Little Spoon on the move
Melissa Hanna and Laurel Tincher think they’ve found their sweet spot. The two college-age entrepreneurs recently launched the Little Spoon dessert truck (Twitter: @weliketospoon).
With more experience in publicity and event promotion than at a professional oven, the pair will leave the baking to others. Little Spoon has contracted with caterers to produce a rotating menu of brownies, cookies, bars, layer cakes, eclairs, tiramisu, creme brulee, (maybe) cupcakes and novelty items such as pumpkin brittle, macaroons and cookie bark (layers of toffee and chocolate drizzled on cookies).
“We’re not trying to be a cupcake truck,” Hanna says. “That’s already out there.”
Little Spoon will start to roll out regularly, splitting its time between private catered events and public locations.
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‘Top Chef’ shows go trolling for talent
Swarms of starry-eyed chefs showed up Sunday at Tom Colicchio’s Craft in Century City to take a stab at becoming the next Top Chef. The Magical Elves production company set up a double-whammy cattle call, where pastry chefs auditioned for the first season of “Just Desserts” and the rest auditioned for Season 7 of “Top Chef.”
Casting producer Donna Lee says there have been some big names that have come out in other cities, but her lips are sealed about who. Eater LA reported that chefs from Ivan Kane’s Cafe Was and the Dakota were in attendance.
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CPK drops calories from its menus
Diners at California Pizza Kitchen recently found new offerings on the menu such as white chocolate strawberry cheesecake and Moroccan-spiced chicken breast salad. But gone from the menu are calorie counts that the restaurant has listed for each item since July 1.
The Los Angeles-based pizza and pasta chain dropped that data in part because customers just didn’t like it much. “Why make the customer feel guilty?” said Larry Flax, CPK co-chief executive.
When people sit down at a California Pizza Kitchen, they are handed the data-free menu and a menu-like folder that contains detailed nutritional information.
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Elina Shatkin, Krista Simmons and Jerry Hirsch
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