Today we’d like to introduce you to Allison Hartley
Hi Allison, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Food is life! And my life has been shaped, figuratively and literally, by food. Today I run Sweet & Savory Girl but my beginnings were basic and familial. Family gatherings showcased my Aunt Helen’s talents, the oven roasting and stovetop burners busy at work. The kitchen was frenetic, but I was at ease and in perfect peace. Oh, and the smells, if I close my eyes, I can still smell chicken roasting and chocolate ricotta cake baking. While most kids were out playing soccer or at dance class, as a latch key kid, I spent my time pouring through recipes and experimenting in my mom’s kitchen. Cooking became a refuge.
While in college I took a practical road and studied business, far removed from the kitchen, utensils, and mixers. Life does indeed throw curve balls and while in my 20s an opportunity arose that put me in a perfect position to attend culinary school. I was in heaven and my husband and growing family ate the benefits! I have been fortunate to have worked with extraordinary, talented, and passionate chefs. I was lucky to be apart of the opening team for an award winning bistro in Baltimore, MD, have produced high end breakfast pastry for top tier Washington DC hotels, worked on several dozen rice pudding varieties in NYC’s Little Italy, was a Farmer’s Market fan favorite of baked goods in Charlotte NC, and cranked out large scale catering production in my current hometown of Houston. Most recently you could find me in the pastry kitchen at Nobie’s, a Montrose staple. Oh, BTW, I have also perfected the chocolate chip cookie! Thanks to the ideal combination of chocolate & flakey sea salt (& a decade of experimenting), these cookies have made Sweet & Savory Girl well known within the 610 Loop. Through the years I have established a following. I offer specialty desserts, plan intimate dinner parties & showers, teach cooking classes, & create unique corporate breakfast and lunches. And the cookies, I sell lots and lots of cookies. Trust me. 😊
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
My biggest challenge along the way would probably be recreating a following in each city that I have lived! In recent years, social media has certainly helped with this but truthfully, I struggle to keep up with this ever-changing platform while also managing my kitchen. It’s always a work in progress!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Sweet and Savory Girl offers clients specialty cakes & desserts, creates unique menus for private & corporate events, leads cooking classes for children & adults, designs gifts bags & boxes for both professional and personal needs.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
My biggest lesson learned along the way would be great communication. Say what you mean & mean what you say! Fulfill promises and don’t take on more than you can handle to ensure that the quality of your product is consistently great. The best part of my job is getting to know my clients on a real level. It’s a privilege to be a small part of someone’s memories!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sweetsavorygirl.com
- Instagram: @sweetsavorygirl
- Facebook: @sweetsavorygirl
