August 2021 Snapshot

Passion + Hard Work + Memory Keeper + Memory Maker

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Dio Mio Desserts

From a home kitchen in Staten Island, 49-year-old Thomas Mancuso makes magic, and you can have a piece of it. 

Tom is an Assistant Principal in the Bed Sty section of Brooklyn.  He has been in that role for almost a decade and has been an educator with the NYC Department of Ed for almost half his life.  Yet, as dedicated a teacher as he is, the kitchen has always called to him. 

I have known Tom for years.  The one word I would use to describe him is passionate.  When he gets bit by a bug it’s a long and steady burn that he will have the rest of his life.  Tom has many interests and many passions.  He not only lives life, he also creates it.  Some people just go along with the motions, Tom makes the waves. 

Working from home during Covid, the kitchen beckoned.  During the school year, Tom works from roughly 7am until 4pm for the City and then makes dinner for his wife Kristi and their 17 month old son Mateo.  After spending quality time with his family over dinner, he began to experiment in his kitchen until the wee hours of the morning.  Locked up at home, he missed his extended family and looked to food to bring back the taste and smell of his childhood.  The comfort and stability would be reborn with every bite. 

Tom grew up in Brooklyn, the oldest of three children born to educators.  He lived in a multiple family building filled with grandparents and tenants.  His other grandparents lived down the street and great aunts and uncles lived within walking distance.  Separated from family and friends during Covid, Tom remembered the tapping sound his Grandma Helen would make on the steam pipe from her apartment overhead.  It was 7pm.  Dinner was over.  The tapping was like morse code, inviting his family over for dessert and coffee.  For an hour, his parents, grandparents, and siblings would sit around a table and catch up.  No matter how bad the day had been, that hour released the pressure.  Sometimes Grandma Helen would make her sweet and tart lemon meringue pie, other days it would just be an Entenmenn’s cake.   But there would always be family and laughter that melted the stress away.

It’s funny how a certain taste or smell instantly brings you back to a moment.  For Tom, dessert brings him back to his grandma’s apartment on 69^th street. 

The love. 

The peace. 

The magic.   

Tom recently posted on Facebook about how dipping a piece of mozzarella in some sauce triggered a memory.  He was transported back decades and was in his Grandma Anna’s kitchen while she made some veal cutlets and pasta.  That comment sparked a memory for others on the Sicilian Facebook page igniting a flurry of responses.

Food is the ultimate unifier.  It bridges the gaps between all people.  Tom is an instigator; he loves playing Devil’s Advocate.  But most of all, he loves meeting new people and talking to them, bringing them together.  Now, this life work is more important than ever.  Tom’s mom Susan and Grandma Helen were the bakers, and his Grandma Anna was the cook.  These three women created a happy place for people to gather, to let the day melt away and to lift the evenings with laughter.  It is something Tom wants to do for others. 

Tom dreams of opening a café.  It is his retirement plan.  Working from home during Covid, he decided to start laying the foundation for an eventual brick and mortar café.  Tom was always bringing desserts to block parties or family gatherings.  He finds inspiration everywhere: magazines, his mom, and his grandma’s recipes.  He takes tried and true combinations and rethinks them.  Adding alcohol here and fresh fruit there.  He sources ingredients from all over the world.  A bite of his desserts easily transports you back to his mother’s Brooklyn kitchen, baking for the holidays, but also propels you across the globe, tasting flavors from Puerto Rico to Italy and beyond. 

Tom’s Childhood tastes like….

Tom loved his grandma’s lemon meringue pie, but he always hated the crust.  It was store bought.  But he loved how she made the pudding.  He took that memory, that love, and reinvented Grandma Helen’s pie.  He uses shortbread cookies for the crust and makes a decadent lemon curd pudding, topped with a light and airy meringue.  It is an acquired taste, and isn’t the biggest seller, but if you were to ask Tom what his childhood tasted like, he would say it tasted of Sicilian lemons and his Grandma Helen’s lemon meringue. 

And then…

A mutual friend introduced Tom to his first customer in February 2021.  She and her wife ordered a cheesecake.  Tom was very interested in getting her honest feedback.  Her response was “Oh my God!”  And voila, Dio Mio Desserts (oh my God in Italian) was born.  Through word of mouth, Dio Mio Desserts exploded.  That one bite changed the trajectory of Tom’s dreams.  In a few short months, Tom has built a recurring client base of over 150 customers and counting and sells his desserts to over a dozen restaurants in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and Staten Island.  Currently, Dio Mio Desserts is on Facebook and Instagram. Tom is working on a website.  You can easily order a dessert through his social media, but he loves talking to his customers.  He readily gives out his cell number and encourages anyone interested to call. 

Tom experiments with flavor pairings and makes it his mission to give you a complete experience with every bite.  The depth of flavor and layer of ingredients are in each forkful.  He takes pride in each of his reinterpretations and creations, and carefully sources his ingredients.  Each dessert is made on demand- a single batch for each and every order.  Tom makes all sorts of desserts.  He makes apple pies, lemon meringue, seven-layer cakes and cheesecake to start.  He is constantly thinking of new flavor profiles and culinary experiences.  Tom’s desserts range in price from $25 to $75.  And you needn’t worry about the caloric intake of his cheesecake, as lifting them is a workout in and of itself.  Tom doesn’t skimp on quality or flavor.  Yet, his cakes are not overtly sweet. 

What is Dio Mio’s Most Popular Cake?

Dio Mio’s biggest sellers are easily getting dethroned.  Two months ago, Tom would have told you that his amaretto cherry cheesecake was the big hit, followed by his blueberry or strawberry cheesecake.  Now, it’s his apple pie topped cheesecake. But as soon as he tells me about his apple pie cheesecake, he begins to talk about his newest cake, a Nutella/Ferraro Rocher creation that he thinks will take the title from the others.  The newest cheesecake uses a Café Bustelo espresso married with Nutella to make a decadent and rich mouse.  The layers of flavors never seem to end. 

From the other room, I hear Tom’s wife Kristi remind him of his hummingbird cake.  It’s like a carrot cake but has pineapple instead.  It is tied with a Godiva chocolate cheesecake as Kristi’s favorite cake.   Tom quickly swears me to secrecy.  The hummingbird cake was inspired by a recipe his youngest sister Cathy shared with him.  She made it for a party and he was inspired.  Now it too is a big seller, but Cathy doesn’t seem to get any credit.  (I guess she will now!!!)

Looking at his toddler, Tom gets serious and says that he not only wants to keep tradition alive, but he also wants to be a positive role model for his son.  He wants Mateo to look at him and be proud.  Tom wants Mateo to see that passion and hard work pay off.  Through Dio Mio Desserts, Tom not only wants to keep his grandparents’ memories alive and trigger his youth to stay young, but he also wants to light the torch for the next generation, so that Mateo will be a memory keeper. 

Right now, Tom is still an Assistant Principal, helping kids navigate life to pursue their passions and dreams.  He knows that once he begins to commute to work, he will have to adapt his schedule.  But there is no turning back now.  Dio Mio Desserts will continue to make sweet concoctions and create memories. 

What’s that noise?

Do you hear that tapping sound?  It’s Grandma Helen calling you to gather round with your families, put the daily stresses away, and laugh with those you love, making memories forevermore.

And just like Grandma Helen, with Dio Mio Desserts, Tom Mancuso has made something sweet out of a sour note.

Currently, hours for order pick up are Monday through Friday from 5pm to 8pm and Saturdays by appointment.   You can see images of Dio Mio confections and rave customer reviews on Facebook @diomiodesserts and on Instagram at #Dio_Mio_Desserts_and_More.  You can also contact Tom at (917) 957-1564. 

Tell him Jaime sent you!  You won’t be disappointed.  When you have a bite of a Dio Mio Dessert, you will taste Tom’s memories, you will relive his youth, you might even relive your own, but you will definitely taste the love and the joy and make your own memories. 

P.S. Has Covid or some other negative life altering event changed your trajectory and helped you follow your dreams?  If so, I would love to hear from you.