Hand-Crafted Deliciousness

Last week, for Valentine's Day, Nancy and Marianne featured delicious baked goods (made from chocolate of course!) in their weekly column, Sweet Basil and the Bee. Because of this, I had the opportunity to visit Mim's Bakery in Chico, California. Here, Melissa Peters crafts a variety of delicious bakery items, many of which feature or include chocolate! I had never been behind the scenes of a bakery, except for what I've seen on the Food Network's Ace of Cakes. It was sort of like a scene out of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, without all the singing of course.

Since it was a regular work day, Melissa was busy finishing cakes and setting out small treats and truffles for customers that frequent her store front. There were buckets and bowls of various frostings, sheet pans and spatulas, and several delectable finished products! While Nancy chatted with her about Valentine's Day and the daily operations of a local bakery, I snapped away at her current project, frosting heart-shaped molds with a dark chocolate ganache that would later become individual cakes!



And here's the photo that was featured last Wednesday on the cover of the Style section of the Chico Enterprise-Record.



So if you're in the area, check out Mim's Bakery! They use only the finest natural ingredients and I can tell you there must be a bit of magic in there too because Melissa's baked concoctions are fantastic!

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Eric
Eric Lovelin Photography