Trying to find something different to do, even in a city like Boston, can be difficult sometimes.
You can always count on a wine tasting, cocktail-making class, trivia or even paint night. But what if cake decorating is more your speed? If that is the case, then you should check out The Sugar Connection.
The Sugar Connection has been featured on Meet Boston’s “Ultimate Winter Bucket List.” And it’s been named one of “5 Culinary Classes in Boston That Will Level Up Your Kitchen Game” by Boston Uncovered.
Self-proclaimed as the city’s only pop-up cake decorating experience, The Sugar Connection helps bakers dive into the fundamentals of cake decorating with pop-up classes that start at a beginner’s level.
The experience pops up at businesses around Boston, hosting events like a Galentine’s Day Cake Party and 30th birthday parties. The Sugar Connection only started hosting these events in July 2023 but has grown in popularity through word-of-mouth and social media, according to founder Jelissa Lamboy.
“I did a collaborative event with my friend who owns a candle studio called Lit Vibes in Braintree,” she said. “After we posted it, my emails, DMs, just website messages, everything was flooded about, like, ‘when’s your next one? When’s your next one?’ So I was like okay, maybe I’ll just do this. And the rest is literally history.”
Founded in 2020, The Sugar Connection was started by Lamboy around the same time the Haverhill native started her job as a pastry chef at Grove in Rowley. The newly hired chef spent about nine months in the restaurant before the COVID-19 pandemic forced Lamboy to stay home, she told MassLive in a phone interview.
At the time, Lamboy was also pregnant with her second daughter and “needed a means for income.” So the experienced pastry chef decided to bake and sell goods throughout the North Shore out of her house.
“I was shocked at the outpour of just love and support,” Lamboy said, expressing her amazement when she started selling. “It went from friends and family to now people in the town are talking about it and word-of-mouth, and it just skyrocketed from there.”
Lamboy preps all of her cakes at Grove, packs her supplies, and then drives to the events in Boston, which the chef said provides a “large and so lively” nightlife and ambience that is not typically found in her area.
For now, Lamboy hosts the events at restaurants, bars and breweries around Boston, but her “biggest dream of all” is to open a storefront for The Sugar Connection one day.
Aside from letting people practice their pipe work, the events allow friends to catch up with each other, families spend time together or couples try a new date activity. As a part stay-at-home mom, Lamboy said the events also help her get out of the house.
“I’m able to meet new people, and my biggest thing with this business is connection and I always emphasize that,” Lamboy said.
“I get so much gratitude from people,” the pastry chef continued. “A lot of people say this is the most fun they’ve had in a while. You have some people who are like, ‘oh my god. Boston’s so boring, and you just added such a fun experience.’ So the feedback has been amazing.”
Lamboy also hopes people hone their cake-decorating skills at home once the event wraps up.
However if you feel like your frosting needs more time to perfect, you can always order from Lamboy’s online portfolio or custom order a dessert that she is happy to deliver.
Lamboy added that most of her customers are based in Boston as well.
More information about The Sugar Connection, including upcoming events and how to place orders, can be found online. You can also follow The Sugar Connection on Instagram and TikTok.
