Top Chef Finalist and South Pas Resident Opens Sweet Shop in Pasadena

If you ever wanted to be a judge on Top Chef, now you have the chance to judge a former contestant’s creations for yourself.

Pastry chef Danielle Keene of South Pasadena, who has been the pastry chef for Los Angeles restaurants like The Little Door and BLT Steak and a finalist on Top Chef: Just Desserts season one, has opened her first brick and mortar shop for her baking company Bittersweet Treats, which had its grand opening Tuesday.

Located at 1731 East Colorado Boulevard between Hill and Allen Avenues, the cute shop specializes in Keene’s “old-fashioned classics with a modern twist,” shop owner Linda Chen told Patch.

Among the baked items that rotate each day are figgy bars—like a giant Fig Newton—barreo cookies (like gourmet Oreos), coffee toffee chocolate chip cookies, coconut macaroons, and, of course, cupcakes. The mom's magic bars are a specialty, with the barreo cookie crust, coconut and almonds. 

Bittersweet also has large pies and cakes on display like red velvet cake and chocolate crunch cake with meringue—chocolate pearls add the crunch.

In time for the holidays, Bittersweet Treats has sugar cookies in fun shapes like snowflakes and mittens.

If ice cream is more your thing, Keene also makes ice cream sold in the shop that comes in a variety of flavors such as chocolate chai, honey lavender, salted caramel, Earl Grey and seasonal candy cane.

Coffee and tea from Lamill and specialty sodas are on the drinks menu and Keene makes all the syrups for the flavored coffee drinks herself.

Ice cream floats and banana splits are in the works to be on the menu in the future, said Chen.

Follow South Pasadena Patch on Facebook and Twitter and sign up for our Newsletter.