“Why couldn’t Cinderella play soccer?” asks Chris Fieno as he takes an order. He’s the brother of chef and baker extraordinaire Lisa Fieno. And he apparently revels in the dad jokes he thinks up while his sister creates magic in the kitchen of The Cakery (thecakeryelmira.com or (607) 731-6118).

Because Cinderella’s only got one shoe? “Wrong,” he smiles, as Lisa brings out part of someone’s lunch and he assembles the rest.

The café and pastry shop at 116 Baldwin Street in Elmira—“Look for the red column, and we are in that little nook, second door on the right”—is peaceful oasis across Baldwin Street from the Chemung Canal Trust Company’s home office. On a “quiet” day, a steady stream of customers came for goodies and lunch, many staying to eat inside or at outdoor tables in the courtyard. A group of older ladies chatted over lunch, and planned to bring more friends to enjoy the chicken salad the next time they come.

The ambiance is relaxed, with quiet jazz in the background, dining tables as well as armchairs with convenient side tables, and Athena, Chris’ polite black cat, napping on the sofa. “I wanted a place that was cozy and welcoming, where you can just sit down, spend as much time as you want, and let the day go,” Lisa says.

There’s a fireplace, paintings, a spinet piano whose music stand holds music and the children’s book Strega Nona, a folk tale about a grandma who feeds infinite amounts of people until all are sated, and then blows three kisses to her magic pot.

Lisa is that kind of grandma. She began making custom cakes for her grandchildren and others. Back then baking was a hobby fueled by occasionally binge-watching the Great British Bake Off. She got ideas, experimented with flavors, added her own spin, and found people asking her to bake for them. After covid, her custom cake business outgrew hobby status. Lisa used her stimulus check to buy a commercial oven she’s nicknamed “The Beast.” A few years later, to satisfy her taste for creating savory meals (which rivals her enjoyment of sweet desserts), she decided a café would be her next venture. She opened a year ago.

Her take on food is innovative, sometimes experimental, and held to a high standard. “Everything is made from scratch, and every teeny tiny thing someone puts in their mouth here is different,” Lisa explains. For instance, she wants her sweets to have a balance of flavors without being too sweet. Her Kitchen Sink cookie features a chocolate chip cookie base with white chocolate, marshmallow Rice Krispie treats, and the additional crunch of potato chips. Not to stint on decadence, it’s served with her homemade salted caramel sauce. The whole business is time-consuming to make from scratch, but when she watches someone taste it for the first time, well, “I see the look on their face, and it’s so worth it!”

When a customer arrives for a special-order cake, Chris has her heft the box to feel its weight. “Homemade is going to be heavier than you’d think,” he murmurs, while the customer exclaims, “Oh! It’s gorgeous!”

Cinderella, as it turns out, couldn’t play soccer because she didn’t stay with the ball. Unlike Cinders, Lisa doesn’t lose sight of her goal. Her chocolate desserts are “definitely hardcore,” like the chocolate almond torte, served in generous portions, that’s chocolatey, melt-in-your-mouth creamy, and set off with the mild crunch of an Oreo-cookie crust. It’s gluten-free, might have a million calories, and is totally worth it. When Lisa offered to make a wedding cake for her daughter, this was the bride’s heartfelt request. Lisa is making twenty of these for the celebration.

Wedding cakes might be her favorite things to make. “I love the elegance of wedding cakes, and I love everything about the wedding cake process,” she says. “I’m so excited for the couple when they reach out!” After discussion, she’ll make a sample box, with three mini-cakes in the flavors and icings chosen by the couple from her roster of possibilities.

Many couples come bearing a design inspiration, often a photo, based on a story of their relationship. Armed with that and their feedback on the samples, “I make sure whatever they give me, it’s on the next level. I’m just as excited as they are about the cake. I tell them, ‘You work with me and you’ll have nothing to worry about.’” As for the tradition of saving part of a wedding cake to enjoy at the first anniversary, Lisa, predictably, has a better idea to avoid freezer burn.

“If they order cake for a hundred guests or more, they’ll get a free anniversary cake. I tell them to reach out to me a month prior to the anniversary, and I’ll replicate their top tier for free.”

So far, the largest wedding cake she’s made was for three hundred. Featuring fresh strawberries, it was massive and extremely heavy. “And since it’s just me doing everything and delivering it…” it was an achievement to lift it and get it safely to its destination.

“I love what I do,” she says enthusiastically. “I have so many ideas.” In July, already playing with ideas for fall and holiday menus, she recalled the Christmas carol with the line, “For we all like a figgy pudding,” and was inspired to try a recipe. It called for a lot of breadcrumbs and was, she reports, abysmally disappointing.

She consulted a friend in England who consoled her with, (Lisa repeats with a convincing British accent) “Oh, Lisa, you should have asked me first. That’s for the poor!”

She’s currently working on reinventing a tastier version.

From savory meals inspired by seasonal produce to popular permanent menu items, repeat customers know their best strategy is to come for lunch and stay for dessert. Or vice versa. You wouldn’t want to miss either one.