Whimsy & Spice is a real Mom-and-Pop business, Brooklyn-style. Since 2008, Jenna Park and Mark Sopchak, a husband and wife team, have combined their 14 years of experience in graphic design (Jenna) and culinary arts (Mark) to create this well-loved brand of handmade sweets. First known for their marshmallows with inventive flavors like caramel, cardamom, rose vanilla, and maple, Whimsy & Spice has added shortbread, biscotti, brownies, sandwich cookies, thumbprints, and more to their stable of goodies.
Available on Etsy and at the Brooklyn Flea, and sold in many neighborhood shops in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and beyond, Whimsy & Spice’s baked bundles are more than just sweet. Each treat variety is carefully chosen, and flavors meticulously combined, thanks to Mark’s keen sense of spice. Mark vividly remembers the savory spiciness wafting from street food vendors during his time living in Yemen as a child. Later in life, he fell under the spell of Thai and Indian cuisine, and when he became a pastry chef he incorporated many of these spicy, savory ideas into his desserts – resulting in unique and sometimes unexpected combinations.
Jenna contributes a finely honed talent for color and design, handling the package design, website, product photography, and marketing for Whimsy & Spice. She maintains an active blog full of gorgeous photos of her life in Brooklyn. As the account’s bio explains, “I don’t always tweet about cookies.”
“I love the idea behind With Love, From Brooklyn. It makes a lot of sense,” says Jenna. “In the past few years, small businesses and food purveyors have just exploded across the borough. It’s wonderful to have one website not only to see the volume of products made here in Brooklyn, but to see the variety and depth as well.”
Whimsy & Spice Makes:
Honey Lavender Shortbread | Buy Now in the Tea It Up Gift Set