Back in the summer of 2011 we wrote about former pastry chef Fany Gerson’s venture La NewYorkina, a food cart that helped New Yorkers beat the summer heat with innovative paletas, Mexican ice pops. The delicious paletas – which came in a range of non-traditional flavors like mango-piquín, avocado, queso fresco y fresas, and nieve de jalapeño – quickly took off, and soon she was publishing a cookbook Paletas: Authentic Recipes for Mexican Ice Pops, Shaved Ice & Aguas Frescas and selling her ice creams and Aguas Frescas in the New Amsterdam market and on the Highline.
Unfortunately, Gerson hit a road bump this fall when Hurricane Sandy devastated the industrial kitchen in Red Hook that she relied on to prepare her paletas. All the machinery, inventory, kitchen supplies and equipment were destroyed.
Not one to give up, Gerson launched a Kickstarter to raise money for new equipment from her family, friends, and loyal customer base, and we’re happy to report that her efforts paid off! As of yesterday she met her fundraising goal to buy a new paletera maker, and we can all now look forward to her delicious frozen treats as we dream of warm weather during these bleak winter months.
Felicidades Fany!
