Is there anything sweeter than the holidays?
Not if you ask the folks at Nina's Fresh bakery in Jupiter.
“Our goal is to make as much food as we can so people can sit and enjoy with their family,” Robin Fuentes, a manager at the bakery.
This time of year is especially busy around here.
“We've been here 15 hours a day each day now,” says owner Nina Tomasik. “It's a lot, but we love it.”
Cookies, cakes and pies - no matter where you went in the store it was a feast for the eyes.
“I'm looking forward to this log that she's made,” says customer Ramona Bean. “Chocolate and cream and ganache - it's going to be a fun treat for the family.”
A large chunk of their work, however, goes into the crown jewel of their confectionery collection – gingerbread houses made from scratch.
They're not your grandma's gingerbread houses.
“So many people are used to having the stale cookie kits, but we've made it a delicious spiced cake where it's soft on the inside,” Fuentes says.
Last year they sold 100 cakes, but this year the demand has peaked.
“Now we're up to 200 and we're still not done,” Tomasik says. “Sometimes I have to get here at 3 AM and start making them.”
The preparation is tough, but the payoff is worth it.
“When it comes down to people coming here to pick up and saying this is absolutely delicious - that's what makes it great,” Tomasik says.
We did try to pry (unsuccessfully) for the key to their success, but Bean, a loyal customer at the store, may have it figured out
“I'm a firm believer that the best ingredient in food is love, and I always feel that love here,” she says.
It certainly doesn't get any sweeter than that.