[Interview] Sweets from the Earth with Ilana Kadonoff

So I decided to do something a bit different on my blog today. If you are a regular reader or cafe-goer, you may be familiar with Sweets from the Earth. A majority of the cafes I have featured on the blog actually sells many gluten-free and vegan snacks from SFTE. I thought it would be nice to do a quick interview with the founder of this delicious company (I will have a mini product review up later once I figure out the post set-up!). Hopefully you enjoy this interview and will pick up something from SFTE next time!

You can check out their site here: www.sweetsfromtheearth.com

1. Please introduce yourself and your role in Sweets from the Earth!

My name is Ilana Kadonoff and I am the founder and president of SFTE.

2. What inspired the creation of SFTE?

I was a long time vegetarian/pastry chef with a sweet tooth, and a budding vegan with no sweet options! I started playing around in the kitchen with traditional pastry recipes using alternative ingredients, and when I came up with a few good products, I approached some stores and cafes to get some feedback, and people loved them! I never actually set out to start a business – turned out that vegans were ready for great tasting vegan desserts instead of the “healthy-tasting” ones that were available at the time, so this little hobby quickly evolved into a business.

3. What is the future of SFTE? Any plans for expansion?

The future of SFTE is to keep growing and coming up with new products. We’re working on some exciting new things out of both our gluten free and nut free facilities.

4. Out of all the treats that are currently being sold, which is your personal favourite?

I have two favourites and they are both from our original product line. Chocolate cake with a tall, cold glass of almond milk, and chocolate chewy nut bars, right out of the freezer. I also have a soft spot for the cashew cookies and our chocolate mint cupcakes.

5. Will we be expecting anything new from SFTE soon?

I have a list a mile long of products to develop. The key is finding the time! But as I mentioned above, we are working on some new things, and hopefully some of them will be making an appearance in the new year.

6. Since this is a cafe blog, which is your favourite Toronto cafe? It doesn't have to be one that you are working with!

I base my café opinions on how good their lattes are and whether they offer vegan treats! There are a few I love:

1. Hotel Gelato has great vegan lattes, large assortment of vegan pastries (from us as well as other companies), and delicious vegan gelato!

2. Aroma

3. Café Con Leche

4. Cocoa Latte