Bakes by Renata started with a phone call. Several of them, actually. I wanted to donate home baked goods to local food pantries, and every pantry I called told me some version of the same thing: they appreciated the offer, but they can only accept donations from a commercial kitchen or a licensed cottage baker.
So I made it official. I am a licensed New Jersey Cottage Food Operator, which means a state permit, recipes within the approved categories, and a full ingredient and allergen label on everything that leaves my kitchen. Every item is baked to order in my home kitchen here in Nutley. Nothing comes from a mix, and nothing contains preservatives.
The business came second. Donating regularly costs money, so I started selling the things my friends and family had been asking me to bring to every party for years: cookies, crispy rice treats, pound cake, and brownies. Familiar flavors, made properly. Most of what I bake now goes to offices, schools, realtor closings, and celebrations around Essex County, and a share of it goes back to the pantries that started all of this. Put plainly: every platter I sell helps pay for the ones I give away.
By day I am a medical writer in the pharmaceutical industry. I spend my working hours reading clinical research, developing customer relationships, and stubbornly re-editing my work, which turns out to be exactly the right temperament for recipe testing. That type of precision is why you'll know exactly how many pieces come in every platter.
I bake with real butter, real vanilla, and Dutch processed cocoa, the same ingredients I use for my own family. When your platter arrives, it tastes like it came from the kitchen of someone who cares, because it did.
Baked to order, never from a mix.
Full ingredient and allergen labels on every platter, as NJ law requires.
Quick order form, hand delivery, and zero stress for you.
Arranged with care so your table looks as good as it tastes.
A share of what I bake goes to local nonprofits and fundraisers.
I serve the towns I know and love: Nutley, Clifton, Montclair, Bloomfield, West Orange, and Lyndhurst. Additional towns upon special request. If you are planning something for your team, your school, or your event, I would be honored to bake for you.
If you are with a food pantry, a school PTO, a fundraiser, or any nonprofit with an event coming up, I would like to hear about it. Thanks to the people who order from me, I can set aside part of what I bake for exactly this.
I cannot say yes to everything, but I would much rather you ask. Tell me about your event.