P.S. & Co.
Vendor
About
At P.S. & Co., we take great pride in providing 100% organic, plant-based, gluten-free kosher parve, scratch-made, and healthful products to our treasured guests.
One of our missions is making sure our small business sustainably produces specialty food and desserts of the highest quality. Every recipe is house-made, using the finest quality ingredients, executed by our skilled team whose livelihoods we value. We want to share how we strive to do better for you and our employees.
As an example, a traditional pastry shop may use heavy cream, conventional white sugar and flours, and an affordable chocolate for a ganache recipe. Our ganache is made with organic cold-pressed, extra-virgin coconut oil, organic beyond-fair-trade cocoa powder, organic sustainable dark chocolate sweetened with organic coconut sugar and organic local maple syrup. Every ingredient we use is in a completely different price tier, as well as recipes which are very labor intensive.
The high-quality products that we use are both organic and certified gluten-free 100% of the time, which means our ingredients are expensive to begin with and difficult to source readily. If our vendor is out of stock, we will be at Mom's Organic or Whole Foods buying the retail version, in order to maintain our commitment. We will never swap out an ingredient for convenience or cost's sake. In most cases, an organic item is twice the price of its conventional counterpart!
Lastly, the restaurant industry (and its menu prices) has historically been built upon low wages, few benefits, and erratic and unreliable hours. From the beginning of our Locust Street shop in 2014, we have made it a point to pay above industry standard, create set schedules that allow our team members stability, and since 2019 have provided, health insurance, paid time off, and 401K savings. It was a personal goal of mine not to take a paycheck until we could afford benefits for our amazing employees. Only then, would I know the true cost of doing business.
Hopefully, this provides an inside peek of how we work and how we determine our prices. As we grow and develop, we are driven to continue to push boundaries and discover innovative ways to bring you the cleanest, healthiest ways to enjoy organic, plant-based, gluten-free cuisine.
From all of us at P.S. & Co., we thank you for continuing this journey with us! - Andrea and P.S. & Co.Team
Location
Philadelphia, PA
Manager
Andrea Kyan (Proprietor):
Born in Oakland, California to a feisty stay-at-home mom and a devout Buddhist father, Andrea Kyan was raised in southern New Jersey with two much older brothers. Growing up around these colorful characters shaped Andrea early on. After studying Physiological Psychology and East Asian Studies at Smith College, learning herbal medicine in southwest China, studying Mahayana Buddhism in India, learning Mandarin and teaching English in Taiwan, 4 months of silent Vipassana meditation in Burma, completing the post-bacc pre-med program at Bryn Mawr, and years working in HIV/AIDS and clinical research, Andrea couldn't believe her dream job was right under her nose. So much time passed trying to find her way, yet her childhood self knew all along: She love desserts and living healthy.
Upon adopting a vegan lifestyle in 2007, Andrea's sweet tooth went through a dry spell until her late night baking experiments hit the spot. A lightbulb went off: maybe, she finally found a career path that would combine her desire to help people with her love for animals, food and wellness. Her pursuit to help others eat better, live better grew into Pure Sweets, which had its start at the Whole Foods Summer Markets of 2009. In May of 2014, P.S. & Co. opened at 1706 Locust Street. and became more than just desserts. It takes many more people than just Andrea to operate what is now known as P.S. & Co.!
Andrea fantasized about attending culinary school and was honored to be given a grant by The James Beard Foundation in 2010 to attend The Natural Gourmet Institute Chef-Certification, but decided to keep her focus on Pure Sweets. Luckily, she had the honor of working alongside and learning from talented chefs and hospitality professionals who have taught her the ins-and-outs of the trade, while sharing a similar philosophy for nutrient-dense, organic, plant-based eating. All these collaborations have exceeded what she could have created on her own or learned in school!
When not meeting guests and working with the beloved team at P.S. & Co, Andrea enjoys trying new restaurants and traveling to remote places with her long-time partner Tommy, visiting family, working on new ideas, and working out with her favorite teachers - Marius Enache for judo/mixed martial arts, Kip Martin for flexibility/ballet, Yulia Bolotova for tennis - and adventuring with my best friend, Tuffy, on long hikes in the mountains and swims in the ocean.
Salimah Stith (Executive Chef):
Born and raised in New Jersey, Salimah started working in the restaurant industry at age 16. Since then, she's worked in a variety of kitchens including, resorts, hotels, catering, assisted living, steakhouses, country clubs, bakeries, and seafood restaurants.
Salimah has always had a love for cake (especially lemon!). While working at another nearby restaurant, after work, she would frequently stop into the shop for a slice. It was Salimah's desire to match her vegan lifestyle with her professional skills that brought her to join P.S. & Co. in April of 2019.
Salimah relishes the opportunity to spread healthful, gluten free, vegan, organic, and kosher food with our wonderful guests.. When she's not helping create beautiful new dishes for the shop, you can find her gardening, camping, and just being outdoors. Salimah dreams of living on a farm one day with a menagerie farm animals, including one of her favorites, cows!
Katie Dyer (Executive Pastry Chef):
Originally from the Philadelphia area, Katie has been working in the restaurant industry since college, where she worked at a pizza shop while avoiding classes. She eventually graduated to bartending, where she realized she was much better suited to work behind the scenes in the kitchen.
Since returning to and graduating from culinary school, Katie has baked and decorated her way through many pastry kitchens in the city of Philadelphia; but is so happy to have found her way to P.S. & Co! Katie loves designing unique custom cakes, beautiful plated desserts and all of the other artistic aspects of her job. In her free time, she enjoys going hiking and exploring all things outside with her family; she especially can’t wait to start traveling internationally again!
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