Printer-Friendly
Email this Story
Post a Comment (0)
Local Gourmet
Della's: Making life a little sweeter: Homemade graham crackers can make a key lime pie unforgettable. That shouldn't be a surprise, but it is certainly an unusual find. Multiple homemade graham cracker-crusted mini key lime pies, warm peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies, almond-ginger biscotti and sweet tea ... you'll find these perfectly crafted goodies sitting atop Ardella "Della" Droddy's amazingly clean countertop on any normal day.The key lime pies are Droddy's newest signature creation. She recently started making large batches of the mini pies for Brian DeVaux's B'z Barbecue at Paeonian Springs Gourmet.
If you ask Droddy what she can make, she'll tell you, "Anything."
"If I've never made it before, as long as there's a recipe, I'm pretty sure I can make it," she said.
It's definitely believable. For years, Droddy baked as a hobby, but eventually friends and family members started telling her to open up a catering business. Two years ago, she opened Della's in her Leesburg home. She also started selling her goods at local farmers markets.
Since then, Della's has turned into a major highlight at Purcellville's Thursday market. Using family recipes and old favorite recipes, Droddy serves up ice cream sandwiches (such as peanut butter chocolate chip cookie and banana chocolate walnut ice cream sandwiches), cookies on a stick, biscotti and other goods at her booth.
"My favorite is my biscotti," Droddy says. "But when I make ice cream sandwiches in the summertime, my daughter will call me up and say, ‘Hey Mom, are there any of your sandwiches left?' And if there is, we'll eat it."
Droddy's kitchen pantry has been converted into a baker's closet, with racks for cooling cookies and storage containers filled with cookie cutters and supplies of all shapes and sizes. New industrial double ovens accommodate multiple racks of cookie or pastry trays, and her artfully decorated kitchen, filled with baking utensils and ingredients, also works as her home office. Her husband, Tim, serves as an official taster, but Droddy is particular about her baking and has to taste her creations herself to make sure it is made just right.
From teas to birthday parties, Droddy's home-based catering business is "making life a little sweeter," she says. That's not just her business motto. Droddy says there's nothing like fresh, home-baked desserts to brighten up any busy person's life.
One unique perk to Della's is Droddy's home-to-home personal catering. For private tea parties, Droddy will bake at her own home, bring supplies and dishes to another home, and take care of the setup, serving and cleanup for her customers.
Droddy uses tea from a company called Teavana, brewing it in an electric Russian samovar. A small teapot filled with concentrated tea sits atop a metal container with heated water. To serve, Droddy says you pour a little concentrate in a teacup and fill the rest with hot water. She uses these for her tea parties along with iced sweet tea. Apart from mini layer cakes (i.e. Max's Baby Cakes), custom-made iced cookies, and other desserts, Droddy also makes tea sandwiches all from scratch.
You can tell why Droddy won the Critic's Choice Award for Best Dessert Presentation at this year's YMCA Chocolates Galore and More. Individual cakes, cookies and pastries are carefully handcrafted. Her frosted cookies are detailed and can cover any kind of design, from red buckle shoes to seasonal cutouts. In taste and presentation, Droddy's love for baking adds a special touch to her catering that's hard to find.
For more information on menu items and pricing, visit DDE_LINKwww.dellastea.com DDE_LINK or call 703-203-0306.
Rebekah Pizana is a senior journalism major at Patrick Henry College. She can be reached at gourmetwriter@gmail.com.
You must be logged in to post a comment.