Mr. and Mrs. Cake Chef Honored for Uplifting Staten Island through Love of Dessert
By Danielle Wiseman, Staten Island Chamber of Commerce
Maria and James Carrozza make Staten Island a little bit sweeter every day.
This powerhouse husband-and-wife team owns and operates four of the borough’s most beloved bakeries: The Cake Chef, The Cake Chef’s Cookie Jar, Piece A Cake, and Cookie Jar New Dorp.
Maria and James were both born and raised in Brooklyn, where they first met. “Ironically, we met in a bakery,” recalls Maria. “He came in for an Italian ice, and I was working the counter. We kept seeing each other at different friends’ parties, and eventually we started dating.”
For James, becoming a baker was a no-brainer. His very first job, at 13 years old, was at a local bakery in Borough Park where he grew up. James’ love for pastries never wavered, and he knew early on that he would dedicate his life to sweets. “He has always been a creator of sweet things,” says Maria of her husband. “As soon as he started working with dessert, he knew that was what he wanted to do.”
Back in the 1980s, when James started to seriously pursue baking, formal education for pastry chefs didn’t exist the way it does today. The Culinary Institute of America, where he had originally considered attending, only offered a handful of dessert classes. As a result, James learned his craft by meticulously watching the pastry chefs he worked for, taking his experience with him from bakery to bakery until he felt confident enough to open his own.
In 1988, James signed the lease for his first bakery, The Cake Chef, alongside his at-the-time girlfriend, Maria, who had experience in the bakery business. He took over what was formerly Meier’s Corner Bakery on Jewett Avenue, and his beautiful cakes quickly became popular among Staten Islanders. While James worked on the creative side, Maria handled the bookkeeping, making for the perfect business partnership.
“About two years after we started dating, James bought his first business, and I accompanied him to the closing of the lease for The Cake Chef,” says Maria. “After that, I hired and trained all the new staff. I did all the paperwork, payroll, and operations so that he could be in the kitchen and create.”
Maria graduated from Kingsborough Community College with a degree in Travel and Tourism. Upon graduating, she started working full-time for a corporate travel agency in Manhattan, where she was still working when she met James. When James opened The Cake Chef, Maria continued to work nine to five at the travel agency while managing the bakery on weekends, holidays, and in her spare time.
Maria and James married in 1992 and had their first son, Salvatore, in 1995. Maria continued to work in Manhattan until the Carrozzas had their second child, Armando, in 2000. For almost two decades, The Cake Chef was the Carrozzas’ only bakery on Staten Island. That all changed when Maria decided to go back to work.
“Around 2005, I said to my husband, ‘Okay, I’ve been home for five years, it’s time to go back into the workforce,’” she says. “I asked him, ‘Should I go back to my job in the city?’ He immediately said, ‘No, it’s time to open a cookie store,’ and that’s exactly what happened.”
Cookie Jar, located on Forest Avenue, opened in 2007. This one-of-a-kind bakery exclusively sells cookies and cookie-related items. When Maria decided to permanently leave her corporate job for the sweet life, she brought all her knowledge with her. Maria created an e-commerce store for Cookie Jar, allowing for the cookies to be both purchased locally and shipped nationwide.
Shortly after the opening of Cookie Jar, Maria and James opened their third and largest location, Piece a Cake. This iconic New Dorp Lane bakery, restaurant, and coffee shop is as versatile as it is delicious, serving items ranging from sandwiches to brownies to their famous red velvet milkshake. Piece a Cake also has its own Cookie Jar attached, allowing patrons to shop at both of the bakeries.
“We try to make a really great product, price it reasonably, and believe that the rest will take care of itself,” says Maria of their success. “We never start off by saying, ‘How many pastries can we make in a day and how much money can we make?’ It’s all about the love of spreading joy through dessert.”
“If you’re going to pay $2 or $3 for that pastry, we want it to have a wow-factor,” adds Maria. “My husband will give me the product, I’ll taste it and make sure it has that factor, we’ll name it together, and then I price it, otherwise he’ll give it away for free.”
James now has a full team of bakers, which allowed him to turn to his second passion: antiques. The Carrozzas’ fifth store, Objects of Interest, is a 5,000 square foot antiques and collectibles shop in the heart of Castleton Corners. “For about five years, we’ve had an antique store on Victory Boulevard,” says Maria. “Now, we’re turning that into a dessert shop called Coffee and Collectibles, where people can come in, grab a cup of coffee, and browse unique items.”
Maria and James’ sons are also involved in the family business. Salvatore manages The Cake Chef and the incoming Coffee and Collectibles, while Armando is a Sales Associate at Piece a Cake.
For their accomplishments, Maria and James Carrozza are being honored with a Louis R. Miller Business Leadership Award, which they will receive in the Master Businessperson category. The awards, which are presented by the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce and the Staten Island Advance, honor the memory of Louis R. Miller, a businessman and West Brighton resident who was also a community leader.
The Carrozzas are involved in various community organizations throughout Staten Island. Maria is the Vice Chairwoman and one of the founders of the New Dorp Lane Business Improvement District (BID), an area where local stakeholders oversee and fund the maintenance, improvement, and promotion of their commercial district.
“I’m very involved in the other businesses on New Dorp Lane,” says Maria. “I frequent the businesses as a customer, and I know most of the owners by first name. We also run an annual restaurant event, where once a year we shut down the lane and ask local restaurants to contribute food for the day.”
Maria is also on the Board of the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce, and The Cake Chef is approaching its 25th anniversary with the Chamber. For the past three years, Maria has been a mentor for the Chamber’s Young Entrepreneur’s Academy, a program that transforms high school students into young entrepreneurs. In addition to being involved with the Chamber, Maria is currently a member and formerly a President and Board Member of the Richmond Evergreen Garden Club.
“Whereas I give the community more of my time, my husband serves the community in cake,” laughs Maria. “James is big on supporting every fundraiser that he hears about, and he’s constantly donating baked goods; I couldn’t even quantify it. He doesn’t want to be thanked or reimbursed, he just does it because it feels good and it’s the right thing to do.”
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Current occupations: Owners and operators of The Cake Chef, Cake Chef’s Cookie Jar, Piece a Cake, and Cookie Jar New Dorp.
Hometown: Brooklyn, but currently Lighthouse Hill.
Past occupations: James has always been a baker, but I used to be a senior travel consultant for corporate travel based in Manhattan.
Community involvement: Vice Chairwoman of the New Dorp Lane Business Improvement District, member of the Board of Directors at the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce, mentor for the Chamber’s Young Entrepreneur’s Academy, and current member and former President of the Richmond Evergreen Garden Club.
Some of our life goals: We hope to eventually make Cookie Jar a franchise.
The best part of my job: The best part of James’ job is hearing how people enjoy his cake creations. The best part of my job is talking to customers about their favorite dessert.
The most difficult part of my job: The paperwork!
My life philosophy: James’ life philosophy is “tomorrow is an opportunity to do better,” and mine is “treat others the way you want to be treated.”
I am most proud of: James is most proud of his sons. I’m most proud of my faith and my family.
Something that no one knows about me: While also an avid baker, James used to be an aspiring magician. Most people don’t know that I am great at reading maps; I used to be my father’s co-pilot and navigate entire trips by reading the map.
Personal interests and hobbies: James’ passions are food and antiques. He loves trying new restaurants and going antiquing. I love to travel, am a movie buff, and I’m great at all kinds of cards and games.
I admire: James admires people who can sing well. I admire my parents who came to this country with a dollar and a dream.