Making Sweet Memories

The Dessert Ladies makes gourmet dessert experiences.

By Jim Pytell, Assistant Editor On Sep 3, 2019

Saving room for dessert has never been more important. The Dessert Ladies, based in Stirling and founded by Irish immigrant Geraldine Keogh, is bringing extravagant, gourmet dessert experiences to its corporate clients. There is a big emphasis on experiences here, as clients may find themselves spending as much time admiring the ornate handcrafted treats in their magnificent personalized dessert bar as they will actually eating them.

“We started by providing treats such as chocolate platters to our corporate clients who were looking to give them to their own clients as thank you gifts,” Keogh, who started The Dessert Ladies in 2010, says. The company has since expanded and in addition to its single serving desserts and celebration cakes, it also offers full scale catering to its corporate and private clients.

Keogh says that the spirit of the company is in personalization and customization.

“We will come into your office and set up a huge dessert bar in any theme imaginable. We bring everything from the ideas, food and decorations, to props and giveaways. One call to us and we take care of all the details. Then when you’re done, we clean it all up and disappear until the next event,” Keogh says, adding that the company also offers gluten free and vegan options, so everyone can enjoy the celebration.

Of course, it’s one thing to make food look nice, but Keogh says that at the end of the day, it’s all about how it tastes. The company comes up with its own recipes and is constantly on the hunt for new, unique inspirations.

The Dessert Ladies currently has nine employees, though Keogh says that number will increase soon, as she has plans to start a spin off company selling The Dessert Ladies signature edible chocolate centerpieces.

“We are launching Biens Chocolate Centerpieces as a new company this holiday season on a B2B level to start,” Keogh says. “The plan is that over the next five years, we can become something akin to the new ‘Edible Arrangements’ in the gifting market.”

Keogh says she particularly cherishes the once-in-a-lifetime experiences that have come about from starting her own business.

One such example is in 2014, when the NFL selected The Dessert Ladies as a partner and the official dessert company for Super Bowl XLVIII at the Meadowlands.

“It was a fantastic experience and really pushed us to our boundaries as a small company. We shared some of the work with other small bakeries that had a specialty, so a lot of companies got lifted by the experience,” Keogh says.

“We get to be a part of people’s fun celebrations – their happy times – and it is great being a part of that,” she adds.

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