If you don’t live on Miami Beach, there’s a chance you have never been to Epicure Gourmet Market on 17th and Alton, and that my friends, is definitely a big miss.  Epicure Gourmet Market opened in 1945 as a Prime meat butcher shop. It was owned by the Thal Brothers and grew into one of the finest gourmet markets in South Florida with a second location in Sunny Isles. Epicure has an on-site bakery, award winning cheeses, a wine cellar, specialty grocery items, and an executive chef creating hot foods in a deli case every day.

Of course this is Saturday Sweets, so today’s feature highlights that on-site bakery. Less than a year ago, the bakery was taken over by Pastry Chef Christopher Jennings after the previous chef of 15 or so years retired. Chef Jennings, or CJ as he prefers to be called, decided it was time to revamp the bakery and give the desserts some more modern life. I stopped by to see if his treats were really worth the hype I’ve been hearing.

Spoiler alert: They are.

After chatting with Chef CJ about his long and experienced pastry career we set out to create the most delicious box of treats I could imagine. Here’s the desserts I can personally vouch for – all of the coffee cakes, the coconut cake, the Mocha Opera (chocolate cake, mousse, and espresso happiness), the caramel apple cheesecake, the blueberry and cherry mini pies, the deconstructed black forest cake, the cherry roll (I really wish I remembered the name of this one!), and the mango papaya cheese danish.

Believe it or not, I barely scratched the surface of the bakery case. Chef CJ’s passion is very clear when he talks about his creations and his pastry team.  He loves what he does and it shows in every bite of the deliciousness coming out of his kitchen and displayed in the pastry case. He’s creating more modern and fun twists to classics we already love. Take the mini pies – instead of just pie filling and crust, there’s a layer of vanilla cake and pastry cream between the crust and the homemade pie filling.

Epicure also has a large display of cookies, bon bons, truffles, and candy bars for those who have a sweet tooth that just needs a little attention.  I recommend stopping by Epicure before hosting your next dinner party, or for a delicious and sweet gift to take to a family or friend’s house. It’s a one-stop shop for gourmet items, wine, cheese, and desserts – after all, those are the most important parts of a gathering right?

Epicure Market

1656 Alton Rd,

Miami Beach, FL 33139

(305) 672-1861