Recently, my friend John was suffering in 102º heat and sighed, “I dream of air-conditioning.” That reminded me of the most wonderful cake shop name ever, I Dream of Cake, which is on trendy Grant Street in SF’s North Beach. (I have admired founder Shimnin Li’s creations forever and recently got to taste one at a swanky FWE&E event honoring Google maverick Marissa Mayer, who incidentally is an investor in IDOC.) I wrote to Shinmin and asked her about the origin of the name. She said… “I came up with our company name while sitting in a cafe with a friend. We sat over coffee and jotted down any names that came to mind describing cake and art.
I think I Dream of Cake was actually my friend’s joke suggestion. But when I heard it the name it immediately stuck with me. It not only conveys the message that I can create anyone’s dream cake, but suggests that I, the baker, dreams of cake too. I often will go to bed with a technical or structural cake problem and come up with the solution in my dreams. I also like that the name encourages imagination and creativity. And, this is my dream job.” Wow, talk about a name with layers! Eat my words, indeed! Check out her photo gallery of breathtaking cakes, which include replicas of handbags, shoes, and teapots.
