Joey was born and raised in Buffalo, New York before coming to Key West in 1987 as an intern from Paul Smith's College.  In 1989, Joey met his wife, Daisy - they married in 1991 and now have a daughter who is nicknamed Cookie. Joey has a vast experience in the culinary arts. Amongst his other talents, he has been a Pastry Chef for 20 years.  He traveled the world for seven years, opening restaurants, training owners and staff.  Joey formally worked as a freelance chef with world renowned Chef Dominique D'Ermo, author of "The Modern Pastry Chef's Guide" and a number of other published books.

 

Making cakes has always been a side hobby, one that quickly developed into a full-blown career as people discovered Joey's talent for making beautiful cakes.  The former Pastry Chef of the White Street Bakery (which closed in 2005), Joey merged with Paulie to form Key West Cakes.

 

Joey has been featured in the Key West Citizen newspaper and was selected to design the centerpiece cake for the 1st Annual Bridal Industry Luncheon sponsored by the "Knot.com"; which was held in Key West, Florida in 2006. Key West Cakes “formally” Cakes by Joey & Paulie was also featured in the  Fall 2006 Florida Brides Magazine & 2006 Wedding Cake Magazine.

 

Joey, who was born deaf, received a cochlear implant in 2003.

Paulie was born and raised in Staten Island, New York; he came to Key West 1994 as a intern from the Culinary Institute of America.  Paulie has also worked for the travel magazine, Condé Nasté, in display advertising which ultimately lead to a career change in culinary arts.

 

Paulie has traveled along the east coast of the United States, holding various positions in the culinary field.  He worked as a chef with the Hyatt Hotel in Key West for six years.  Along with his chef duties, Paulie was called upon to create pastries and cakes for hotel events. 

 

Paulie's true inspiration came from family members; his aunt and uncle once owned a bakery in East Hanover, New Jersey.  Additionally, his favorite cousin owns three bakeries in New York and his niece works behind the scenes as a chef in the culinary media field.

 

Paulie worked under Pastry Chef Joey at a Key West resort as an Assistant Baker.  Soon he started Paulie Bakes where he specialized in wedding and specialty cakes. 

 

Paulie is a self-taught Pastry Chef whose cakes are well sought after throughout Key West.  Over the years, Paulie and Joey developed a friendship which led to the formation of Key West Cakes.