...to meet some really great people and the boy scouts from that area ROCK! These lil men help me set up & break down my entire show! So... I showered them with the delights and they loved every cake I gave them! The best part of the day was coming home to a new freezer location where I store what is left over from an event! My husband & son moved the freezer from the basement to the garage! WOW, how is it that I ever thought to put that damn freezer in the basement! It is easy breezy now to just pull in the driveway & drop the cakes into the garage! Three yrs. later and a torn rotator cuff and the family realizes...What a brilliant idea! Okay were not brain surgeons over here...but we do know how to build a business, bake, and work like dogs! We'll hopefully the payoff is coming! And soon I will be able to reward my 3 sons and very patient hubby with a vacation of a life time! A very over due VACATION! Gitty up!

Monday, September 2, 2013

Had a phenomenal weekend, checking on & marketing the delights on both forks of Eastern Long Island! Leaving my house for the east end on Thursday afternoon, I was able to visit a couple of new stores as well as the farm stands; Bay view & Schmidt's Farms who are both selling the delights like crazy! Friday, I was able to visit the locations of some east end fairs that I am participating in this f...all! Saturday, I got to visit the IGA market in Southold which was on my way to the Greenport ferry ride to Shelter Island! Then I took another ferry ride to Sag Harbor... so I could visit the IGA market in Amagansett. All 3 IGA's are doing very well w/ the product! I will have to try and make it over to the Bellport IGA before school starts this Tuesday! Driving around Shelter Island was a breath taking experience! I loved it! The journey of locating all the delights that are being sold on the East end concluded sweetly!! Not only b/c the cakes are selling well but b/c I did not hit an ounce of traffic in the direction that I navigated! Luckily for me, one of my best friends lives out in Cutchogue... and I was able to stay with their family at their incredible B & B and Vineyard! I was able to enjoy working, spend quality time w/ friends, and have a lot of fun & laughs w/ the girls Friday night when we met for cards at the wine tasting room in Peconic! Let's just say Business was an extreme pleasure of laughs, shopping, and awesome wines & martini's all weekend! Finally, made it home late today and found that my house was in complete order for a change! I mean...there was no laundry, no mess, and no drama! Yahoo, maybe I should consider travelling for business more often! The next few months will dictate when the travelling will begin!

Sunday, August 11, 2013

A delivery journey! Never a dull moment @ Darcy's Delights!

Once again it was an eventful day of deliveries into Nassau county both on the North shore & Long Beach!

The day began with excitement after we delivered a few cases to South Dow...n Mkt in Huntington & Grace’s Mkt place in Greenvale! Our first exciting encounter was that my husband wanted to introduce me to the owners of Young’s Farms, in Brookville. He sent me into the farm to pitch the breads & mission! On our way in, a consumer walks in and exclaims that she is hungry and looking to buy a healthy snack! Immediately, she sees the Zucchini bread in my hands and asks? Ooo, where can I get one of those? That looks yummy! Oh, I said, I am actually just here to pitch the product, I am waiting to meet the owner! The owner walks out and I introduce myself to her! She kindly explains that they are a working farm and everything they grow they turn into an all-natural foodie! Desserts, soups, pies, quiches! Wow, I am taken back by all that I learn…and I thank her for her overwhelming knowledge! I offer to give her two cakes, a zucchini & a carrot to thank her for taking the time! She tells me…no that’s ok you don’t have too, you work too hard to give away your profits! I insist and tell her to enjoy and that I’ll touch base w/ her for some feedback and possibly consulting on the grant I am pursuing! She thanks me and offers me a barter; fresh crystalized ginger for my newest work in progress and some home-made ginger shortbread cookies! I thank her and we shake hands! We exchange business contacts and I skip to the car! Only to find the consumer who was listening to my story & wanting to meet up w/ me …so she too could buy a couple of the delights. I decide that it isn’t good business & its way to tacky… to sell her cake out of my car on the owners premises! We decide to meet up the road… Nina shares that she is a big fan of entrepreneurs and buys a Kathy’s Mocha & a Zucchini! We also exchange contacts for future business and employee opportunities of the grant in progress! What a day, and it aint over yet! Read on…

Before we go to Long beach we have 3 stops…Iavarone Bros, Salpinos and a special stop in Levittown for a bread fan who bought a spoiled bread!!!

The funniest thing happened when we arrived at Long Beach to deliver to the first high end restaurant that we made a trip to about 2 weeks ago! As I was getting out of the car to deliver to Sorrento’s, I run into the same young man whom I met 2 weeks ago at the same exact location! A machine operator who told us the best locations to pitch the cakes too! This time I asked him what he did for a living b/c I thought it was odd to run into the same young man! Everything about my business always has a way of leading to Karma! .. I asked him what kind of machines, he says all machinery. I said, there you have it.. I will probably need ur services in the future when I need my bakery machines repaired!

Even more eventful was the broken-English speaking owner at Sorrento’s. I go to deliver the cakes…expecting that the last batch was sold out & that I would be paid cash for the new delivery! However, the owners son who manages all vendors is absent today! The owner tells me…I only know & do what I do best and that is curing the meats! My son handles all other aspects of the business! We’ll if I was ur son, I would be proud of your hard work! Now, pay me for my cakes so I can
finish my deliveries! He tries to call his son to affirm the delivery! Can’t get in touch! So we chit & we chat and I show him my cakes! He finally offers me 55.00 and then asks me to give him change! I give him one dollar change and one carrot cake to seal the deal! He then goes on to tell me that nobody cures meat the way he does and that when people come to Sorrento’s for dinner they wait for the best! We do not take calls during rush hour, we do not deliver, and we do not tolerate rushing consumers! If you want to eat well, you learn to wait at Sorrento’s. Anyway, his old school thoughts really made an impact on me, so I couldn’t help but reward him for his phenomenal work ethics! Yes, both he & the chef got a carrot cake for their trust in my product and their hard work & determination! We need to make two more deliveries now! So we head out to Key foods, that’s a quickie! And then…

Finally, the evening comes to a close at another location that purchased the delights… Panini’s & Bikinis! Wow!!! - that had to be the freshest Panini we ever had! It was worth the 20 minute wait! We journeyed down to the ocean after we ordered and then caught the entire sunset as we dove into our mouth -watering, fresh, toasted Panini’s that were phenomenally seasoned with a delicious dressing! I pay my bill w/ my days earnings and save the receipt for another write-off!

Yup, That’s what I call a successful day in the day of Darcy’s Delights!

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Check out the phenomenal pics from all the chocolate expos in the tri-state areas! I had the pleasure of participating at the Garden City Expo.  The next one will be the Westchester Chocolate Expo!



http://www.chocolateworldexpo.com/gallery.html

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Canvassing Long Beach for new markets!

Had a ball Canvassing new accounts w/ my husband in Long Beach yesterday! It was awesome...we went into 5 stores and I think I may have 3 new accounts! I need a Long Beach friend to make the deliveries on a weekly basis if I want it to work! I really cant afford to lose the time going all the way in there! I was hoping these markets would fall in love with the cakes and just make it work on their... own! Too easy, Right?
As for the leads...It cost 70.00 in gas and another 25.00 in cakes to get the accounts! One awesome butcher shop called Sorrentos on West Park Avenue bought a case 12 of the delights, to start them out... Another place called ...Paninis & Bakinis bought a 4 pound loaf to try out. Bob's Natural Foods said not til Labor Day, you know that's a NO! However, Atlantic Beach Bagel & Deli seemed interested. I really should have remembered to call all these places today but I was just so tired! To many things at once on my brain!
Anyway, we had an awesome dinner at this really cool place called...Duke Falcons on 36 West Park Avenue! The owner decorated the entire place with memorabilia that he found in an old attic trunk when his elderly Aunt & Uncle had passed. The trunk had recipes from all over the world from their past travels! It was cool and the foodies were delic! We left the owner a Carrot cake to dabble in and the waitress got 25% and a pumpkin choc chip cake; a la Darcy's Delights!
Tune in next week to see which stores are true to their word about taking in the delights to aid in the future goal of employing & facilitating young adults w/ disabilities in a bakery "work" establishment!
Building a business like mine takes constant follow-up and perseverance! And a lot of freekin energy! The business is growing in so many directions, I think I need some help. Unfortunately, the volume capacity has to be able to pay the help! Bread fans and observers of my wild & crazy venture to build a 30,000 square ft bakery to employ youth & model good work ethics can help me grow by...
.... taking the time to do simple things like stopping at my house-bakery to make purchases as well as
.... educating themselves on YELP which is my newest endeavor to help my business grow and reach its fullest potential! I bought into a package today at YELP to help my business grow. Those of you who are regular yelpers and like to check the status quo on restaurants, bakeries, etc. can help Darcy's Delights by providing me with a positive testimonial & or feedback on YELP about the products I am producing!
Finally, August 1st will be the first date of the Grant meeting! Stay tuned for more yummy delights in every bite of the business!

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

DID YOU KNOW THAT THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TREE NUTS AND PEANUTS?


Recently at A Mattituck street Fair, I met an Alexandra from Philly w/ her Aunt Christine from London, and Julia from North fork of LI...They were very smart and they shared a very important tip about tree nuts... They stated that there is a big difference btwn tree nuts and peanuts!
Peanuts are legumes that grow from the ground and walnuts and almonds are tree nuts!!! Many people are allergic to peanuts but do not have a problem with tree nuts. Therefore, she decided to buy the Carrot cake b/c it is made with fine chopped walnuts and not peanuts! I really didn't know the difference so I was happy to learn this info from a consumer! It makes a huge difference in sales and the way I will run my future bakery enterprise!!!

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Welcome to Darcy's Delights!

This delightfully fresh blog will keep you in the loop on our baking news. From new flavors, to special events and even locations where you'll find our products. We will also post about what's going on behind the scenes with our business.

Follow Darcy's Blog for the dish on delicious baked breads!