Countdown to Dan’s Rosé Soirée: A Conversation with Carol Becker of William Greenberg Desserts

Carol Becker, owner of William Greenberg Desserts, the popular New York City bakery known for its famous black-and-white cookies, and the author of The William Greenberg Desserts Cookbook is back this year to participate in Dan’s Rosé Soirée on July 9.

This is her second time attending Dan’s Rosé Soirée, the third event in the Dan’s Taste Summer Series presented by Yieldstreet. Last year, she brought fruit tarts to the affair, and this year she is giving everyone the chance to enjoy the William Greenberg Desserts’ famous black-and-white cookies with a Fourth of July-themed design. This year’s event will give Becker another chance to put a smile on faces with a sweet treat.

“I often come up with cooking ideas from a conversation with a friend, traveling, and eating at new places so I’m so excited to bring one of the William Greenberg classics to events like this and hopefully gather some more creative energy,” she says.

Becker started out with a career in marketing, but she can proudly say that her cooking career is her true calling. Since taking over William Greenberg Desserts a decade ago, she has witnessed firsthand the impact that its desserts have on its customers. William Greenberg Desserts has been around since 1946, and their black-and-white cookies have been voted “New York’s Best” several years in a row.

The bakery serves much more than cookies, however. Customers can order everything from brownies, cupcakes, cakes, pies, fruit tarts, bread and pastries.

“We are actually one of the few bakeries in the city that does everything from cookies to wedding cakes,” says Becker. “We really have a mix of everything that can make people happy.”

As a longstanding bakery with two successful New York City locations on the Upper East Side and at Hudson Yards, William Greenberg is soon opening an Upper West Side location.

“We have people who will come back years later with a picture of their wedding cake that we’ve made for them, and who will order a replica of that cake from us to celebrate their wedding anniversary,” says Becker. “It’s really heartwarming to see how much our desserts impact the lives of our customers.”

When it comes to her creative energy within the kitchen, she ironically does not transfer that energy into her personal life.

“It’s funny I’m more of a grazer,” says Becker. “I’m not a fancy eater, I pretty much stick to the basics.”

She enjoys simple foods such as plain fish or hummus and pita. A lot of foods that she cooks in the kitchen, she does not eat in her personal time.

“As a chef, you cook because you enjoy it,” says Becker. “No matter what the dish is, the act of preparing it is always so fun, and rewarding and really never gets old.’

She encourages any young chef to follow their dreams, no matter how hard their journey gets. To her, food is a universal thing that makes almost everyone happy, and the smile on someone’s face after eating a meal or food item that you have prepared is well worth the long haul.

William Greenberg Desserts is located at 1100 Madison Avenue in Manhattan. Visit wmgreenbergdessertsorders.com for more information.

Dan’s Rosé Soirée will be held from 7–10 p.m. on Saturday, July 9 at The Muses in Southampton. Visit DansTaste.com for tickets and more info.