The woman behind Newburgh’s Perfect Sweets

By CLOEY CALLAHAN
Posted 2/24/21

Newburgh resident Hasina Grice decided to make the jump in 2014 and go to the Culinary Institute of America to chase her dreams. After graduating and obtaining her LLC for Perfect Sweets in 2016, the …

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The woman behind Newburgh’s Perfect Sweets

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Newburgh resident Hasina Grice decided to make the jump in 2014 and go to the Culinary Institute of America to chase her dreams. After graduating and obtaining her LLC for Perfect Sweets in 2016, the rest has been history. The name Perfect Sweets explains her dessert business perfectly, with a selection including everything from classics like carrot cake and cheesecake to specialty two-tiered made-to-order cakes.

Grice, who is married to City of Newburgh Councilman Anthony Grice, grew up with parents who imagined she would follow her straight-A path and go to school to be a lawyer or doctor. However, she knew deep down her passion and joy was for the culinary world, which sparked as early as her first Easy Bake oven as a little girl.

She graduated from the Newburgh Free Academy in 1996 and followed her parents’ suggestion of a pre-med path at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. She knew that wasn’t for her and switched to sociology, which she graduated with a degree in.

After she worked in the social services field for some time, she knew she had to plan for what was next after her position as a Newburgh Transition Specialist was coming to an end.

“I was feeling dissatisfied,” said Grice. “I knew I always wanted to pursue culinary, baking and pastry and it was always a dream of mine. My husband encouraged me and kept saying listen, you have to pursue your passion.”

At 32, she decided to make the jump. She enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America and learned the science behind cooking and baking.
“What makes it moist, what makes it rise – I wanted that science part that I didn’t know from being self-taught,” said Grice. “I grew up watching my mother in the kitchen and she cooked and baked but she was one of those who said put a little of this, a dash of that. She didn’t write things down and she said just watch me.”

Grice had sold her baked goods online through Orange County Facebook groups and in other ways but an LLC was a fitting next step after graduating from the Culinary Institute of America.

“I became big as a business with surrounding areas before I became known in the City of Newburgh,” said Grice. “A lot of my customers were from Middletown, Montgomery and surrounding areas. It wasn’t until a year later that I became known in Newburgh.”

She operates right out of her house in the City of Newburgh and has expanded so much since 2016 that she can barely fit everything in their Perfect Sweets refrigerator. Not only does she do special orders, she has catered events in the city including Scenic Hudson’s Winter Fest for two years.

The one-woman-show that has been successful for years has looked at expanding since last year. However, Grice explained how this next step is a careful process and is waiting for the perfect opportunity to rise. Ideally, she’d like to own a property so it could be something she could pass down to her children.

While only time will tell when she moves to a brick and mortar location, she has considered just what kind of establishment she wants to create. Believe it or not, Grice’s expertise doesn’t just end at sweets. She is a huge fan of her savory creations that offer low carb, gluten free, vegetarian and vegan – and just overall healthy options.

“You can’t go in the lower parts of the city and get those options,” said Grice. “There are other options for people who want to eat healthy besides a salad. That isn’t offered here.”

Her ideal location would offer a community space to teach residents about food, how to eat healthy, how to cook for yourself, among other things. Grice imagines an opportunity to host community dinners and have guest speakers.

“I want to be able to teach people and have community space to teach them about vegetables they may have never seen or eaten in their life,” said Grice. “I can show them how to prepare it and see it’s something good for you and will help you have a healthy life and live longer. I want it to be a teaching environment, which I think comes from my background of sociology.”

While that might not be until more down the road, customers can order sweets online today. The customer favorite are the cookies. Believe it or not, some of the cookies have as little as five ingredients. Grice said the deliciousness is thanks to her careful curation of fresh, all natural and high quality ingredients.

When it comes to making a specialty cake, she enjoys letting her creativity run free to create unique cakes for her customers.

“I look forward to being able to expand my business in the community and really create a learning environment for people,” said Grice. “That’s the best way to move our community forward. Who doesn’t love food? It’s the best way to bring people together.”

To learn more about Perfect Sweets or to place an order, visit perfectsweetsinc.com.