Paola Velez Author Talk • Bodega Bakes: Recipes for Sweets and Treats Inspired by My Corner Store

Paola Velez is an award-winning chef, entrepreneur, community activist and soon to be author—her debut cookbook is set to publish in the fall of 2024. Growing up between the Bronx and the Dominican Republic, Velez is known for combining the flavors of her childhood and heritage and reinterpreting them through her years as a professionally trained pastry chef. Her ingenious creation of pecan-plantain sticky buns catapulted her to the pages of Food & Wine—where she was also named a "Best New Chef"—and brought her national recognition in the form of a Rising Star Chef nomination by the James Beard Foundation and “Pastry Chef of the Year'' from Esquire.

Velez created the viral, grassroots and (unofficially) largest bake sale in the world with Bakers Against Racism, a lighthouse organization raising millions of dollars for crucial social justice causes. A graduate of Le Cordon Bleu, Velez started her culinary career under famed chocolatier Jacques Torres. She then moved to Washington, D.C. to work with Christina Tosi when Milk Bar first entered the market and has since cooked in some of the city’s most acclaimed kitchens. With her infectious positivity, quirky social media videos and keen eye on the micro-trends of the moment, Velez is a sought-after chef with appearances on the HBO Max shows “Selena + Chef” and “What Am I Eating” with Zooey Deschanel. She lives in the D.C.-area with her husband.

Amy Guittard, Chief Marketing Officer at Guittard Chocolate Company, is the great-great-granddaughter of Guittard's founder. As the fifth-generation of the family business her great-great-grandfather started in 1868, Amy has an innate passion for cocoa and chocolate. In addition to leading Guittard's marketing department and spearheading the development of the brand, Amy’s involvement at Guittard also includes sourcing and sustainability, serving on several committees for the World Cocoa Foundation, and traveling to origin to meet with farmers, buyers, and traders. She continues Guittard’s long-standing tradition of collaborating on the ground with those closest to the source. 

Bodega Bakes — Growing up in the Bronx, Paola Velez’s happy place was the bodega, a unique world fullwas born and raised in San Francisco, and studied English Literature and Anthropology at Barnard College in New York City. She spent the early part of her marketing career working at Clif Bar & Company in online marketing and brand management. She received an MBA in Design Strategy from California College of the Arts in 2012 and transitioned to Guittard Chocolate Company to lead their marketing department soon thereafter. She is the fifth generation of the family business her great-great-grandfather started in 1868.of color and flavor where the shelves were stocked with everything from M&M’s to Muenster cheese to majarete (Caribbean corn pudding)—and, of course, its own cat (IYKYK). Before she was the James Beard–nominated chef, Cherry Bombe cover girl, social media darling, and cofounder of the grassroots social action network, Bakers Against Racism, Paola was a bodega kid with a taste for Warheads, Hostess cupcakes, ice pops, and Malta soda.  

Paola’s debut cookbook, inspired by these treasures and other ingredients available at corner stores everywhere, is a love letter to both her Dominican heritage and her New York City roots; its more than 100 recipes burst with distinctive flavors, inviting you to enjoy new takes on her childhood favorites and yours. Paola’s combination of classical training and self-taught pastry skills means her recipes are accessible no matter your skill level. She’ll be your hype girl through more ambitious projects (you can make a turnover—and a Guava and Cheese one at that), as well as more “set it and forget it” treats, like her Maria Cookie Icebox Cake.

Whatever you do, don’t sleep on her signature Thick’ems—giant cookies that are somehow crunchy and gooey—the most requested recipe in Paola’s repertoire and the recipe that made her internet famous, which she shares here for the very first time here. With renditions of traditional Caribbean desserts like Pineapple Empanadillas and Golden Rum Cake alongside twists on classic American treats like sticky buns and brownies, Paola’s unique recipes and infectious positive spirit will help you recreate the magic of the bodega at home—BYO cat.