About Us
About Leslie
From the time Leslie was tall enough to reach the sugar in the cabinet of her mom’s kitchen, she has been baking. Whenever she had free time Leslie would beg her mom to let her bake cookies and brownies for the rest of her family. At some point it occurred to Leslie that she could turn her hobby into a career.
After graduating from Kendall College with a baking and pastry degree, Leslie helped manage the kitchen at a small specialty food store. She then took a position with an elite Chicago club as Pastry Assistant and quickly earned the job of Head Pastry Chef. In her four years with the club Leslie has experienced it all... from pies, tarts and individual desserts to wedding cakes and cakes in the shape of cars or speed boats!
Currently, Leslie is the Pastry Chef at Table 52, Art Smith’s new restaurant in Chicago. You also can find Leslie teaching cooking classes at Bespoke Cuisine in Chicago.
Leslie is extremely excited to start Baking for the Taking. She hopes to bring the love of baking that she felt when she was a child to your table.
About Marisa
Marisa’s route to Baking for the Taking runs straight through family. She learned early on from her quite large family the joy that home baked goods bring. Holidays mean family baking traditions – pecan rolls and hot cross buns at Easter, pies and dinner rolls for Thanksgiving, and cookies and fudge every Christmas.
Although Marisa has worked in law for several years (another family tradition), she and her cousins have also kept baking traditions alive by preparing over 30 Christmas coffee cakes for relatives, following their great-great grandmother’s recipe. Recently Marisa decided it was time to combine her passions for baking and family full-time by becoming her own boss and co-owning a baking establishment.
Marisa could not be more proud to be Leslie’s partner, following a shared passion for baking.