The food world is known for its innovation – especially in the dessert category: Think nitrogen ice cream, cronuts and milky buns. Today, two Orange County-based chef/entrepreneurs – Shahira Marei and Sally Elgamil – announced that they’ve taken the classic milk & cookie experience to the next level. The debuted a new culinary concept – the “cookie shot” – at The Dirty Cookie, their fun food-hall based sweet-ery opened at the Union Market at The District in Tustin.
“A cookie shot is exactly what it sounds like – it’s shot glass-shaped cookie filled with housemade flavored cream,” says Co-Founder and Co-Owner Shahira Marei. “At The Dirty Cookie, we’re reinventing the way the public consumes milk and cookies with a variety of cookie shots and cookie sandwiches, made with organic ingredients.”
The Dirty Cookie team worked with a local engineering firm to design and develop the proprietary design and molds for the cookie shots. Guests of The Dirty Cookie will have to opportunity to fill their own cookie shots at the eatery, using housemade flavored creams from a kegerator tailored specifically for this use. The dispensing device – usually associated with beer – keeps the custom creams ice-cold and fresh, and adds a fun DIY element to The Dirty Cookie experience.
Starting in late July, customers at The Dirty Cookie can enjoy a selection of delectable cookies including chocolate chip, red velvet, and cookies & cream, accented with chocolate and vanilla creams (among other flavors) as well as a variety of other delicious baked goods.
“Shahira and I bonded over our shared love of novelty desserts, which inspired us to conceptualize The Dirty Cookie,” says Co-Founder/Co-Owner Sally Elgamil. “New trends are always emerging in the desserts industry, but the cookie shot has truly changed the way we enjoy a classic.”
In addition to Marei and Elgamil, who has her MBA in Management from Cal State Fullerton, and a Bachelor’s in Business Management from California Lutheran University, respectively, The Dirty Cookie founding team is comprised of other talented individuals, including Iman Marei, who heads up menu and recipe research and development for The Dirty Cookie, as well as Ahmed Shoukry who leads the company’s branding and marketing efforts. The kitchen will be helmed by Pastry Chef Elizabeth Dwicker, who specialized in desserts at Culinary Institute of America at Hyde in New York, and has worked at The Walt Disney World Contemporary Resort in Orlando, FL and The Bistro, a fine dining restaurant at the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina.
To learn more about The Dirty Cookie, and to stay up-to-date on special offers and limited edition, off-menu items, please visit www.thedirtycookieoc.com, or their Instagram page. The Dirty Cookie is located at 2493 Park Avenue within the Union Market at The District in Tustin, CA.
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