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Community Corner

Port Jeff Mom and Daughter Make Sweet and Savory Treats

Ilene and Amanda Sobel started "Bites" to sell their bite-sized desserts at village Farmers Market.

Meet Ilene and Amanda Sobel, the Mother/Daughter team who are serving up little "Bites" with big flavor at the . If you've been to the village market you surely have seen their colorful and eye catching display. Bites is a young company that makes sweet treats with portion control and nutrition in mind. They also carry a gluten-free line of treats.

Patch recently sat down with the entrepreneurial duo to find out how "Bites" was born, and what the future holds for this delectably delicious company that they operate out of their Port Jefferson home.

How did the idea for the company come about?

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Ilene: It blew into my mind one day and it took me over. I saw the sign for the Farmers Market coming up in Port Jefferson and thought, wow this is the perfect thing to do because Amanda is a very good cook, and I could handle the business end. We could do it together to bring us even closer as a family unit.

Was the business intended to be a hobby?

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Ilene: Our intention was to make it a business but we didn’t know what the market was going to bear and if it was going to work out. So we just started it.

Amanda: I’m actually finishing up a paralegal course so I will be doing both. Food is my passion but I want my career to be a paralegal.

So Amanda handles the baking end of the business?

Amanda: I went to school for Culinary Arts and Restaurant Management. I took some baking classes, got my food management certificate and I’m certified.

Is the Farmers Market the first event in the community "Bites" has done?

Ilene: Yes the Farmers Market is our first community outlet. We are enjoying what we are doing especially the part with the kids. I love when little kids come over and they see these tiny little pops and it’s just made for them. They are colorful and the right size and mini deserts for the parents as well.

Tell us about your product line. You offer gluten-free treats as well?

Ilene: The gluten-free line is just so delicious, the way Amanda makes it and you would never know it's gluten free. It's a good seller and people come back for more. We feel good about it.

We also have the cake pops and we have the pretzels. The pretzels are with white chocolate, chocolate and peanut butter, and cheese. They are absolutely perfect they stay crunchy and it’s a little bit of flavor. Amanda does some kind of magic to them and they are really, really good. Very satisfying you get the crunch and the flavor so that is where the ‘savory’ comes in but it is mostly sweets that we do.

Why did you decide to make "Bites" instead of multiple servings?

Amanda: It is easier to have it on a stick, something they can eat while they are walking around. You're also not tempted by a whole cake.

Ilene: As a society we are going from big to small to smaller because we recongize that it is better food portions, portion control. So now you can have a treat. It's cake and instead of having something big to deal with you're having something small. You're satisfying your palate for whatever that cake represents for you and you're done. You're not deprived.

What is next for "Bites"?

Ilene: The interesting thing is who knows where this can take us. There might be coffee shops that want a few to sell with their coffee. There is a coffee shop in Patchogue, a wonderful shop called that is going to be carrying our "Bites".

Our line is evolving so things are prettier then they have ever been and tastier then they have ever been. Come on down to the farmers market, we are going to have samples of the cake pops this weekend. We always have mini pretzel samples, but we are going to have cake pop samples this weekend too.

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