Pastry chef Nicole Giannella’s sweet rise at Bethany Blues

Six years ago, Nicole Giannella was fresh out of college when she joined the team at Bethany Blues of Lewes.

What started out as a managerial position evolved into a pastry chef position which has seen dessert sales rise and customers coming in for Giannella’s creative, comforting confections.

Giannella said, “When I stepped into doing pastry, it just stuck. I had been working in the catering end, so the transition made sense, and I was able to start doing custom orders and eventually wedding cakes. Knowing the management and catering sides of the business became a huge advantage.”

The creative encouragement that characterizes the experience of working at Bethany Blues was helpful to Giannella as she started doing desserts for both locations. And as she found her footing, the dessert side of things blossomed along with her talent. Starting out doing mainstays like the bourbon cake and brownie sundaes turned into custom cake orders around holidays and special occasions, and then rotating in creative new sweets weekly for the restaurants.

“I try something new every week,” Giannella said. “One of my favorite things to make is cheesecakes, and so recently I did a cannoli cheesecake, which was amazing!” The dessert included mascarpone, ricotta, chocolate chips, cinnamon, orange and a cannoli shell crust. This type of creative bent gives Giannella an edge in the kitchen, and it extends to every part of the business where desserts are available

Jessica Nathan, director of operations for Blues of Lewes, said, “People come in and specifically save room for dessert now, because they love Nicole’s desserts, whether it’s a seasonal strawberry rhubarb or her special kids’ desserts.” Nathan found the Rice Krispies ice cream sandwiches filled with homemade strawberry shortcake ice cream especially memorable.

This talent for flavor and innovation has naturally parlayed into the wedding dessert department. Giannella and her catering team now do desserts for about 25% of the catering clients Bethany Blues brings in, which include wedding cakes, dessert bars, cupcakes and much more. Dessert sales have risen 50% since Giannella took over the pastry chef position.

Giannella’s desserts are available at the Grab and Go carryout at Blues Express, on the dessert menu at both Blues locations and for special order as part of the full dessert offerings and custom orders. 

To learn more, go to bethanyblues.com.