Every dessert is a
love letter to a culture.
Dear friend,
I grew up between two languages and two kitchens. My mother's side made madeleine and tarte tatin; my father's side made kheer and halwa. Dessert time was the one moment those two worlds touched. The table didn't speak — but it understood everything.
I've spent most of my adult life eating my way through other people's kitchens, collecting the stories that live inside recipes. What I've learned is this: every sweet thing carries history. The baklava you're eating right now was perfected in an imperial palace. The mochi was pounded at a New Year sunrise. The churros were fried over a shepherd's fire.
Knowing that doesn't just make the dessert more interesting. It makes it more delicious.
Koko's Delights exists to carry those stories to you — one carefully made, deeply considered piece at a time. I hope something in this collection makes you feel, even briefly, like you're somewhere else entirely.
With love and flour,
— Koko
How We Got Here
A Grandmother's Kitchen
In a small apartment in Lyon, Koko watched her grandmother fold stories into dough. Every Sunday morning smelled of butter and anise. "I realised then," Koko says, "that recipes are really just memories written in sugar."
The Wandering Years
Two years of eating across twelve countries — from Kyoto mochi-ya to Istanbul baklava shops to a Oaxacan kitchen on a rooftop. Koko filled three notebooks with recipes, conversations, and the names of people who fed her generously.
Koko's Delights Opens
A small table at a weekend market. Eight desserts, a hand-lettered sign, and a queue that wrapped around the block by noon. "The stories sold the sweets," Koko remembers. "People kept stopping to read the cards."
Sweetness Goes Digital
From market table to the internet. The same eight desserts, the same stories — now available for delivery, with an ever-growing collection of cultural tales to read alongside each order.
Our Mission
Cultural Respect
Every dessert is researched and made with reverence for its origin. We credit cultures, name countries, and share the real stories — not the simplified versions.
Real Ingredients
No shortcuts. Shiratamako from Kyoto. Pistachios from Gaziantep. Ataulfo mangoes at peak ripeness. The ingredient list is also the story.
Stories First
We believe knowing the history of what you're eating makes it taste better. Every order comes with the full story. Reading is optional. But we think you'll want to.
"Flour, sugar, and butter are just ingredients. It's the stories you fold into them that turn them into desserts."— Koko's grandmother, Lyon, 1987