Pasqualini’s celebrates 10 years of baking in Rehoboth

“When you’re in an Italian family, that’s kind of what you do,” she said. “A lot of cooking, a lot of baking. We do it all.”

Since she was in high school, Pasqualini has spent her entire working life inside bakeries. She started working for her father as a teenager and went on to jobs with Bing’s Bakery in Newark and Big Sky Bread Company in Wilmington before opening her own bake shop in downtown Rehoboth a decade ago.

Pasqualini’s Bakery, co-owned by Pasqualini and her partner Karen Schmidt, celebrates its 10th anniversary at the beginning of June, and Pasqualini said she’s not really sure what they’re doing right that keeps people coming back after all these years.

Yet upon further reflection, Pasqualini said it’s the freshness of their product. “We’re not trying to sell something that’s old,” she said.

“Everything’s homemade. Made from scratch.”

Schmidt offers a much more flattering explanation: “Kathy’s an exceptional baker. There’s nobody who does what she can do.”

Pasqualini’s menu includes everything a bakery should - bear claws, cookies, cakes, cinnamon buns - as well as a few special treats: elephant ears (French pastry rolled in sugar with cinnamon and walnuts), chocolate lace cake (chocolate cake drizzled with chocolate and icing and covered with macadamia nuts) and, of course, their famous gourmet doggie biscuits.

After 30-plus years in the baking industry, Pasqualini still has her hands in the dough. She makes just about everything herself, with the help of a few assistants, including the bakery’s signature wedding cakes.

“I’m there every day,” she said.

To contact Pasqualini’s: pasqualinis.com or 302-227-2111