Two Desert Resort Community teens from the City of La Quinta in a stunning upset victory received the Academy Award of Food (the Gold Sofi Award) for their gourmet toffee candy. 

For Leah Post 16, and 17 year old Brandon “Brandini” Weimer it all started two years ago when the then sophomores at La Quinta High School needed a way to raise money for a class trip to Italy.  In October of 2006 Brandini Toffee was created.  The brief interim to June 30, 2008, found Leah and Brandon standing up at the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City to walk forward and receive their top award out of 150 Silver Finalists, selected from over two thousand entries.

The teen’s toffee beat out Colorado based Stephanie’s Chocolate, owned by Enstrom the No. 1 gourmet almond toffee maker in the nation.  Brandini Toffee has expanded into a business that produces hundreds of pounds of Toffee in a rented kitchen space in Old Town La Quinta.  Both of their moms and dads help out with the business.  The teens are hoping that the profits will finance their college educations. 

This is such a great story of entrepreneurship that I know you will want to read more details about the Toffee Teens.  But, the real kicker for me was what Leah said in a Desert Sun Newspaper interview, “Though we do want to make a name for ourselves nationwide and worldwide, we still make it a point to say we’re from La Quinta.  We are proud of where we are from.  We couldn’t have done it without the support of the community.” 

You know, I think they got it right when the University of California, Riverside created the Richard J. Heckmann International Center for Entrepreneurial Management at the UCR Palm Desert Graduate Center.  Kids like Lisa and Brandon can obtain an advance degree in business management right in the Valley, while they grow their own business.  Can you imagine the papers they will be able to write on the subject of entrepreneurship?

If you want a community environment to bring up your children, consider working for Riverside County and living in one of the desert resorts cities.  As you may know, they can also get their (or yours perhaps) undergraduate degree at the Palm Desert Campus of the California State University, San Bernardino.