Ahead of Black History Month, Women’s History Month, AAPI Month, and Pride Month, we’re sharing a short list of entrepreneurs in the F&B space who we hope to put on your radar!
See below for details regarding:
- Ashley Huston, chef and owner of brand new DreamWorld Bakes, the Black- and woman- owned business that specializes in dreamy custom cakes and boasts a community café concept
- Kiki Aranita, the acclaimed chef and founder behind Poi Dog Sauces, AAPI- and woman-owned purveyors of Hawaiian-inspired sauces
- Nima Etemadi and Lily Fischer, the co-founders of Cake Life Bake Shop, the sex-positive woman-, trans-, and immigrant-owned award-winning small-batch artisanal bakery in Philly’s Fishtown neighborhood
…………………………..
Ashley Huston – The chef and owner of new bakery DreamWorld Bakes, the Black- and woman- owned community café concept specializing in fanciful custom cakes, Huston’s baked goods — often iced with pastels and dusted with glitter — draw heavily from a wide range of cultures and culinary traditions. Due to her voracious desire to seek out new flavors and her love of international travel, DreamWorld Bakes offers treats as whimsical in flavor as they are in presentation, such as:
- Adulting – Malt milk funfetti cake, toasted milk custard, funfetti crumbles & vanilla
- Baby Spice – Cardamom cake base layered with passionfruit curd, mango chai mousse, and tonka bean Italian meringue buttercream
- Cherry Cherry – Brown butter cake with black cherry/sour cherry pie filling, dark chocolate sea salt mousse, and American sour cream chocolate frosting
ABOUT DREAMWORLD BAKES
Located at 2400 Coral Street in Philadelphia, DreamWorld Bakes is a woman and Black-owned business that specializes in dreamy custom cakes and boasts a community café concept courtesy of chef and founder, Ashley Huston. Relying on local, fresh, and intentionally sourced ingredients, her mission is to make the world a little bit better through the power of desserts. Whether for a birthday, wedding, or simply because everyone deserves a little treat, Ashley’s goal is to create the “cake of your dreams.”
www.dreamworldbakes.com | Instagram
……………………………
Kiki Aranita – After the 2020 closing of her Philadelphia-based restaurant, Poi Dog, revered for bringing the flavors of Hawai’i to the Eastern corridor, Chef Kiki Aranita breathed life back into the Poi Dog brand with a line of highly versatile, nostalgic sauces representing the multicultural flavors of her childhood spent in Hawai’i and Hong Kong.
Whether it be through her cooking, collaborations with other creators and chefs, career in food journalism, or fiber artistry, each of Aranita’s endeavors tie together themes of nostalgia (particularly surrounding the flavors she grew up with) and care for the ocean. As a chef, she specializes in Hawai’i’s fresh fish dishes and low waste cooking, and as a fiber artist, she uses primarily scrap yarn in a small effort to keep micro-plastics out of our waterways. Poi Dog Sauces is the ultimate culmination of these interests, as a sustainably sourced condiment line that celebrates the underrepresented cuisines of Chef Aranita’s own multicultural origins:
- Poi Dog Chili Peppah Water ($16/9oz | Vegan, gluten free) — Chili Peppah Water lends everything a spicy, gingery, and vinegary tang laced with Hawaiian Sea Salt. This savory, vibrant condiment is made with pure water, a variety of vinegars, and seasonally rotating chilis that kick a refreshing boost into countless culinary applications. The current batch, dubbed ‘Noelani,’ sources its peppers from Boonville Barn Collective in California.
- Poi Dog Huli Sauce ($17/12 oz | Vegan, gluten free) — Sweet pineapple, deeply savory miso, and Burlap & Barrel’s fragrant Chinese five-spice — this sauce is versatile. Use it to baste your chickens, but also give your mushrooms, your vegetables, your burgers, a deep, sweet savoriness.
- Poi Dog Guava Katsu Sauce ($16/12 oz | Vegan, gluten free) — Tropical, umami-rich, fruity and gingery. A Japanese-style bbq and dipping sauce made with guava, miso, ginger, tomato and dried mushroom. Meaty, rich and deeply flavorful — but it happens to be vegan!
ABOUT POI DOG SAUCES
At the end of 2020, chef Kiki Aranita launched a line of retail sauces rooted in Poi Dog’s Hawaii-style cuisine that is available nationwide. As seen in The New York Times, Good Morning America, Food Network, BuzzFeed, and more, Poi Dog Sauces showcase island-inspired flavors with its newest batch of Chili Peppah Water, Guava Katsu Sauce, and Huli Sauce, all available bottled for retail. Guava Katsu Sauce and Huli Sauce are additionally available in a food service format.
Poi Dog Sauces are available in specialty grocers nationwide and 50+ Mid-Atlantic Whole Foods. The sauces are also available for nationwide shipping via Amazon and the Poi Dog website.
www.poidogsauces.com | Instagram | Facebook | X
……………………..
Lily Fischer and Nima Etemadi – Co-founders of Cake Life Bake Shop describe their woman-, trans-, and immigrant-owned award-winning small-batch artisanal bakery as a labor of love — a love for feeding people, blowing their minds, celebrating good times together, and Beyoncé… whose birthday cake they have baked TWICE! While reality TV baking champion, Fischer, expertly pipes custom cakes and more, Etemadi imbues his family’s Persian roots in several of Cake Life’s seasonally rotating flavors – including vegan and gluten-free offerings.
In addition to baking decadent confections, Cake Life is committed to inclusivity, hosting body- and sex-positive events, such as a BDSM body-shaped cookie decorating social, and most recently, a conversation heart cookie collaboration with adult entertainer, Asa Akira. Some of Cake Life’s beloved baked goods include:
- Baklava Sticky Bun – Soft and sweet roll with an orange-cardamom sugar schmear, topped with a sticky pistachio-walnut caramel sauce
- Dulce de Leche Cheesecake – Classic New York cheesecake topped with decadent chocolate ganache and dulce de leche drizzle
- Alfajores – A take on the iconic Argentinian cookie! Housemade de Leche Sandwiched between two buttery vanilla shortbread cookies and rolled in coconut flakes!
- Petal Pistachio Cookies – Crisp, buttery honey shortbread, iced and decorated with dried flower petals, crushed pistachios, freeze-dried raspberry dust, and rose sugar
ABOUT CAKE LIFE BAKE SHOP
Cake Life Bake Shop is a woman-, trans-, and immigrant-owned award-winning small-batch artisanal bakery and all-day café located in Philadelphia. Founded by Nima Etemadi and Lily Fischer, Cake Life has created a name for itself as a sustainable retail café and bakery offering the very best cakes and pastries in Philadelphia, all in a welcoming and inclusive experience that customers and employees can feel good about. Cake Life Bake Shop has been featured in Buzzfeed, The Points Guy, Fortune, People, Eater, Cosmopolitan, Vogue, and more, in addition to baking Beyoncé’s birthday cake (twice!).
As if baking Beyoncé’s birthday cake wasn’t enough, Co-Founder and Head Baker Lily Fischer has won three nationally televised baking shows, including Cupcake Wars, Winner Cake All, and Cookie, Cupcake, Cake.
www.cakelifebakeshop.com | Instagram | Facebook

