Drawing inspiration from her late mother’s cooking, a Connecticut mom has opened a bakery in Norwalk that aims to help other parents live longer, healthier lives.
Stylish Spoon, which opened in Norwalk on the loading dock at 97 Water Street near The Sono Baking Company & Cafe last September, offers a variety of healthy pastries, including its signature baked oatmeal, grain-free chocolate donuts, cookies with trail mix, waffles, granola bars and cookie dough bites. All products are gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free and vegan, and some are made with ingredients like cinnamon, jalapeños, bananas, blueberries, chia seeds and oats.
Sweets for sale at Stylish Spoon in Norwalk.
Joseph Tucci / Hearst CT Media“What makes us special is not just what we don’t put in our products, but what we put in our products. There’s a lot of gluten-free baked goods, there’s a lot of vegan baked goods out there, but a lot of them are made with a lot of sugar and refined carbohydrates,” Eck said.
Ek started baking oat cups about seven years ago when she was a new nursing mother struggling to find something healthy to eat that would provide nutrients for her child. Inspired by the baked oat cups that her late mother Eck did her, she eventually created what would become Stylish Spoon’s signature product.
“When I was breastfeeding, I couldn’t eat gluten, dairy or soy and a whole bunch of other things. And I said to myself, “What can I eat with one hand while holding a baby to get nutrients and eat. ” said Ek. “So I started making them in cupcake pans in large batches, freezing them and reheating them in the microwave every morning. They gave me back the joy of eating.”
When Ek was nine years old, her mother died of breast cancer at the age of 46. Because of her mother’s early death, Ek wanted to be around her children as long as possible, and said eating healthy is part of that.
“I feel like she’s with me when I’m baking. Especially when I started making baked oatmeal cups at night when the kids were sleeping in the other room, I had this banana press my mom used. I still have a lot of her kitchen tools,” Eck said in a YouTube video.
Eck said eating cups of oatmeal made her feel better physically and helped her milk flow when breastfeeding. Aiming to help other mothers, she shared the cakes with friends who then encouraged her to sell them. She listed the cookies in a mom’s Facebook group. She previously worked as a part-time baker and full-time attorney before committing to following her passion and baking full-time.
“If I’m leaving my kids every day, I want to leave them for something I care about,” Eck said. “I decided to take the leap and really grow the business.”
Eck originally had a kitchen in Harlem, New York, before moving to Connecticut during the pandemic and establishing a location in Norwalk. The bakery also offers a three- and six-month online subscription service that delivers the oatmeal cups directly to customers’ doorsteps and offers a 5 percent discount. The bakery will offer its products through DoorDash and Uber Eats in the coming months, according to Eck.
In addition to the Norwalk storefront, the bakery’s products are available at local businesses including The Granola Bar, Westport Playhouse, Affogato and Candlewood Market. Produce is also available at the seasonal Westport Farmers Market and the New Canaan Farmers Market.
During the first two weeks of February, those who visit the bakery can receive a free cup of oatmeal with no purchase necessary.