Maxine Stein has always loved baking. The owner of Maxine's Catering/Bittersweet Bakers in Accord attributes her affection to a mouth-watering experience she had at age 10, when she made her first Duncan Hines cake. "I loved chocolate so I used a Jiffy chocolate icing mix that came in a box. You added water and butter to the powder and it made a dark, sugary, spreadable paste-like icing. I remember eating the cake (white, I think) and saving the icing for last. I still do that. It's my favorite part."

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Stein, now in her early 50s, admits that as an adult she never cooked much until she and a friend began taking classes in the city for fun. "We made Mexican food, Chinese food and much too much sushi," she says, "but it was baking that always remained the thing because of all the sugar and the chocolate."

In 1981, Stein and her first husband, a freelance writer unrestricted by a commute, decided to make the journey northward, motivated, like many New York City to upstate transplants, by a desire for more space. "I was tired of looking outside my window and seeing concrete. I wanted more trees, greenery, and openness." The couple found a house in Kingston where they moved with their young son Cody. It was after this move and the success of the dinner parties she threw for visiting friends that Stein first considered cooking on a professional level.  "Everyone always loved everything I made. I realized, one day, that I really enjoyed cooking and baking and that I wanted to do it more than just for friends," she says. "I felt good when I was cooking or baking...focused and centered." Busy raising her son and unable to devote full-time attention to her culinary passions, Stein began selling her goods to patrons of a local health club where she was employed part-time. "I made out a list of cakes, and said, 'This is what I make.' And they bought it."

Three years later, the couple moved to a home in Accord on a beautiful piece of land that Stein fell in love with. "This spot is what really drew me, you know? It's just so special, magical, and peaceful." Although she was not crazy about the actual house ("I didn't like the house at all, but my hubby at the time convinced me to buy it"), it did come equipped with a spacious kitchen that further fueled Stein's ambitions. After hearing that a gourmet deli had opened up in Stone Ridge, Stein says she "got brave and brought some stuff over." A few weeks later a phone call came and she was offered a job at The Country Deli. It was there that she came under the tutelage of fellow baker Ibi Hinrichs, who she credits with helping her develop the signature style she employs in her cake making today:  fresh-cut flower adorned cakes with icings and fillings made from plenty of butter, cream, imported chocolate and local fruits and preserves.

Though Stein's first marriage ended, it was weddings, in part, that helped her business become a steady success. "The Hudson Valley is a destination wedding area. People come up here from the city to get married from Memorial Day to Labor Day. A lot of my business comes from that." In the off season, Stein has supplemented her income by baking for many local restaurants and markets in the area including Depuy Canal House, High Falls Café, and, most recently, Saunderskill Farms.

It's local spots like these and the people who run them that have endeared Stein to the region. "The family who owns Saunderskill Farm, the Schoonmakers, are community-minded, kind-hearted people that I love working for. They were totally open to what ideas I had to bring to their line of takeout foods and desserts and hire a lot of high school kids." Other local businesses have shared this community spirit, coupled with a genuine interest in the well-being of the town's adolescent population (which appeals to Stein, who is busy raising an 11-year-old daughter, Aja, from her current marriage to Alan Levenson). "There really aren't a lot of activities around here where kids can get together and socialize. The folks who run [local rollerskating rink] Skate Time 209 are very committed to providing that. Kids can skate, skateboard, and socialize in a safe environment. Parents can drop their kids off and feel comfortable knowing they are having fun and being looked after at the same time." Brinton Baker, owner of Stone Window Gallery has taught pottery classes to young people for the last 11 years. "Besides, Brit's pottery and studio bring character to the town. I like having artists and antique businesses here. It gives the town its funky feeling. It would be nice to see more artists and craftspeople come to Accord.