This year has created many challenges in the hospitality world and beyond. But with these challenges come new opportunities. Similarly, Phresh Baked Goods owner Chelsea Berman started her home baking career in April 2020 as a product of her furlough. Before this, she worked as a full-time pastry chef at a local catering company.
Berman moved from Seattle to Denver about eight years ago and attended Johnson and Wales University, earning an associate degree in baking and pastry and a bachelor’s degree in food management.
While baking has always been her passion, owning her own company came from simply having the extra time and the enjoyment from making products for friends and family. The selection of baked goods includes specialty cakes, sugar cookies and cupcakes. While there are build-your-own cake options, the signature flavors offer a Death By Chocolate, classic birthday cake, strawberries and cream, caramel mocha, carrot cake, s’mores and lemon raspberry.
For the shop’s monster cookies —weighing about half a pound—the flavors include classic chocolate chip, Funfetti chip, snickerdoodle, toffee butterscotch, soft ginger molasses and chocolate espresso chip. Berman’s love for unique sweet treats shows in her trendy dessert options like cake pops, cakesicles, chocolate-dipped strawberries and whoopie pies.
While cake pops are a well-known treat thanks to Starbucks, cakesicles and chocolate dipped strawberries have become the sweet trend. The chocolate-dipped strawberries come dipped in fine milk, dark and white chocolate decorated with sprinkles and candy toppings. Cakesicles are similar to cake pops with the same cake sponge and frosting mixture just in a popsicle bar form. The traditional Whoopie pies or cake sandwiches are studded with chocolate chips and stuffed with a fluffy Swiss marshmallow buttercream.
After running Phresh Baked Goods out of her home for the first few months, Berman became fully licensed and operational out of a local commissary kitchen space. The name fresh with a ‘ph’ is a play on the spelling of her favorite rock band Phish.
“We actually get a lot of business from Phish and Grateful Dead fans who think it’s a cool nod to them,” Berman said.
The shop only offers pick-up or delivery and ordering through the website. Similar to the new normal for most at-home businesses that came out of 2020.
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“It was the perfect time to start Phresh Baked Goods. I had it as a part-time gig but during COVID this was the perfect time to go all in. People were super receptive to trying something local and new. Since everything was closed and no one wanted to leave their homes unless necessary, they were super excited about the delivery option,” Berman said.
For November, the menu also offers a Thanksgiving do-it-your-self kit with sugar cookies, an edible paint palette and a miniature paint brush.
Phresh Baked Goods menu and delivery/pick-up options can be found here