About

Melissa Brinckmann, owner of Cake and Spoon, began her love affair with the foodie world when she was an administrative assistant at Texas Monthly in the late 70’s.  The job brought her in contact with a group of young chefs and restaurateurs who were just beginning to make their mark on the local dining scene.

Initially, Melissa worked side jobs at local eateries, but eventually went to work full-time at Green Pastures Restaurant.  She spent two years working in the bakery with CIA (Culinary Institute of America) trained pastry chef Andy Cook, which gave her invaluable experience for her yet unknown future endeavors.

Over the next 20 years, Melissa worked in several Austin kitchens honing her skills and learning from chefs and co-workers along the way. In 2004, she went to work for Tracy Claros, who was just getting her now famous Sticky Toffee Pudding Co. off the ground. The working relationship proved beneficial for both women, and when the remarkable growth of the pudding business outgrew Claros’s booth at the SFC Downtown Farmer’s Market, Claros encouraged Brinckmann to take over the spot.

And with that Cake and Spoon was born and debuted at the Downtown Farmer’s Market in August 2009, where she retains a booth to this day, along with a more recently added booth at the Cedar Park Market.

Since then, Cake and Spoon has grown to the point of baking out of her commercial kitchen on the East side of Austin to producing exclusive Bourbon Banana pies for world renowned Franklin’s Barbeque! But her vision remains the same – providing fresh and excellent quality pastries to her beloved Austinites!