Patti Curfman, Owner and Pastry Chef, Patti Cakes, Stayton, Oregon
Pastry Chef Patti Curfman launched Patti Cakes, Inc. in 2000 due to the overwhelming demand from friends and family for wedding cakes, cupcakes and other baked treats. Baking sweets was a welcomed change for her after being in the hospitality and catering industries for so long. An Oregon native, Patti completed her culinary apprenticeship at the American Culinary Federation in Portland. She then moved to California to become the youngest and first female chef at Pacific Palisades Rivera Country Club.
After three years, Patti decided that in order to truly capture and recreate the various cuisines and flavors from around the world, she needed to experience them in their native surroundings. She spent a year traveling around the world learning about food and culture in Japan, China, Israel, Kenya and throughout Europe, sampling authentic dishes at each destination. She made juice by hand in Kenya, built a life-size gingerbread house in Hong Kong and learned the intricacies of Indonesian foods, now one of her specialties today. It was during her time in Sri Lanka that Patti discovered a love for flavorful exotic spices.
In her cooking and baking today, she’s constantly trying to bring those exotic flavors to her dishes and cakes. When she was first introduced to The Perfect Purée of Napa Valley five years ago, Patti realized that she could still have those natural flavorful essences of fruit, citrus and berries year-round. Patti had always incorporated fresh ingredients in her cakes, but never had something that was shelf-stable and readily available. With The Perfect Purée, she can get seasonal flavors any time of year without compromising the quality of the ingredients.
Patti uses The Perfect Purée’s Concentrates like Key Lime and Carmelized Pineapple in her Upside Down Cakes. She uses The Perfect Purée Banana Puree because it gives her breads and cakes that ripe, fresh banana flavor without compromising the color and not adding those bitter notes that come from artificial flavors or oils. Patti Cakes’ Lemon Thyme Cupcakes get their natural authentic flavors from The Perfect Purée Meyer Lemon Concentrate. Patti loves the versatility of each flavor and essence from The Perfect Purée.