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L ike all businesses across the coun- ty, restaurants and food businesses experienced many challenges in 2021. These included those near and dear to us in Santa Cruz County. Just like in 2020, some businesses had to close permanently because of the pandemic's effects. Others managed to survive and some even thrived! Let's explore some of our food-and-drink related award win- ners from the 2021 Readers' Choice poll. Best Bakery: Sugar Bakery Henry and Ela Crawford were com- pletely surprised, and honored, to re- ceive "Best Bakery" just a year after they started their business, especially since they don't yet have a storefront (this is in the works for later this year). They keep Sugar Bakery's menu inten- tionally short. "Serving 50 or 100 differ- ent things is great for many bakeries, but we focus on three primary items: custom cakes, macarons, and cheesecakes," says Henry. "Our cakes are beautiful and as delicious as they look. We like to say our cakes are at the top tier of both style and substance! Not one aspect is an after- thought." Cakes come in many flavors and colors, with designs available for birthdays, weddings, and more. "What we are most known for is our macarons," Henry says. "There is a short- age of bakers willing to make a proper macaron, and Santa Cruz has quickly taken to loving ours. They are a difficult item to master, and we have spent the time and energy to really succeed." The most popular flavor is the "Ela," a Pistachio-Raspberry macaron with organic raspberries and white chocolate ganache. Other flavor favorites include the Jamie, a Salted Caramel macaron with fresh, scratch-batched caramel, and mango-passionfruit Chanel. Macarons are sold at New Leaf Community Markets and Deluxe Foods. People can also order online (sugarbakeryco.com) or inquire through Instagram (@SugarBakeryCo). Henry and Ela both have local restau- rant experience. Ela moved to Santa Cruz in 2016 with her identical twin sister, Albina. Having escaped the civil war in Ukraine by qualifying for student work visas, they arrived in Santa Cruz with a suitcase packed only with a couple chang- es of clothes and some food. "Being raised by a single mother who worked hard to support them, they learned from a young age to have a strong work ethic and to take care of themselves and each other," says Henry. They worked as Boardwalk ride operators during the day and worked evenings as line cooks at Firefish Grill. The twins rented space from whomever they could. For a period, their bedroom was the kitchen floor of a co-worker while they searched for a more permanent space. Ela's experience as a cook and the English she learned from working at the Boardwalk paved the way for her to serve tables at Firefish. Later, she became one of Ideal Bar and Grill's top servers. Born and raised in Santa Cruz County, Henry began his culinary career at the age of 19 at Shadowbrook Restaurant as a busboy. His experience includes work- ing at Seascape Resort, going to Pebble Beach for fine dining management training, doing the culinary program at Cabrillo College while finishing a degree in business administration, and manag- ing at Cafe Rio. In addition, he helped Timmy Hunt open Pono Hawaiian Kitch- en & Tap in 2019 and remained there until March 2021 when Sugar Bakery's growth required his full-time attention. Sugar Bakery's origin story is sweet and compelling. Henry and Ela were set to marry on September 20, 2020. On September 12, the wedding venue and caterer canceled due to concerns over COVID restrictions. "We were angry, sad, scared… then realized we had eight days to figure out what to do and being upset wasn't going to fix the problem. We put our heads together to come up with a new plan. Our years of experience in food service is what saved us!" They ended up catering their own wedding. "From steak and salmon to cev- iche and fresh salads, we did it all…ex- cept for the desserts. Neither of us were confident enough in our baking skills to do desserts for our own wedding." During their honeymoon they realized opening a catering business might be in their future and that one of them should learn how to bake. In October 2020, Ela took her first baking course, which was online. "For whatever reason, she decid- ed to start with macarons. After all, if she could master what everyone regarded as the hardest, then the rest should come easily. She found a natural talent and fell in love with it quickly. Within a few short weeks, friends and family were asking if they could pay for some of her macarons and cakes and the bakery-as-a-business wheels started to turn!" As the requests started piling up, they realized "…this was something more than just a hobby and that there may be a legitimate business to be made out of her talent. Sugar Bakery officially launched on January 1, 2021, and it's been crazy ever since." Henry and Ela are very grateful to the community. "Thanks to everyone who voted for us and for your support," says Henry. "Being a local boy from birth, this award means a lot and we don't take it lightly." Best New Restaurant & Best Overall in Capitola: Trestles In addition to winning in the New Restaurant and Capitola Restaurant categories, Trestles earned first runner up for Farm to Table Fresh. Owner/exec- utive chef Nick Sherman is honored by these accolades but remains humble. "I'm just really happy to be a part of the community I grew up in," he says. An Aptos native who went to Capitola Ele- mentary and Soquel High School, Nick moved back to the area in 2021 from Napa—where he'd lived for 15 years and worked as head chef at Basalt, among other restaurants—and opened Trestles in July. "I am especially happy that the community has been so receptive to what we are doing. The outpouring of support and positive feedback makes all the hard work worth it!" There are several reasons why Trestles (trestlesrestaurant.com, IG @tres- tles_capitola) is so popular. "We pride Macarons, Ahi Tartare and Artisan Cocktails: Highlights from This Year's Food & Drink Winners by Tara Fatemi Walker continues on 10 8 | 2021 READERS CHOICE AWARDS | FEBRUARY 17, 2022 S A N TA C R U Z S E N T I N E L . C O M

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