Kimberly Moye decided that it was time to do something different.
She grew up loving to bake and got a culinary degree at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. She worked in catering, then in event sales and management, spending time with renowned chef Tom Colicchio in his Riverpark restaurant/event space. But after COVID-19 hit the area, she and her husband James took stock and realized that they wanted to rearrange their lives to improve their work/life balance and be more available for their three young children, who attend the West Orange schools.
Kimberly had heard about the well-regarded Nothing Bundt Cakes franchise, which has been around since 1997 and now has 410 stores nationwide. The Nothing Bundt Cakes approach embodies a strong emphasis on customer service, a fidelity to the ingredients that produce the richest flavor (such as real eggs in the batter and their signature butter cream cheese frosting), and delicious classic cake flavors—chocolate chocolate chip, vanilla, white chocolate raspberry, red velvet, confetti, carrot, lemon, and a featured flavor that changes every few months (this season’s is strawberries & cream). There is also a gluten free chocolate chip cookie flavor.
After looking into Nothing Bundt Cakes, she found that she really liked the idea of owning a business that created delightful and affordable treats that would make people happy. So James and Kimberly packed up the car, took the kids, and in August 2021 they drove 27 hours to Dallas, Texas, the headquarters of the company. Kimberly and James attended a one month training program to learn how to make the Nothing Bundt Cakes just right.
The family returned home to West Orange, and in October, she and James opened the new Nothing Bundt Cakes franchise in West Caldwell. Kim is the more active partner in the enterprise, as James works as an actor/director in Broadway plays. Kim pointed out that James is still quite involved and helps out in many ways.
Kimberly and James love the business and take pride in how the company regularly gives back to the community, makes donations to local causes, and assists all sorts of businesses and nonprofits in creating memorable events with top-notch desserts at very reasonable rates.
In the early part of 2022, Kimberly realized that there was one more important step they could take to “share their cakes with more people” and broaden their client base. They approached the Vaad Harabonim of MetroWest and asked about what it would take to receive kosher certification.
She stated that the Vaad was “very helpful” and that the process of becoming kosher certified was not too difficult because “all of our ingredients were already kosher.” Rabbi Aaron Leff of the Vaad was the point person for the certification and Kim found him “very thorough” as he followed all the procedures in the months-long process. On April 8, the West Caldwell store received kosher certification.
The local Jewish community has responded favorably to the new kosher status at Nothing Bundt Cakes in West Caldwell. Expressing a broad communal view, Rabbi Eliezer Zwickler, rav of Congregation AABJ&D in West Orange, stated: “We are happy that another local vendor has chosen to become certified. In doing so, Nothing Bundt Cakes affords the community a delightful kosher resource, and this will certainly benefit their business as well.”
For this story, I picked up a sampler pack of Nothing Bundt Cakes in West Caldwell’s nine flavors, plus two bundtini mini cakes, and shared them with a family member and a few friends. The bundt cakes were all quite well-received.
“I was pleasantly surprised at how moist and flavorful the bundt cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes was,” said Emma Missey of South Brunswick. “Most bakery cakes tend to have that ‘day-old’ taste to them, but there was not one bite that wasn’t delicious. And to have it also be kosher was just icing on the cake!”
“The mini bundt cakes are perfectly baked, moist and novel tasting, with a delightful variety of flavors,” said Dana snd Jeffrey Korbman of Highland Park. “And the frosting is a party in your mouth.”
Debra and Eli Levenstein, noted gourmands in Highland Park, took time out from making a roux for the gravy of their smoked pheasant entree, to sample the bundts. “Wonderful texture, lightly flavored with a sweet, creamy frosting,” they opined.
A second Nothing Bundt Cakes location, in Wayne, received kosher certification from the Vaad Harabonim of MetroWest soon after the West Caldwell store. Wayne franchise owner Funke Olayinka stated that they decided to become kosher certified because she wanted to be fully inclusive and that once she looked into it, she found that all their ingredients are already kosher so the process wasn’t too onerous. She, too, worked with Rabbi Aaron Leff and found him very easy to work with.
Nothing Bundt Cakes in West Caldwell is located in a strip mall at 749 Bloomfield Ave. Their hours of operation are Mon-Fri 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. They can be contacted at [email protected] or (973) 852-3020.
They will deliver orders of $25 or more to locations within a five-mile radius of the store, including West Caldwell, North Caldwell, Caldwell, Verona, Montclair and West Orange. They gladly accept custom orders, which often can be filled within the hour or the day; larger volume custom orders may take up to a week.
Nothing Bundt Cakes in Wayne is located at 1809 Route 23 South in Wayne. Their hours of operation are Mon-Fri 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. They can be contacted at [email protected] or (973) 988-0212.
The Paramus Nothing Bundt Cakes, which opened in January, is also certified kosher and has the same hours. It is located at 393 RT-17, Paramus. (201) 584-1414. Email [email protected]
By Harry Glazer
