Marina Halpern and Megan Sesil
Upper East Side, Manhattan
Marina and Megan started Padoca bakery with the intention of adding something sweet to the community. Padoca is a slang term in Brazil, in more words than less, “the neighborhood bakery where everyone is a regular”. This term encompasses the vibes perfectly. After opening to much success and endless orders of pão de queijo (aka PDQ’s™ aka Brazilian cheese bread - GF and free for all to indulge in) - they opened a second location on the Upper East Side to keep up with demand. When we visited, we were lucky enough to bring home a bag of their frozen PDQ’s™ to bake fresh whenever we please. Let’s just say they did not last very long in the freezer…perhaps not longer than a week if we are being honest. Eating them with jam is the perfect salty-sweet snack and we can’t wait to go back and stock up again.
Full name, age, where are you from?
Marina: Marina Halpern, 35, São Paulo, Brazil
Megan: Megan Sesil, a lady never tells, Yonkers, NY
What is your title and where do you work?
Marina: Founder at Padoca Bakery
Megan: Manager, Padoca Bakery
Was food a big part of your upbringing?
Marina: Most of my memories have food in it, so I would have to guess yes!
Megan: Powdered sugar-dusted chocolate cake for breakfast was! My earliest memory is getting jelly rolls with my grandpa.
What are your earliest memories of dining out?
Marina: Getting burgers and milkshakes at a diner called Milk & Mellow in São Paulo with my mom.
Megan: Going to Pizza Hut after reading enough books.
If you could give a piece of advice to someone who wanted to pursue your career, what would it be?
Marina: It’s all about the people around you - connect with them and be present- that will help you stay focused and be resilient.
Megan: Try not to take yourself too seriously (still working on that myself!) and enjoy the moments when you bring a smile to someone’s day.
What do you think working in this industry has taught you?
Marina: Teamwork- if one piece is missing, everyone goes down.
Megan: It’s easy to take yourself too seriously, we can do something special and have fun simultaneously.
What's your favorite dish/drink on the menu?
Marina: One of each? lol, One of my current favorites is our new cake flavor: Biscoff cookie butter cake!
And I never get tired of a cup of coffee with a PDQ!
Megan: Currently the Whole-wheat Strawberry Muffin, last week was the Dulce de Leche Brigadeiro
What is your favorite place to go out and eat at and what are you ordering?
Marina: In NY is hard to pick one but I love Thai Diner - definitely ordering their crab rice!
Megan: This one is hard, but maybe the panna pie at Razza in Jersey City.
You’re on a desert island, what are the 5 kitchen items you need to run your business?
Marina: Mixer, Oven, Refrigerator, Scale and a pan!
Megan: Oven, refrigerator, mixer, pans, and a scale
