Josh's Bestie OD'd on Edibles?!

The following podcast is a Dear Media production. I'm Josh Peck.
And I'm Ben Soffer. And we're the good guys.
There's a lot of guys out there. And we're the good ones.
Mazel Morons, welcome back to the Good Guys podcast. I'm sitting here with a man who's always in a caloric surplus.
It's Ben Soffer. And that's because all I do is eat cupcakes.
And we are here in slender September with the cupcake queen herself, baked by Melissa, Melissa Benny Shai. Thank you so much for joining us.
She's so much more than cupcakes, though. She's an author.
She's an influencer. I know we hate that word, but like she's just like making those gorgeous salads I've ever seen on Instagram.
We did collab on a video. So if you want to go check that out, like just a couple of celebrity chefs hobnobbing.
But we are here with the cupcake queen, Melissa. It's lovely to see you.
What's the origin story? Can we have the origin story before you became baked by Melissa where you just, I don't know. Tell us about the ingredients that made you, you.
I grew up in New Jersey, still live there today. I was empowered by my parents to like do everything and anything I set my mind to.

And I was a pothead who loved cake.

And I see baking as arts and crafts, but you could eat your project.

And my love language is creating things and giving them to people.

Yeah.

Wow.

And the idea, I know this, but for our listeners and for Josh, the idea behind making little cupcakes. We make them small so you could try them all and not feel bad about it after.
You could like actually eat five cupcakes. But they're many sides.
So you get to have five of them. But to me, my problem with Baked by Melissa is I was of a hundred of them.
Samesies. So I don't know.
That's how good they are. They're 16 years in and I still can't control my.
Have you had them, Josh? No, I haven't. Oh, my God.
These are like the best little fucking cupcakes you've ever had. They taste like full blown cupcakes, but they're tiny.
They're like the size of, I guess, not my thumb. A silver dollar.
It's now they're a little bigger, like a silver dollar point to five inches in diameter. It's a small bite of a cupcake, but each one has a different flavor and they are so freaking good.
Because they're stuffed. Each one is stuffed.
Some of them are overstuffed, depending on how I want the flavor ratio to be delivered inside your mouth. Yeah.
They're iced and topped. And each one is inspired by either a childhood dessert or snack or a flavor combination that is like so good.
And how many stores do you have now? 13 retail locations. We ship our product nationwide, guaranteed fresh.
You could choose your arrival date and we make people happy during good times and bad. Yeah, you do.
You're like the classic Shiva gift. Does anybody ever talk about that? Well, I talk about it.
Like somebody dies, I'm sending them cupcakes. That's what I tell my team all the time.
Right? Like if somebody dies, I send cupcakes. Birthdays are great too.
And it is our number one skew, but I don't know. It's like when somebody dies, you just want to send them something to bring even one smile.
And it always does. It's a much better version.
Josh, we're big edible arrangements, guys. I think the cupcake is better.
No, it's not. No, it is under 50 calories.
They don't get slimy. You know, fruit is like weird sometimes.
Melissa, you're right on about that. You know what? We got to say it now.
And usually I'm all pro edible arrangement, but day two edible arrangement.

It's a horror show.

Get that out of my house.

Throw it away.

And honestly, how many melon balls in chocolate can you eat?

We all know we're going for the strawberries.

But I agree.

Like I married to an Irish Catholic gal.

I am of the Jewish persuasion.

We inundate ourselves. We face fuck ourselves with food at all occasions, especially when people drop dead.
And I don't't know do people who are not jewish do they eat when they're bereaved that's a great question i was gonna say we're all super jewish so you're asking the wrong group i don't know olivia is olivia back wait wait our producer josh he's not no unfortunately not so we're no we'll convert you but do you eat when you're Oh, do I eat when I'm sad? Yeah, I do actually. Josh, do you have a mic back there or should I relay it for the audience? Oh yeah, I have a.
You haven't? Yes, I do. Josh, so will you just, and I don't mean to bring up a sore subject, but like you do a nice memorial for a loved one who passes.
What does your shiva look like? Is there a shiva? Is there an after party to the funeral where you guys are eating or no? Yeah, there is. And like, actually, it's a huge one.
All the grandmas, the aunties, they're coming together, they're cooking. We're talking baked mac and cheese, turkey wings, like they're bringing the pies, they're making the strawberry cakes that Aunt Hazel and only Aunt Hazel can make.
It's actually insane how much we like. It almost seems a little too celebratory.
It's like, why are we eating all this? But it happens every single time. It's to get your mind off things.
Not to be too grim, but I think we all need to describe our ideal shiva plate. Josh, you want to start? Your aunt tragically passes.
You've just left the burial site. You've gone to her husband's house.
And ultimately, you're waiting for everybody to dive in. Nobody wants to dive in first, but it's inevitable.
You're going to eat. What are you picking up? I mean, I think it should be like a great breakfast.
I'm talking bagels, schmear. I'm talking Nova.
And then you need like the nice, easy pickup pastries and a mini rugelach, a baked by Melissa cupcake. You need like a nice spread dessert wise.
You need some fresh fruit. And then I don't know, man.
I mean, Bob's your uncle. I mean, anything can roll.
What about for you guys? That to me is the only answer. I hate when I go to a Shiva and I see like a potluck, like where people have like brought like brisket that they've made.
That happens. I've never seen that.
These should be catered affairs. I've only seen like, well, I'm lucky to not have attended too many shivas.
Or unlucky. I mean, the spread that we're talking about that that is true

but i choose you choose life i choose life okay it's like a dessert focus i'm like racking my brain here trying to think of the shivas i've been to it's like crumb cake you know those rainbow cookies baked by melissa always because i either send hundreds or bring them myself what's your favorite non-you dessert?

Hmm.

Like a fresh chocolate chip cookie.

Hot chocolate chip cookie, hot chocolate chip cookie, ice cream sundae with like warm. I love warm and cold in the same bite.
Same. She loves the temperature play.
Same. So good.
So good. Ice cream on like fresh cake.
Like it's so good. You could actually, one of the best things to do with our cupcakes is to microwave them and then throw them on top of ice cream and like the melty icing and the hot cake.
You have so many different things going on in there. I have like the best idea for you, even though you kind of just said it, but there's a place on Long Island, Josh, in Hewlett and they make something called the Hewlett.
Have you had the Hewlett? It's from this, like, I don't know, frozen yogurt place. It's frozen yogurt.
They take a muffin, they break up the muffin, they put it in the frozen yogurt, then more frozen yogurt, then more muffin. People love it.
Have you done like a pop-up with an ice cream place where you've set your cupcakes into ice? We have, we did it. We've done it for the past six years.
We're looking for a new ice cream partner, but we do have Summer of Love. It's a sweet cream ice cream base with our tie-dye cupcakes enrobed into it, like as the inclusions.
And the icing is like such a sleeper ingredient in ice cream. It's incredible.
We've done it with Ample Hills in the past. No good.
Okay. We don't like Ample Hills.

No good. I didn't say that.
Yeah, no, I read it in your eyes. I was originally wondering where the tie-dye theme came from.
I'm inspired by the carefree culture of the 60s and 70s. And I believe that tie-dye stands for so many incredible things in the world.

Inclusion,

colors,

peace,

and love. Like we said, a marijuana user.
Do you like the dead though? I love it. So the first batch of tie-dye cupcakes I ever made were inspired by the Grateful Dead.
They were red, white, and blue tie-dye cake with the steal your face piped on top for a co-worker who loved the Grateful Dead like me. And it was his 30th birthday.
Can you explain to me the love of the Grateful Dead? Because I have friends who are obsessed and I just don't get it. OK, so I feel the same way about Fish.
I have lots of friends obsessed and I just don't get it. But like with Fish, I just feel like I love love the drugs.
Agreed. With The Grateful Dead and The Beatles, I love The Beatles.
The Beatles, the lyrics of their music has gotten me through and continues to get me through some of the most challenging times in my life and in business, actually. Some great lyrics.
And same with The Dead. The Dead is just like, you hear it and you've got a sway.
Like you've got them, like, it's like, like, it's just, it's nice. Not to put you on the spot, but like, I need lyrics that have gotten you through something.
Oh God. Oh, well, the Beatle, like yesterday, like when you have like a toxic person in your life yesterday, all my troubles seem so far away.
Now it seems like they are here to stay because I believe in yesterday, which is like you have a psychopath in your life and like everything was fine yesterday. And then today it's not fine.
It has nothing to do with you. It's just like you've got to believe in yesterday and the piece.
Let it be is another great one. Something which just like feel like, you know, I like to pretend that it's like written about me.
Even I mean, I could go on the beat like love, love the Beatles, love the Beatles. I'm with Josh.
The dad, it just was never for me. What were you saying, Josh? What do you guys think about? I get in fights with people who don't say they don't like the Beatles.
This is my wife and her family included. What I say to them is like, it cannot be your favorite, but not liking the Beatles is like not liking Mozart.
It cannot be for you, but the music you listen to today is because of them. I completely agree.
It's the exact way that I feel not to sort of go way to a different topic. It's exactly the way that I feel about Elon Musk.
I can't understand. I'm sorry.
I can't understand. He cannot be for you, but you cannot pretend that he's not a fucking genius.
Of course. But that's what people are doing.
It's just, it's crazy to me. Like, look, like smartest people though, are also the, like, you know, the craziest, like the craziest or like maybe like, yeah, yeah, for sure.
Absolutely. Can't have all the parts.
No, you can't. That's why we love from afar.
But yes, the Beatles are great. Grateful Dead.
Not for me. Like rock and roll.
I just, I think like, like, um, I love reading biographies about musicians, which is those are the only books I've read in the past 25 years, maybe because it's like a success story you learn. And then also there were so many great bands during the same time.
So like the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, Patty Boyd has a biography. And it's just so cool to read all of the same stories from different perspectives.
And those bands, what makes them different than a co-founder and their partners in business. So I just find it to be very relatable because I'm like a rock star too.
Yeah, you are. And you have so many layers.
I didn't even know any of this. I just love it.
Because I'm like chopping all the time. You can't find a great band where the lead guitarist and the lead singer don't fucking hate each other.
I love it. It's so petty.
It's like, find me a business. Like, that's my point.
And I feel like you don't see it this like the same anymore because nobody writes, not nobody, but fewer musicians write their own music today. Like the Beatles, the dead, like they were for the most part writing their own stuff.
So there was like, yeah, they really felt it. Yeah.
Agreed. They're like inspired by or,

or stories about like challenges and people that they were, you know. And yes, singers and

guitarists always hate each other, Josh. And that's because the guitarist wishes that he was singing.

He can pretend or she can pretend that they don't wish that they were singing, but everybody

We'll be right back. each other, Josh.
And that's because the guitarist wishes that he was singing. He can pretend or she can pretend that they don't wish that they were singing.
But everybody, I think for the most part, wants to be the star when they're in a band. And relationships are hard.
And when you spend a lot of time and you work towards shared goals or you have shared passions, it is extra challenging. I get it.
Going deep. No, it's good.
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Who are you currently angry as step, Melissa? Air it out here. Oh, man.
I mean, it's not for the public. I'm not.
I don't know if I'm angry, but I think I get it. That's all.
You have it too. Of course.

People are so disappointing.

It's unreal.

It's staggering.

It shatters me on a daily basis. How like someone in my life, I'm just like, really?

Did not expect that from you.

But you know, you keep on keeping on because we're having a human experience.

And the only way, you know, the St. Francis prayer, you guys ever heard of it? Here I go.
Gentile Josh over here. I don't know.
I don't know. I don't know.
I don't know him. I don't.
Okay. St.
Francis. Do you know it? I do, but I want to get it.
He does not because he's looking at his audio. Only.
He didn't know it. The whole idea is like, but sorry, go for it.
Well, I was just going to bring it back to rock and roll and say like, you know, there are things known and there are things unknown and for all else are the doors of perception. And that's why I love marijuana because when you smoke it, it provides a different perspective during some of your most challenging times.
And maybe that's my religion. I don't know, but it makes me a better person.
And I don't smoke and honestly, as much as I used to, because I'm, I've got a lot of hats on wearing a lot of hats, but you are, but, but the perspective of it is wonderful. Josh, you have the St.
Francis quote. I want it first, but don't forget, cause I do want to get into your avid drug use, Melissa, The St.
Francis for the whole thing is like, you have to understand to be understood. You have to forgive to be forgiven because it's by self-forgetting that one finds.
It's by dying that one awakened is, it's by dying that one is awakened to eternal life. Amen.
But it's like, yeah, it's longer and better than what I'm saying. But yeah, like that's it.
It's just like people annoy me.

And yet I have to remember, like, I am just as annoying to everyone else.

Like it's happening.

We're having a human experience and you have to understand to be understood.

Amen.

Amen.

Baruch Hashem.

BH.

BH Poppy.

BH.

As a lover of marijuana, how have the two not met yet? Or maybe it has. Cupcakes, weed, edibles.
Well, they have met on many occasions, but we sell cupcakes that are free of marijuana. And is that just because of state regulation? We could change that.
Yeah, I'm busy enough. It is something that comes up regularly, not only for the past, however long it's been legal, like everywhere, but forever.
It's great. But, you know, everything in moderation and we sell cupcakes for everyone.
It's actually like a big part of why we have vegan and gluten free and all these different assortments of cupcakes because everyone should be able to enjoy it. And if I start introducing some other stuff into the product, then you have to be more careful and you're confused and it's just not who we are at Baked by Melissa.
But maybe you switch the names around and it's just Melissa is baked and that's the edibles. Well, for sure.
I mean, I totally get it and we could talk about it forever. That's pretty great.
Melissa is baked. I do get to get everyone baked by Melissa.
Yes. You know? Yes, you do.
Yeah. Yes, you do.
I'm sober. I've been sober for 16 years because I'm a dirty quitter.
But like, for me, weed, like I love weed when I was smoking and now 16 years later and seeing that at dispensaries and the way they've like truly maximized it. Like I'm asking the both of you, like, how has it changed over the last 16 years? And where's it going? It seems powerful.
For me, it's for me, it's far less thrilling. Like the way that my I never smoked a lot.
But when I do smoke or when I did smoke, the idea of like needing to meet somebody like in their shady car and like picking it up was like part of the thrill. Like, yeah, we'll go around the block and like, I'll pop back out with like, I don't know, whatever amount I purchased.
And then I'll do something that feels wrong, but is right. And like that full experience to me was what was really fun.
I've never been a good smoker. Like if I were to smoke now, I'm asleep or I'm eating until I'm dead.
So those are the two downsides for sure. For me.
When I was in high school, my one of my best friends lived down the street and I would walk to his house barefoot and we would just like take bong hits in his bedroom like every day. There was a period of my life where it was like I didn't have as many responsibilities as I have today.
So now it is more accessible. And I never got into shady cars because I don't put my safety at risk unnecessarily.
What a square. That's not the thrill for me.
It's fun. For me, like the thrill is going outside of my comfort zone.
No, like getting in like a 2011 Corolla and not knowing if you're ever going to come back. No, that's not the ultimate behavior.
Absolutely not. Maybe for you as a boy, but not for a girl.
I feel very strongly about that. I understand.
What if you're Ronda Rousey? You never get into a stranger's car. I am such a mom.
It's crazy. I'm sure I have done plenty of things that I shouldn't have, but you should never do that.
I love that I have a dispensary in my town. And to your point, for me, it's either right before bed and it's not all the time.
It's like when I need to take the edge off, I don't drink and I don't really do anything but like eat gummies every now and then or like take a hit of my pen. And it's just to relax me.
Yeah. The munchies are so real.
Like you need sweet, salty, sweet, salty, sweet, salty. But I love having a dispensary and I love having gummies.
And I feel like today there are like so many other things that are scary about like recreational drugs like fentanyl is like a whole, you know, scary. So it's good that you could go into a store and buy it.
This is an off, like totally off topic. I want to hop back to weed because, Josh, I haven't told you about my dad and weed, but I want to talk about it because he told me a story this morning.
But I was on GoPuff last night, speaking of fentanyl, and I was looking, Josh, just for some ice cream. You know, I wanted a little bit of ice cream.
What's your favorite flavor? Oh, you're fucking naughty, Ben. I really like fish food.
Oh, me too. That's probably my favorite.
But Josh, I'm on freaking GoPuff. And do you know what I see under the ice cream? Fentanyl test strips.
Shut up. Yeah.
On GoPuff. Welcome.
That's psychotic. No, it's not.
Well, that's today's world, I guess. Today's world is you're like, you love Coke so much that you're going to test it for fentanyl before doing it.
Like, again, where is the thrill? Stop doing drugs that could kill you. Well, that I agree with.
But Ben, I mean, I'm not trying to out you here.

And we can cut this out if you want.

But like as someone who's like lived it up and you're not that far away from your 20s,

right?

Like you probably should have been testing anything you were ingesting three years ago.

You just but you were living dangerous.

Not outing me at all.

We've spoken about it before, for sure. Like at one point in my twenties or another, like I liked that stuff.
But to me again, like it's all, it was like about the night. If you could have gotten those test strips on GoPuff during that time of your life, I bet you would have.
I don't think that maybe you wouldn't have, but somebody you're with're with would have 100%. I think that if I knew that there was even a shred of a chance that this drug that I'm taking would kill me, I would never, ever, ever have done it ever.
And I think that maybe I was naive, but you're sort of like living in the moment, right? Like you're 23 years old. Your judgment is probably already impaired.
No, dude. You're 23 years old.
You're going to a club. You're looking to have fun.
The second that somebody said, before you do that, let me just make sure you're not going to die. I'm like, I'm good.
I don't need it anymore. That's me personally.
I don't think it would have happened that way. Your heart could just give out the moment you take it, even if it's pure.
Yeah, this is exactly why.

Now in later, later age, there's no drugs. I don't know.
We know too much. I know too much.
I do. That's what I'm more saying.
I knew nothing. I agree.
I actually I say that to myself a lot. Like, I wish I didn't know everything I know because the world would be such a better place.
It would be so much more spontaneous. If I didn't get it.
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Melissa, tell me how you feel as a parent Like, you can live in the world you think you deserve

Or the world that is, right?

And so for like my boys

I'm going to tell them

I think it's a bad idea to have sex at a super young age, but I'm also going to teach them about condoms because I live in the world that is. I'm going to tell them, I think it's a really bad idea for you to do drugs for the million reasons I will list.
But I will also tell them about testing strips because you have to live in the world that is, right. Well, yes, I'm going to do all of those same things.
I'm a very like, say it like it is. If I get asked a question or they're like, ask, I, I just, I talk to them like they're probably, maybe I should talk to them like they're a little younger, but I'm just keeping it real.
Sure. If when we're talking about drugs, I'm just gonna be like, let me get it for you.
So I know it's okay. Yeah.
Maybe. Yeah.
I don't know. Am I going to get my kids drugs? That's not what I mean, but like, you know what I'm saying? Like, to your point, I agree with you.
How's that? I do. You got to be realistic about the world that you're living in.
And I feel like you probably have better examples that like, you know, like when their friends are not being nice or something. So being realistic at the world that we're living in, I'm going to out my dad on the podcast.
My dad needs to stop smoking weed. It's not, he, he, he takes it because he has a bad back, scoliosis.
It's completely medicinal. It makes him feel much better before he goes to sleep.
That's all. But this is the third time that he's called me and said that after taking a hit of weed, he's fallen in his own house.
He can't walk, Josh. He can't walk after he smokes.
He literally, he said to me, he's like, yeah, I walked into your sister's room. I tripped over this chest and I broke the chest.
And I said, when you smoke, just take a seat. Just do it when you're already in bed.
Take a seat. That reminds me of my boy's dad growing up, right? I would sleep over at his house and his dad would wake up at one in the morning without fail, go to the refrigerator, pound a ice cold Coca-Cola fart and go back to bed.
And we would watch from my boy's room, like, like clockwork. So he's, how much fun did you have with that? It was the best.
It was the best. And so he's a middle of the night eater.
So now his father in his mid sixties has some aches and pains has been turned on the gummies. So he made the mistake the other day of in the middle of the night eating an entire bag of gummies.
He ate like crazy, like handfuls of Swedish fish full of weed, right? Just crushing. So that is real.
That's what scares me with like kids and stuff. Like I've gotten sent like cans, like, you know, of like, like drinks that have THC in them.
And I'm like, I can't have these around. Wait, so wait, sorry.
What did, what did he do? What was it like for him? The next day, his boss called my friend and said, your father is slurring his words. And I think he had a get here immediately he drives over his dad's speaking nonsense he calls an ambulance they go to the hospital they're running a battery of tests and as the doctor leaves through the door his dad looks at him and goes i'm not having a heart attack.
But he goes, what's going on,

dad?

He goes,

I fucked up. And he was there for 24 hours for observation.
But once he left the system, he regained his facilities or faculties. Honestly, I have like one fucking gummy.
I'm wait. So he knew I'm zonked.
knew. He was paranoid.
The first time I ate. One of the my my friend gave me weed chocolate.
I was already like baked by Melissa. So it wasn't maybe like 10, 15 years ago.
And I ate one and then I went to sleep, but never kicked in. And then I woke up early and went to walk my dog.
And I thought I was having a stroke. I like because when you don't realize I came back into the, I like turned right back around.
I was like, babe, babe, I think I'm dying. And then he's like, you ate weed chocolate last night.
It probably just kicked in. And I was like, Oh no, the, the panic is real.
Like Josh, did you ever, we've never really spoken about like when you did smoke weed, did you have like panic attacks or you, you panic attacks or you didn't have the negative sides of it? Nope, I was a great pothead. I smoked every day.
I loved it. There was a thing called the Volcano, which was one of the first ever vaporizers, which basically was this machine, a cone machine that would fill up a garbage bag.
Yes, but it's clear, a clear bag. You're making it sound so much worse than it is.
You would suck off a sport top. I'm defending the volcano.
Come on. I have a friend that still uses a volcano.
It looked like a water bottle sports cap that you would suck, suck out of. And I was, needless to say, I was very stoned on the sets of Drake and Josh.
Those are for the like hardcore potheads because they like, supposedly they get you higher and they're not like as harsh, right? The vapes, the vaporizers. All I know is I take like one hit of something.
I am coughing until I'm like, oh, well, so that, and then you're probably like, oh my God, I'm going to be too high because I'm coughing. No, that's me.
I'm just, I'm just terrible with that stuff. I can't do it.
It's just not, it's, it's all about like your mental state. And I have to be in like the most unbelievably controlled environment.
Like what somebody needs for like an ayahuasca trip, I need for like a hit of weed. Like I need a shaman like to just watch me and guide me so that I don't have a full blown fucking panic attack.
So it's not for you, but they're all different like strains. That's true.
We could dabble. Do you, Melissa, as someone who's like a fully fledged grown up business owner mom who like dabbles, smokes a little weed here and there.
Do you find weed culture annoying? Like when I hear Bill Maher talking about like how awesome smoking weed is, I want to be like, Bill, it's not that cool. I'm glad you do it.
But like, who cares? Don't make it your personality. It's not fashion.
I don't really get out much. So I don't have much of an opinion on pop culture.
No pop culture. Pop culture.
I don't, you know, know honestly i don't have much of an opinion on anything other than those all those titles you listed when you introduced me what do you mean like i'm i'm like very in it oh no josh i think repeat the question i think he i don't think you i didn't understand yeah pot culture yeah yeah yeah pot culture like what i'm saying is is that when people make like weed their personality like can't you just like enjoy it and not make it like a thing like right totally but then here we are like spending a whole podcast talking about we did unintentionally talk about weed the whole time it wasn't even the intention it's it's trying to make it our personality so interesting it true. We're unintentionally making it our personalities.
But no, I hear you and I get it. Melissa, is there ever a temptation? You mentioned that you do gluten-free, you do vegan cupcakes.
What about all these new sweeteners, monk fruit and obviously stevie and all these things to make a lower caloric one? I'm so happy you ask. I am like very much.
I feel very strongly that I sell cupcakes. I'm not trying to pretend they're good for you.
They're not like with all this like veganism and gluten free, like half that shit is so super processed, filled with sugar or chemicals or like emulsifiers, things that shouldn't be in food. I'm telling you, I'm giving you dessert.
Like this is a cupcake. It has sugar.
It has flour, unless it's gluten-free. And then it has like a whole combination of things that want to be flour, but they're not like they're cupcakes.
I feel like monk fruit and all that stuff. Like I get it if you have diabetes or something that really prevents you from having sugar.
That makes sense. I personally don't enjoy it.
And I don't know. I'm like very authentic.
Like these are cupcakes. They're made with sugar.
I'm not trying to be something I'm not. I like I'm not on that train.
Word up. That's just me.
Word up. And also each cupcake is under 50 calories.
So I feel like you can have it all when you're having baked time melissa you can have like six and they're they're so they're so delicious i'd rather like like sometimes like if i need something sweet i'll use maple syrup it's like for my kids i'll do a natural sweetener in their pancakes rather than sugar because like sugar has its place and it's in dessert for me. You're more about the right choices.
Like I watch all of your TikTok videos, all of your Instagram videos. For those that don't know, in addition to being the queen of the cupcake, you're also kind of like the queen of the chopped salad.
Like you've made that over the last couple of years, which I think is just like the most interesting sort of juxtaposition of being Miss Dessert and Miss Salad. And basically the creator of the green goddess dressing.
And so this idea of like you can still live your life in moderation, but also and have dessert, but also be a healthy person. I feel like people have really taken to that.
Yeah. Well, cause you can't, I don't think it's possible like for me to cut out dessert.
My food philosophy is if you get your nourishment and your fulfillment from your meals, you can indulge in dessert every day. Just like me, I actually ate a salad downstairs and then took a piece of chocolate out of my bag.
Cause like I needed bite of something sweet. So yeah, I think like food is delicious, like whole ingredients, vegetables, the salads that I make, like fill yourself up with all the good shit so you could enjoy dessert and not look to it to fill yourself up.
What's your favorite thing that you make? Oh man. My favorite thing is what my husband makes like so I don't have to cook.
No, I don't know. What's your favorite thing that you make? Oh man.
My favorite thing is what my husband makes. Like, so I don't have to cook.
No, I don't know. What's the favorite.
I like, I love it all. It's really, there's no, I don't really follow recipes unless I do record my recipes for the community I've built who really loves recipes, but I don't really make the same thing over and over again.
A salad. I put protein on vegetables at least once a day as a meal.
But it's interesting that you say that you don't follow recipes because that's what I see. Like you are literally just taking what you have and making a variation of something.
That I've already made. But I feel like that's so anti like this current cooking culture where if you don't put the ingredient that's supposed to be in something in something, people are like, oh, it's oh, it's not guacamole.
If it didn't have cilantro or if it you know what I know. And then you're like, oh, my God, you're the opposite.
Like you really are making delicious food with whatever you got. Yes.
I spend a lot of time standing in front of my refrigerator, you know, with the doors open right now. It's very lackluster.
I need to go food shopping or get food delivered. That's what I do.
Are you, are you a shop right gal? Are you a farmer's market person? Are we Instacarting? What are we doing? I'm a farmer's market person and a whole foods person and a fresh direct person. And I did not buy, actually I did buy a few tomatoes this summer, but I grew almost all the tomatoes I consumed this summer on my roof.
Wow. Yes.
It's a tomato farm up there. That's the dream.
With the skyline, you know? Yeah. And they came out good? This morning before the sun rose, I went and harvested my tomatoes because, you know, it's the end of the season.
Are you like a bite of tomato, like an apple type of person? So no. And as a kid, gross, but can I talk about Israel? Of course we'd love to.
My husband's Israeli and the produce in Israel is, it's just so good. And I think Israel made me fall in love with tomatoes actually.
They're like candy. Their fruits and vegetables are sweet Out of this world.
And they pop in your mouth. I still can't eat tomatoes like that.
Josh, can you bite a tomato like an apple? No, I hate tomatoes. Yeah, I'm with you.
And you have to have a good tomato. Like if you're going to shop, right? Like don't bite that tomato like an apple.
I love tomato byproducts. I'm talking ketchup.
I'm talking tomato sauce. Wait, I wanted to ask you, oh, when you're creating these incredible things and they do look so freaking delicious on your Instagram and your TikTok, is there ever a time where you make something and you want to just look at the camera and go, you know what? This one didn't turn out.
Yes, there are plenty of times. And I tell you that.
Do you? Like, yes, I'll be like this. Don't make this.
She's the only person I know that does that, Josh. It's wild.
Like, I actually. That's awesome.
And it's clear, like knowing you, like how truly authentic you are. Like there are very few people that will make something and then it looks like shit and they won't just ditch the video.
Like you'll post it and you'll say, I tried this and it was bad. I think I'm in a very unique position.
I did not set out to become a content creator. And I don't like the word influencer because, but I didn't.
And the truth is it's backbreaking work. Like I don't have the time, but I love it.
It is my creative outlet. And like, I just saw an opportunity.
I was trying to learn TikTok so I could give my team actionable feedback on the content they were creating for Baked by Melissa that I knew could be better, but couldn't really put my finger on like how. So I just started creating videos and I always like, I love to cook.
I love to bake. Like the salad cupcake thing has always been the case, but I'm just sharing it now.
And so I just started filming what I was making for dinner and then editing it as a way to learn how to use TikTok. And then the engagement on my burner account was really, really good.
So one night I was like, fuck it. I'm just going to post this salad to Baked by Melissa's TikTok and see what happens.
And I put my phone down, put my kids to sleep, and then I picked it up again. I'm like, what the fuck? It has 2 million views.
And then an hour later, it had more. And yeah, so 40 million views on a chopped salad.
As a business person, you immediately recognize the opportunity the community is providing you with. Come back, give me more.
And I could be somebody they come to for something consistently. Nobody wants to see videos of cupcakes every day.
That is boring. And that is so disingenuous.
It's like, stop selling me something. And so I get to do something else that I love so much in support of my core business, Baked by Melissa.
It's top of the funnel brand awareness. We've started to monetize it, but I'm not like a out of the box creator.
This is not my livelihood. I have a full-time job as a CEO of Baked by Melissa.
And so I don't have to work with brands that are going to pay me a lot of money if I don't like them. I will not because this connection I have like created with my community, I love them so much.
And like, I have a responsibility to provide them with information and things that I genuinely love and nothing else. They're a great community and they're diehard.
Like they, they ride for you. They so do.
And it's, it is really like the most incredible magical thing. And I'm, I know that you understand cause you have the same thing and I know we all do.
It's just so incredible. Like really.
And I just like, it's sacred to me, you know, I don't take it for granted. Tell me, I wanted to ask, you mentioned this earlier in the podcast, you say guaranteed fresh when you send out the cupcakes, when they're delivered.
How do you guarantee freshness? We want to know. Okay, sure.
Well, I'm the crazy lady who holds everybody accountable to the quality of the product because it bears my name. But we bake the cupcakes.
Once they're topped, they go on a silver tray into the freezer. There's a lot of detail.
Then they come out and then we actually have a cold room that we use to pack the 25 packs and make this beautiful assortment. And then we put them back.
And the cold room is to keep the icing perfect because it's butter-based and the cold room makes it cold so you could handle it. It goes back into the freezer and then right into a shipping box, frozen.
And so it arrives cold and in this beautiful packaging that like it's, hold up, can I get up? Yeah, you can. Wow.
She just threw the cupcakes on the ground and they're fine. They're totally fine.
When I worked in the stores, I would, I would actually like step on the 25 pack. You're like, look, but you shouldn't do that because it's not sanitary.
Like, you know, sneakers since COVID, like every, everything has germs. Like my water bottle, I could cover the straw so the germs.
It's what we spoke about earlier. It's awareness.
I didn't need to know. Should we get to what are you nuts, Ben? We should.
So you were mentioning how you hate everyone. I love everybody.
We know everybody hates everybody. Yes.
Or at least we're aware of people's problems and we have it take issue with people. So we literally have a segment on the show called what are you nuts, which is our gripe with people, places, and things.
You're walking down the street. You're like, what are you fucking nuts? Like what is going on here? So I see you do that.
I love that. I think it's so funny.
Thank you. That is what we do.
And so I can go first. You can think Josh can go.
Mine is short and sweet. I'm walking here and there is a shirtless man approaching me.
He's on a run. He's running and he's shirtless.
And he's like, right, right up on me, right up on me, drenched in sweat. And I'm sorry.
Just what are you nuts? Like, like stop running shirtless. That's the first thing.
I don't think people should run shirtless. I don't mean to be mean to this guy, but like not in peak physical condition.
Like, unless you are like Josh, who has the arms of Thor, like keep your shirt on or wear a tank top. Like, I don't need to like see your nipples and like the sweat.
And like you coming so close to me, like if you're running, sidewalks aren't meant to be run on. Like we should have run lanes.
Not that like we need more lanes, but like stop running in my purview. Stop sweating in my purview.
I don't know you. What are you nuts? Josh? My what are you nuts is, as we all know, I've had a terrible quad tear.
That's right. I'm injured.
I'm on an injured reserve. So I went to get an MRI the other day because I have great insurance.
I digress. And the guy puts over this thing.
It's like a mat that's connected to the machine. And I'm in the tube and he goes, this is actually the camera that's going to go over your leg.
And it also goes over my privates and the other leg. And I jokingly say, it's not going to sterilize me, is it? And he says, no, no, no, no, don't worry about that.
But it might heat up. And I wanted to say, what are you nuts? It's on my lula.
That's better? We're not going to sterilize you, but we might burn it off. What are you nuts?? Nuts.
See, we don't need this level of information. Crazy.
Across anything. Like, you would have just had, like, a hot wiener and, like, you would have been like, oh, that's strange.
It was actually quite nice. No good.
You? I, like, feel so bad. Like, I don't want to say anything negative.
No, this is the point. This is the place.
The point is to be negative. And I don't want to go into too much detail because I would never want somebody to know that I'm talking about.
It's not about a person. It's about an entity.
It's about, but like, you don't want to talk too specifically about one entity because then. I know.
I took one of my kids somewhere recently and there was another parent there who just stunk and they kept coming so close to me and talking like they didn't sink. Like, do you not know how bad you smell? What are you, nuts? Nuts.
Nuts. Oh, my God.
So good. It's so smelly.
I feel better now. No.
Excellent. What are you, nuts? You needed to air that.
And like, the truth is, like, it's a conscious choice to be smelly. It's a conscious choice.
Don't know. Wear deodorant.
No, you know. Take a shower.
You smell. You know.
It's impossible. Maybe it's like a disorder or something.
It's a conscious choice. Maybe they don't know.
Wear deodorant. No, you know.
Take a shower. You smell.

You know. It's impossible.

Maybe it's like a disorder or something.

Yes, but you'd think that you can still

combat that. Now I feel bad.

Do they have a disorder? I don't think so.

I don't think so. I think they just stink.

Ugh, stunk. I felt bad.

I was like, I had to go away.

Anything we want to plug besides the fact that you're

an accomplished author, buy her book, buy her cupcakes, watch her TikToks. Follow her.
So much recipe inspo. Follow your social accounts.
Yeah. Halloween is coming.
And if you have kids or you know kids, send them Baked by Melissa Cupcakes. The flavors are to die for.
They really do look amazing. Ooh, they're to die for.
Very good. We have like everything is amazing and it's the perfect trick or treat gift for the kids and adult kids that you love.
I'm going to order. I'm going to work behind the scenes, Josh.
I'm going to get us a corporate account so we can stop paying for these edible arrangements and just start sending. It's way better.
Yeah, my kids will plot. They love a Halloween themed anything.

They're very basic.

They're kids.

Yeah, no, but that's no excuse.

Folks, this episode, five stars.

If not, what are you nuts?

Listen to us on Spotify, Apple, wherever you get your podcasts.

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Mondays and Thursdays, folks, we will see you next time. This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services.
Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.