How to hand-deliver a cake to Jimmy Butler
"Jimmy is the definition of fucking around and finding out." š
Good morning everyone. One of my favorite parts of writing Feed Me is telling the stories of unusual entrepreneurial endeavors ā high school kids starting a newspaper in the Hamptons, food writers who have found success on Substack, and directors who have made it big on little screens. Iām lucky that Iām surrounded by these people in New York.
Gaby Scelzo is a baker who works out of her home, rather than a bakery. She also writes
on Substack, and is one of my best friends. Which is why I was a little surprised when I found out that she made a cake for Jimmy Butler from social media and not one of our dozens of group texts.
Iāve been wanting to write a newsletter about Instagram bakers for a while ā weāve all watched LāAppartement 4F go from a COVID baking project to a brick-and-mortar bakery in two New York boroughs. Lucie Franc de Ferriere had a similar trajectory, and now has a bakery called From Lucie in the East Village.
So today, a brief overview of how you can go from being a Knicks fan to a Knicks baker.
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How to hand-deliver a cake to Jimmy Butler
Emily Sundberg: I saw you a few times this weekend but I didnāt actually ask you how one of your cakes ended up in Jimmy Butlerās handsā¦
Gaby Scelzo: āIt was really sick seeing him hold one of my cakes. When Iām not baking cakes or answering questions about where to eat in New York, I also consult on social for a few restaurants and food-adjacent businesses. One of those clients carries Jimmyās coffee brand, Bigface and there were whispers that he might be coming in with his team to promote it. I had to be there that morning to shoot the activation and I also was already baking a few cake order the night beforeā¦ there was no way I wasnāt going to bake some extra layers of chocolate cake, use his coffee to make a buttercream, and decorate the whole thing with the Bigface logo just in case. And then he actually showed up.ā
ES: When did your relationship with Jimmy as a fan begin?
GS: āWell first of all please let the record show I'm a very dedicated Knicks fan. That's because I ride or die for my city, but also because my team is fun as hell! Josh eats Mike and Ikes on the bench (which btw, Josh, whenever you're ready for a Mike and Ike cake, call me) and KAT did a somersault on the court last week. Sorry it's impossible for me to not talk about this team, but MY POINT is, I love when NBA players recognize they have the best job in the world and have fun with it.
Jimmy is the epitome of that. I got reallllyyyy into basketball in 2020 and I was immediately drawn to him when I heard he brought a French press into the bubble during lockdown and charged the other players $20 a cup. It was so funny and unserious to me, but that's actually how Bigface was born, which is inspiring. He also showed up to a press conference two years ago with long, straightened hair and black nail polish and called himself "emo Jimmy" and then went on to star in a Fall Out Boy video in character. Jimmy is the definition of fucking around and finding out, he's having so much fun doing it.
He also loves Morgan Wallen and is currently involved in massive drama with his employer. Dream man.ā
ES: Lol
ES: Ok last question. It seems like a lot of the popular cakes Iām seeing on Instagram these days are coming from bakers on Instagram, not bakers from bakeries. Just yesterday, I wrote about that cake that Glossier posted from Yip Studio! What does it feel like to be part of that whole industry? What sets your cakes apart, and how do you hope to continue to grow?