A Few Questions For ... Isabelle English

Isabelle English, the 17-year-old daughter of celebrity chef Todd English, chats with Patch's Mike Dunphy about the opening of her long-anticipated Charles Street store. 

Mike: Where are you from?

Isabelle: I am born and raised in Boston. I grew up in Charlestown.

M: How did you decide to open a cupcake shop?

I: We [Isabelle and her father Todd] were actually in London and we went to a cupcake shop. That night at dinner, we were brainstorming and talked about if we could do anything related to cupcakes. When we got back from London, he called me up and said he found a shop and called it Curly Cakes.

M: Why are they curly?

I: My hair. Everybody describes me as the curly girl.

M: Why cupcakes?

 I: I've always loved to bake and cook and I've always grown up in the kitchen. I used to sit on the counters and watch what was going on. And then in London, after we discovered a cupcake shop, that night at dinner we were discussing it and I said, "I love to bake. You know the restaurant business. Let's combine it."

M: What can you do on a cupcake that you can't do on a cake?

I: There is a lot you can do. Because a cupcake is smaller -- which you actually think you can do less on -- you can do different things like fillings and individual decorating, which are good for kids' parties so that everyone can have their own instead of one large.

M: Where do the ingredients come from?

I: One of the things that distinguish us from a lot of other bakeries around here is that we use all-natural products; not necessarily organic, but all of our stuff is homemade. We use no stabilizers or anything like that that to keep them. So they are all very natural and real ingredients.

M: How do you choose your flavors?

I: So we have our three basic flavors and then we are going to cycle in spring flavors, fall and winter. For winter, we have a peppermint bark, with white chocolate, chocolate. And we are still coming up with new concepts.

M: How many calories are in each?

I: Well, it's a cupcake. You are not going to be on a diet and come in here, but probably around 500 to 600 calories per cupcake, maybe less, maybe more, depending on what kind you get.

M: Are you involved in any outreach programs in Beacon Hill?

I: Yes, all the pictures of the kids on the wall are all Beacon Hill kids. We ran around and said, "Hey, do you live on the Hill? We want you to be part of our shop just as much as we want to be part of your community."