About 'georgetown gifts'|20th annual Taste of Georgetown Returns June 1st
Georgetown Cupcake was founded by sisters Katherine Kallinis Berman and Sophie Kallinis LaMontagne. Inspired by their grandmother, Katherine and Sophie traded careers in fashion and venture capital to follow their passion for baking. They opened Georgetown Cupcake in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC on Valentine's Day 2008. Since then, Georgetown Cupcake has exploded in popularity and Katherine, Sophie, and their staff bakes over 20,000 cupcakes each day. Katherine and Sophie have expanded Georgetown Cupcake with additional locations in Bethesda, MD, New York City, Boston, and Los Angeles. Georgetown Cupcake ships its cupcakes nationwide and offers over 100 flavors of cupcakes from Red Velvet to Toffee Crunch to Salted Caramel to Peanut Butter Fudge. Katherine and Sophie are also stars of the hit series DC Cupcakes on TLC, and best-selling authors of The Cupcake Diaries and Sweet Celebrations (both published by HarperCollins). Sophie and Katherine and their cupcakes have been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Washington Post, Better Homes and Gardens, Food & Wine, TV Guide, the NBC Today Show, The Martha Stewart Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Live! With Kelly, ABC Nightline, Access Hollywood, Extra, Entertainment Tonight, People, InStyle, Town & Country, US Weekly, Redbook, Real Simple, and Cosmopolitan, among others. Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with Sophie and Katherine about Georgetown Cupcakes and here is what they had to say... (Q:) Did you wake up one morning and say "I am going to start a bakery!" What is the main source of inspiration behind Georgetown Cupcakes? Did you ever think Georgetown Cupcakes would ever get this huge? Our grandmother immigrated from Greece and baking from scratch was a huge part of her life. Our grandmother was a tremendous influence on us growing up and we spent a great deal of time with her baking in the kitchen. Ever since we were little girls we always said "One day we are going to open a bakery together". We talked about it and talked about it, but were too scared to take the leap. We went to college and went our separate career paths until the spring of 2007 when we just said to ourselves "If we don't do this now, we are never going to do it. What are we waiting for?" We didn't want to spend the rest of our lives wondering "What if?" so we just did it and took the plunge. We quit our jobs and found the spot in Georgetown for our first location. It was really beat up and run-down and we couldn't get a bank loan to start our business. So, we maxed out our personal credit cards and we fixed it up ourselves. We used our grandmother's recipes and baked our cupcakes from scratch using the very best ingredients out there. We opened Georgetown Cupcake on Valentine's Day 2008 and there was a line down the street on opening day, and the day after that, and ever since. We were totally shocked! The past 5 years have been a whirlwind for us - it's been an amazing experience and we are so thrilled that people are crazy about our cupcakes! (Q:) That is an amazing story. Very inspiring to many. I see that you are located in DC (Georgetown), Maryland (Bethesda), New York (Soho), California (Los Angeles), and Massachusetts (Boston). Recently, you had the grand opening at the DC Cupcakes Cafe in New York City. Tell me a little more about it... Our television show, DC Cupcakes, is on TLC, part of the Discovery Channel family of networks, and we opened the first ever DC Cupcakes Café at Discovery's "experience-based museum" in Times Square. The museum features different exhibits, complementing their television programming. The DC Cupcakes Café is a mini-Georgetown Cupcake shop in the heart of Times Square where customers can watch episodes of DC Cupcakes while eating their cupcakes at the Café! (Q:) That is very convenient. I have to admit, I think cities like Chicago, Miami, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Detroit, St. Louis, and more could really use Georgetown Cupcakes. I could even see you expanding internationally in cities like Milan, Athens, Paris, Tokyo, etc. too. Do you have any plans of expanding the franchise? Yes, we would love to expand Georgetown Cupcake to other cities across the world. We want to keep Georgetown Cupcake special, and even with our current locations all over the country, both of us are very personally involved in every aspect of the business so that our customers are sure to receive the best-tasting cupcakes and have the best experience - in our retail shops and ordering online on our website. It's very important to us that our customer experience remains amazing, especially as we grow to more and more locations. (Q:) That is wonderful. I have to ask...with amazing flavors such as Honey Banana, Key Lime, Lemon Blossom, Chocolate Mint, Salted Caramel, Red Velvet, Chocolate Hazelnut, Carrot, Lemon Berry, Coconut, and more...what are the most popular cupcake flavors? The most popular flavors are Red Velvet, Lava Fudge, Salted Caramel, and Peanut Butter Fudge. We rotate our menu so that every day and every month there are new flavors to try! (Q:) YUM! I love the fact that you offer various chocolate cupcakes with different kinds of chocolate. Tell me the difference between chocolate 2 and chocolate 3... As bakery owners, we realize that customers have different tastes and some people love more frosting, and some people love less frosting on their cupcakes. Our Chocolate Squared cupcake has a signature swirl of whipped Callebaut chocolate ganache frosting for chocolate frosting lovers whereas our Chocolate Cubed cupcake is a cupcake dipped in a thin layer of Callebaut chocolate ganache, topped with chocolate sprinkles, for people who like just a little frosting on their cupcakes. We have different cupcake flavor combinations that appeal to everyone's tastes. (Q:) That is wonderful to know. I noticed that the seasonal flavors are incredibly amazing, as well. I absolutely love the Banana Split, Peaches & Cream, Pumpkin Spice, and White Chocolate Peppermint. Do you have any plans to expand these flavors or add any of them to the regular specials? Definitely! We often test out our seasonal flavors for a month first, before they make it to a regular flavor on our menu. We first offered our Salted Caramel cupcake only as a seasonal cupcake in January 2010, and we received so many letters and emails from fans begging us to keep it on the menu that it is now offered twice a week, year round, at Georgetown Cupcake! We also test out new flavors as our "Secret Flavor" that we give out for free at each of our bakeries each day. We announce the name of our secret flavor on our Georgetown Cupcake Facebook page ( http://www.facebook.com/georgetowncupcake ) and via our Twitter (@GTownCupcake) and we give 100 cupcakes of the secret flavor out for free at each location, every single day! We then listen to our customers' feedback online to see if we should add those flavors to the menu. It's fun to get our customers involved in this way! They enjoy it too! (Q:) Wow, really? That is fantastic. How do you feel about creating flavors like "Stimulating Spumoni Cupcake" (a pistachio almond cupcake with a cherry buttercream) or "Mouthwatering Mocha Banana Nutella Cupcake" (a chocolate mocha hazelnut cupcake with banana cream frosting) or "Temptingly Tasty Tiramisu Cupcake" (an amaretto coffee cupcake with a sweet mascarpone cheese filling and mascarpone cocoa cream frosting)? Those sound very interesting! We are constantly coming up with new cupcake flavors. We experiment with new flavors in our "Lab", which is around the corner from our Georgetown shop. You can also see us come up with new cupcake flavors on episodes of DC Cupcakes on TLC! We also share many of our cupcake recipes in our two cookbooks The Cupcake Diaries ( http://www.amazon.com/The-Cupcake-Diaries-Memories-Georgetown/dp/0062090607/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359408556&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Cupcake+Diaries ) and Sweet Celebrations ( http://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Celebrations-Favorite-Memories-Decorating/dp/006221036X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1359408580&sr=1-1&keywords=Sweet+Celebrations ) . (Q:) I love your books! They are very informative and truly epitomize cupcake creativity. I have to admit, I love your concept for the New Year's Eve cupcake. The strawberry champagne cake with the amazing decor is very creative. I noticed that you do a lot for different holidays. Out of the many cupcakes you do, what theme is the most popular? Valentine's Day is the single busiest holiday for us each year! Sending cupcakes to your sweetheart on Valentine's Day is such a sweet way to celebrate this holiday. Valentine's Day is the single busiest delivery and shipping day for us each year. We ship our cupcakes via overnight FedEx all across the United States (to the lower 48 states) and they arrive on your doorstep in our signature pink box. Customers can pick out their own flavors to create customized assortments and include their own personal gift message on our website at http://www.georgetowncupcake.com . It's a wonderful gift for Valentine's Day! (Q:) Everyone loves cupcakes! The vegan option is amazing and I have to tell you, I am very happy that you offer it. For those readers that are unaware of what ingredients are not in a vegan cupcake, what do your vegan cupcakes exclude? Our vegan cupcakes are completely dairy-free - so they exclude butter, eggs, milk, and all other dairy products. We worked hard on our recipes so that we could still make them taste amazing! We also offer gluten-free cupcakes on our menu every day, as well as vegan cupcakes. (Q:) That is wonderful to know. I have to tell you, I absolutely loved the Cupcake Diaries. Tell me a little more about your latest book, Sweet Celebrations... We are so excited about our latest book, Sweet Celebrations. In it, we include all kinds of cupcake recipes and decorating ideas for every special occasion in life - from birthdays to cocktail parties to weddings to pool parties to picnics. Our book includes step-by-step cupcake decorating instructions with photos and recipes and tips for entertaining! It also has fun behind-the-scenes information and recipes from episodes of DC Cupcakes. (Q:) That is fantastic. I think I am going to purchase it. I have always wondered...baking a cupcake is one thing, but mastering the skills to make the perfect cupcake is another. Tell me, what defines the "perfect cupcake"? The perfect cupcake, in our opinion, is one baked with a very careful technique, with the very best ingredients, and baked for the exact right amount of time - down to the second. We've got it down to a science! (Q:) I have to ask, what is the biggest cupcake "don't" when preparing a cupcake? One of the most common mistakes is over-baking cupcakes. Nobody likes biting into a dry cupcake! (Q:) I am sure this question has been asked a lot, but I want to ask...how do you store your cupcakes? We store our cupcakes at room temperature for the day, and if we are keeping them longer than one day, we freeze them. Never refrigerate your cupcakes, as that will dry them out. Freezing them actually retains their moisture so you should always freeze your cupcakes if you plan on keeping them longer than one day. In our bakery, we always bake our cupcakes fresh each day, throughout the day, and then donate any leftovers. It's one thing that differentiates Georgetown Cupcake from other bakeries - we always, always, always, bake our cupcakes fresh each day. (Q:) You do a lot for the community and I truly respect you. Everything from Hope for Henry to Operation Cupcake to the Revlon Walk to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure to Heroes against Childhood Cancer. Tell me a little more about how you contribute to these charities... One of the best parts of owning Georgetown Cupcake is the ability for us to give back and make an impact in our communities. Since opening Georgetown Cupcake 5 years ago, we have supported numerous local and national charitable organizations and foundations, in particular charities that focus on women's and children's issues. Since 2008, Georgetown Cupcake has donated hundreds of thousands of cupcakes to charitable causes. One of the children's charities with whom we work is the Hope for Henry Foundation. In this partnership, Georgetown Cupcake works with hospitals to provide cupcake birthday parties for children celebrating their birthdays while in the inpatient pediatric oncology wards. Georgetown Cupcake is also proud to support members of the United States military and their families. Since 2010, through our "Operation Cupcake," Georgetown Cupcake has partnered with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to send cupcakes to our troops serving overseas during the holiday season. For each of the past three years, Georgetown Cupcake has sent 10,000 cupcakes each year to troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Georgetown Cupcake is also proud to support the Entertainment Industry Foundation's Revlon Run/Walk for Women's Cancers in New York and Los Angeles. 100% of our sales of our Red Velvet EIF Revlon Run/Walk for Women Cupcake are donated to support women's cancer research. In addition, Georgetown Cupcake has raised over $150,000 over the last three years for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure organization through sales of our "pink ribbon" cupcakes. Giving back to our communities and to charitable causes is a major focus for us and Georgetown Cupcake. It's amazing how something as small as a cupcake can make such a large impact. (Q:) That is just amazing. To give back to the community using such wonderful things like cupcakes. It raises money and it raises awareness. I have to ask...with just the click of your mouse (or the tap on your phone) you can actually order cupcakes and have them shipped to your house. I love that concept! Tell me a little more about your delivery service... When we started Georgetown Cupcake, we did not ship our cupcakes. However, we got SO many requests to ship our cupcakes, that we worked on perfecting the packaging and process to make sure that our customers were able to receive Georgetown Cupcake cupcakes, at their doorsteps, anywhere in the country, in perfect condition. And we did it!! We started shipping our cupcakes in 2009 and it has been a phenomenal success. Part of the reason people love shipping our cupcakes is that the ordering process itself is fun - they can build their own custom orders on our website or call us and choose their own flavors to go in the box, and within a few clicks, you can have cupcakes arrive at your door the very next day. It is especially popular for gifts as well. Sending cupcakes to somebody, in their favorite flavors - instead of flowers - is definitely sweeter and more personal as well! We have a lot of parents sending cupcakes to their kids in college, to their sweethearts for Valentine's Day, as thank you gifts, and congratulatory gifts, and sometimes "just because". We also worked hard to get our shipping price to something that was affordable to customers. Often times, it costs a small fortune to ship food products from other companies. However, we worked hard to get our overnight shipping price to only $20, to have a box of cupcakes sent anywhere in the lower United States. In addition to ordering cupcakes on our own website, customers can also order our cupcakes on QVC, Saks Fifth Avenue, Sur La Table, and TLCStore.com. (Q:) Nice! I love the fact that you offer customization. Tell me a little more about this special service... There is something intrinsically personal about cupcakes. They are single servings and decorated in a way that makes people smile. We love customizing cupcakes with fondant decorations for our customers and we offer this complimentary to our customers - there is no extra charge. So, we do everything from fondant wedding monograms to baby rubber ducks to hearts to flowers to delicate snowflakes to special messages spelled out on cupcakes for our customers. Customers love making cupcakes their own by personalizing the decorations. We love this creative part of our business. We've done a lot of marriage proposal messages on cupcakes - those are one of our favorites! (Q:) When it comes to placing a catering order, what is required? What do you require? All you need to do is call or email one of our locations and we have a team of Catering Managers at each location who can help talk you through the various flavor and decoration options for your order. It's very easy and we have a wonderfully talented staff who love working with our customers to make sure the cupcakes for their special event are perfect. We love that our cupcakes are a part of our customers' special events in life - from their birthdays to engagements to weddings to baby showers. We love creating memories with our customers! (Q:) That is amazing! Now I just have one question...where do you go from here? What are your future goals with Georgetown Cupcakes? We are excited to grow Georgetown Cupcake in the years to come! We have new episodes of our television show, DC Cupcakes, on the way, we are working on our third cookbook now, and stay tuned for new locations of Georgetown Cupcake coming soon! (Q:) I, as well as, many others are looking forward to that. For everyone who is reading this interview, what would you like those people to know about Georgetown Cupcakes? Everyone who works at Georgetown Cupcake, in addition to the two of us, is absolutely passionate about cupcakes and loves working with our customers. It's such a fun place to work and to visit and we want to keep that magical feeling to Georgetown Cupcake as we grow to future locations! |
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