Help coming up with a name for my dessert company...

July 13, 2006 7:38 AM

Following up on this AskMe, I have my first customer: dessert for 15 ppl in late August. (Woohoo!) However, I still need to come up with a name for this dessert/catering company. Suggestions?

The first name that came to me was All Tarted Up because it's a phrase I've always liked and I really like making tarts. I also like the idea that a nice dessert can in and of itself take an event to a different level and that clients can have just that portion of a meal catered and make it special.

However, the phrase may be a little low brow for some clients. alltartedup.com is also already taken (though if I go with that criteria I won't ever come up with a name).

Here are the details:

• I mostly make desserts (though I do like making soups and spreads and nibbly things as well--but am starting with the dessert angle);
• I use organic ingredients whenever possible;
• They're mostly all raw or vegan and they're definitely all vegetarian but I don't like those words so much so lets just consider them healthy;
• I'm a small co., of course (just me!), and will probably mostly be doing small groups/events.

What would you suggest for a name?

posted by dobbs to Food & Drink (58 answers total)

Just Desserts
posted by chrismear at 7:41 AM on July 13, 2006

Response by poster: That's already the name of a chain in Toronto, chrismear, but thanks.
posted by dobbs at 7:42 AM on July 13, 2006

Nibbly Things
posted by mikepop at 7:44 AM on July 13, 2006

I guess "Eat Me" doesn't exactly move you out of the low brow demographic.

Sweets & Tarts
posted by mikepop at 7:52 AM on July 13, 2006

My Treat.
posted by Gator at 7:53 AM on July 13, 2006

"In Good Taste" (upscalier)
"Raw Flavour"
"I Can't Believe it's Not Meat" (I need one throwaway)
"Fresh" (or some variation in another language)
posted by cardboard at 8:00 AM on July 13, 2006

Wrestle the Fruitcake to the Fucking Ground
posted by fake at 8:04 AM on July 13, 2006 [2 favorites]

What about just "Tart"? or slight modification from mikepop: "Sweet and Tart".
posted by gaspode at 8:05 AM on July 13, 2006

Huge apologies, dobbs. :)
posted by fake at 8:05 AM on July 13, 2006

Tart Me Up Catering Co. (sorry)
Glorious Delicious Catering Co.

I like Gator's suggestion "My Treat"
posted by amethysts at 8:10 AM on July 13, 2006

a little indulgence? or maybe the indulgent tart?
posted by lester at 8:10 AM on July 13, 2006

If it's not a written law that all catering companies need a bad pun in their names, then Dobbs' Catering sounds as good as anything. Or Dobbs' Desserts.
posted by booth at 8:25 AM on July 13, 2006

Dessert First?
(from the old admonition that "life is uncertain, eat dessert first")
posted by Thorzdad at 8:26 AM on July 13, 2006

Suggestions from a friend/me. Sorry for any groaners. Not really sorry.

TartAttack.

Tart with a heart.

Lonely Tarts Club

Let Me Call You Sweet Tart

Fine Tart

Modern Tart

Expressionist Tart

Folk Tart

Tart Murmur

Kick Tart

Sweet nothings
posted by fake at 8:26 AM on July 13, 2006

[yourname]'s Organic Catering Co.
Good For You Catering & Desserts
The Healthy Table
Raw Catering
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 8:29 AM on July 13, 2006

What about something that doesn't scream "desserts?" I know that's what you do now, but you might want to leave yourself some room if the raw/vegetarian/catering thing takes off and the desserts aren't as big.

What about using your name? "Amy's Catering" or "Amy's Market."

We had an excellent caterer for our wedding called Black Rabbit. Does something like that sound good? Something that isn't food related at all.

What's your address? Would "4th St Catering" or something like that work?

"Raw Flavour" and "In Good Taste" sound good to me too.
posted by Atom12 at 8:32 AM on July 13, 2006

I can't think of any suggestions, but just wanted to say that I LOVE the name All Tarted Up. I think it's more cute than low-brow, esp if you call it All Tarted Up Catering or something officially.
posted by echo0720 at 8:33 AM on July 13, 2006

Sweet Somethings
Sugar and Spice
posted by plinth at 8:34 AM on July 13, 2006

Party of One
posted by Atom12 at 8:37 AM on July 13, 2006

Happy Endings
posted by bondcliff at 8:39 AM on July 13, 2006

T'Art
posted by A189Nut at 8:40 AM on July 13, 2006

Response by poster: Some great suggestions so far, folks. Please keep 'em coming. (and thanks for the laugh, fake).

Fresh is also a chain in Toronto, cardboard.

Atom12 (great nick!), my address blows and is temporary, but I am not at all against names that have nothing to do with food or desserts.

echo0720, thanks, I like the name, too, of course, and am on the fence.
posted by dobbs at 8:45 AM on July 13, 2006

If you go with anything involving "Tart", be sure to post regular clips of hangups and drunk punters from your answering machine.

My idea: Entreé Not Required
posted by ontic at 8:46 AM on July 13, 2006

Response by poster: Ooh, ontic, that made me think of No Entreé, which I like.

And for those suggesting using my name, that doesn't interest me. Whenever people hear my name I have to explain the damn thing and I hate talking about my name.
posted by dobbs at 8:51 AM on July 13, 2006

Dr. Dobbs' Tartabulous Tastery. Then do your website/brochures up in an olde timey style, complete with handlebar moustaches, spats, and straw boaters. This would allow you to ramble on a bit about the healthy/veggie/organic nature of your foods without seeming so serious.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 8:57 AM on July 13, 2006

Acoustic Catering

(so far I like My Treat and Dessert First best)
posted by mikepop at 9:06 AM on July 13, 2006

Monastery Hill Sweets Foundry. It's not a real place, but it sounds a little austere and natural for the all-organicness, and business-like with the foundry, and... um, it just sounds pretty in my head. Heh. (Voting for All Tarted Up, Let Me Call You Sweet Tart, and Dessert First.)
posted by headspace at 9:14 AM on July 13, 2006

Let's Get ReTARTed in Here!
Dessert Island
Sweet Ride
Healthy, Wealthy and Pies
posted by nomad at 9:26 AM on July 13, 2006

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Tarts Club Band
posted by IvyMike at 9:34 AM on July 13, 2006

@Booth: as far as I can tell, yes, it must be a law of some type.
posted by baylink at 9:36 AM on July 13, 2006

I love your All Tarted Up too...

If you're looking for something posh, and I'm not saying this is my favourite solution, but I can see a target for it - why not go with French (*rolls eyes pre-emptively*)?

La Tarte Chez Moi

or maybe less annoying, and you can drop the article and it works in English too:

Le Tartisan!

(google says there's a restaurant in Brussels with that name, but as long as nothing is registered in Canada, I doubt they will complain!)
posted by funambulist at 9:48 AM on July 13, 2006

After A189Nut:

Objet T'art.
posted by jamjam at 9:56 AM on July 13, 2006

Tartability

Tart Market

Let Them Eat Tarts

Fresh & Tarty (if you wanna go reeeeally lowbrow)

depending on whether you are a girl or a guy:

Queen of Tarts/King of Tarts

King Tart (like King Tut, but uh, with tarts)
posted by hazelshade at 9:59 AM on July 13, 2006

Also:

TartKnocker (horrible, I'm sorry, but I couldn't stop myself)
posted by hazelshade at 10:02 AM on July 13, 2006

Tart Vader?
posted by funambulist at 10:10 AM on July 13, 2006

One more (legitimate) suggestion:

Smart Cookie
posted by hazelshade at 10:10 AM on July 13, 2006

Cakewalk
posted by mikepop at 11:48 AM on July 13, 2006

"Little Organic Healthy Mostly Desserts Company"
posted by Caviar at 11:55 AM on July 13, 2006

Queen of Tarts is a bakery near my apartment, hazelnut.

Walking in there is like walking into aerosolized butter. It's unbelievable.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 12:06 PM on July 13, 2006

Response by poster: Queen of Tarts is an awesome place.

What do y'all think of phyllofilia?
posted by dobbs at 12:12 PM on July 13, 2006

I dunno; kinda makes you sound like a stamp collector. Or someone who is enthusiastic about penises.
posted by Gator at 12:33 PM on July 13, 2006

The Happy Cooker
posted by JohnnyGunn at 12:33 PM on July 13, 2006

jamjam's Objet T'art gets my vote.
posted by Alt F4 at 12:36 PM on July 13, 2006

Clog Your Arteries In Style
Passions of the Tart
Where The Tart Is
Tart of Gold
The Tell Tale Tart
posted by plinth at 12:45 PM on July 13, 2006

I vote for Smart Cookie.

I'm sorry I don't love All Tarted Up-- whenever I hear "tart" I think of poor Bridget Jones at the Tarts and Vickers party. But don't eliminate it from the running just because of me.
posted by orangemiles at 1:04 PM on July 13, 2006

Nothing new to contribute, but my favorites so far are:
- My Treat
- No Entree
- All Tarted Up
- Dessert First
posted by Amizu at 1:26 PM on July 13, 2006

I'm not a huge fan of "phyllofillia" -- sounds like it could be some obscure medical condition.

My votes from the suggestions so far would be for your own initial suggestion -- "All Tarted Up" -- with "Dessert First" coming in at a close second.
posted by hazelshade at 2:28 PM on July 13, 2006

Victory Tart.
posted by jessamyn at 3:40 PM on July 13, 2006

Beginning of the End (or Begin with the End)
Yumlings
Sweetoo (Chweetoo?) - I just like the sound of this word and use it often to refer to small kids. I think they like it too! I am biased.

I also liked Happy Endings, Sweet Nothings and No Entree as suggested by others.
fake: yr first suggestion was hilarious. Thanks for the laughs :D


And this might sound stupid and sorta putting my ignorance on the table (so dear MeFites please don't laugh on me); but I didn't know 'exactly' what's a 'tart' before this. And now after looking at some pics I'm sure I may have eaten it many times. And something about the word gave me the creepy feeling that it ought to have some other 'bad' meaning as well (bcoz it's close to turd/fart/twit??dunno). So I google defined: it. And guess what? The top result that comes out is the meaning : 'prostitute'. (who knew)

Now I know that's not a popular usage, and I am not saying that's a good enough reason for you to not consider the word tart but you might want just want to consider that aspect...Moreover, if you graduate to making other nibbly offerings then you don't want to get stuck with tarts in your name. I feel this is a stronger reason to not get 'tarted' up.
posted by forwebsites at 4:16 PM on July 13, 2006

"Tart Attack!" by a country mile.
posted by blag at 6:10 PM on July 13, 2006

Response by poster: Thanks, all, for your votes and excellent suggestions. I'm gonna give it some thought and spitball 'em for a while.

(who knew)

forwebesites, I assume most of us knew that. It's pretty common usage and the phrase "tarted up" is rooted in that definition.

In fact, I'm curious: if you didn't know the dessert (tart) and you didn't know the slang for a loose woman (tart), what did you think a tart was? Or do you mean you hadn't heard the word before?

Also, just FYI, fake's hilarious first suggestion is a play on my website, Wrestle the Future to the Fucking Ground; jessamyn's suggestion is a play on my previous web site, Victory Shag.
posted by dobbs at 6:22 PM on July 13, 2006

Go for the more highbrow sounding Tarte. You could perfect and adopt it as your signature dish.
posted by tellurian at 6:23 PM on July 13, 2006

In fact, I'm curious: if you didn't know the dessert (tart)...
I knew that tart was 'some' dessert....just didn't know what 'exactly' it was..and how it differed from a pie. Maybe because these are all new to me. I am new in US. You do get pie in India, but I don't think I've ever heard/seen tarts there. Though it might be still be available, and probably I'd have eaten it too (it certainly looks familiar), just that it'd be called something else. And I am certainly no foodie..and definitely bad at remembering names and fine distinguishing characteristics between similar tasting dishes.

and you didn't know the slang for a loose woman (tart)
Nopes! I certainly didn't know this slang. I'll immediately proceed to note this in my diary under the "things learned today" section :-)
posted by forwebsites at 9:51 PM on July 13, 2006

You might also want to note the slang meaning of "happy ending" while you're at it. Personally, I wouldn't name my business that unless I wanted to get a lot of phone calls from baked-up frat boys.
posted by Gator at 3:36 AM on July 14, 2006

Eat Cake
posted by orange swan at 7:25 AM on July 14, 2006

Organic Catering
Catering by Dobbs
Sweet Nature
Nature Treats
Organic Sweets
etc, etc

In the long run, your service and quality will do much more for/to your business than the name.
posted by JamesMessick at 11:11 AM on July 14, 2006

Culmination
221B (or Sherlock's Home)
Dessert Aisle

And for some reason, foreign words also came to mind:
Postres
Dolce far niente
posted by rob511 at 3:50 AM on July 15, 2006

"All Tarted Up" is excellent. Just use that! And as for low-brow, your customers will figure it out. One of the high-end little dessert bakeries here in Ottawa is "3 Tarts Bakery" which refers to the three women that run the company. I doubt they ever have any confusion problems.
posted by mendel at 10:53 AM on July 18, 2006