Patisserie's Customers are Sweet on its First-Rate Confections

On his personal journey in his ever-enduring pursuit of happiness, Stiloiano "Steve" Pikos, co-owner of Fusion Bakery and Patisserie in Middletown, has found himself fusing together his love of pastries, his passion for business and his need for constant change by becoming a pastry chef and business owner.

Most days, he can be found happy and content behind the counter of his bakery, mixing up batters for delectable cookies, spooning out cherry toppings for decadent cheesecakes and perfecting the ideal recipe for his signature carrot cake.

Pikos, who is no stranger to the food service business, as his parents owned a restaurant that he worked at growing up, decided originally that he wanted to pursue a different path in life and went to school to ready himself for a career in the world of finance. After finishing college and working, very unhappily, in finance for several years, Pikos decided to try something new.

He enrolled in the Connecticut Culinary Institute, (now Lincoln Culinary Institute in Cromwell) where he realized his true calling, which is to be clad in a white apron whipping up rich, tasty, first-rate, sugary delectables for all to savor.

“I love my job now,” says Pikos happily. “I like that it is different every week, and there are always new challenges.”

Pikos is especially proud of his top-secret carrot cake recipe, which is so guarded that it is not even written down. He is the only one who knows what makes his cake so perfect, blending just the right amount of spice with the sweet earthy taste of the carrots, topped off with the smooth sugary infusion of the cream cheese frosting. The mystery ingredients of this confectionary masterpiece are all locked up in Pikos mental recipe box and there they shall remain.

“It has taken me a couple of years to perfect this recipe and it is very special to me and I want to keep it a secret,” says Pikos.

He also works hard daily preparing  a vast variety of fresh cookies from scratch, (which include chocolate chip) scones of all flavors (his favorite are blueberry), an assortment of muffins,  rolled cakes, cupcakes of kinds, (red velvet is the best-seller), fruit tarts, light, airy chocolate mousse, enormous éclairs and cakes for every occasion. Fusion has made Monkey head cakes to edible R2D2s, to pirate cakes and everything in between.

“What we have in the case is different every week,” explains Pikos, who met his business partner Daniell Keane in culinary school. “We try to use local fruits and products when we can to support local vendors and farmers and we always do our best to accommodate the wishes and requests of our customers. However, if you want the best variety of our pastries I recommend getting here early,” warns Pikos.

This July, Fusion will be celebrating its fourth anniversary in the Main Street Market and is proud to be part of the local scene in Middletown’s Main Street area, which has received quite a facelift over the past several years.

“We chose this location because we knew it was up-and-coming and we are very happy with how we have done here," Pikos says. His hopes for the future are to expand his business, hire more staff, perfect his secret recipes and keep meeting the requests of his customers.

For information, call (860) 344-9024 or check out their Facebook page for daily special offers.

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