Sarah Gillespie is passionate about cakes, and at The End Dessert Company she uses local, organic ingredients to make them “the way cakes should taste.”
And forget about the standard chocolate cake (though she’s got that, too). Try instead lemon curd topped with blackberry cabernet buttercream, smoked almonds and stout, honey cake with elderflower meringue, fresh strawberry cake, rose-infused icings, and sugared lilacs.
Gillespie’s custom luxury dessert company provides adventures in taste for customers who want something extraordinary. She loves to mix in spices, herbals and florals, and has traveled the world in search of new culinary adventures to share.
“I love the traditional flavors, but I truly enjoy seeing people try  something new,” she says.
And the flavorful adventures go far beyond cakes. Customized cupcakes, cake pops, pies and cookie bars are just some of the delicious treats customized by Gillespie. She also creates silky, melt-in-your-mouth artisan marshmallows in flavors such as goat cheese and fig, honey lavender and caramel chai.
The End Dessert Company creates personalized desserts for events large and small –from birthday parties to corporate meetings and wedding receptions to grand openings− and also provides signature desserts for restaurants.
Gillespie is committed to using pesticide- and hormone-free, minimally processed ingredients from local sources.
“In Central Ohio, we’re lucky to be surrounded by great farms and great products,” including milk from grass-fed cows and honey from local beehives. She uses no oils, no added fats and no artificial colors.
Always passionate about food, Gillespie started to focus on desserts about four years ago. She was feeding her family a locally-sourced, organic diet and it occurred to her that people might want the same types of ingredients in their sweets. And it turned out she was right. Her business grew on its own, without any advertising.
When Gillespie did decide to actively market her business, she turned to Experience Columbus. Her goal is to expand her corporate business and also reach out to hotels, event facilities, and organizations and conventions.
Experience Columbus can help her do that through monthly networking events, business-to-business opportunities, educational seminars and access to meeting professionals holding conventions, events and trade shows in Columbus. Â Gillespie uses the Experience Columbus website to find out which events are coming to Columbus and reach out to them to discuss how she can customize a product for their group.
Gillespie got rave reviews for a custom dessert made for a recent site inspection Experience Columbus organized for meeting professionals from Girl Scouts of America who were deciding where to hold their annual convention. The guests were wowed by cupcakes in nostalgic flavors topped with a variety of hand-drawn Girl Scout merit badges.
“I love to create desserts for customers that will help to sell Columbus by offering a personalized experience you can’t get anywhere else,” she says.
For more information about membership in Experience Columbus, call Melissa DeGraw Metz at 614-222-6126 or go to ExperienceColumbus.com/members.
For more information about The End Dessert Company, visit TheEndDessertCompany.com or call 614-805-3585.
