At just 13 years old, Giuliana Petta is doing what most seasoned pastry chefs dream of: running a dessert business whose recipes appear on the menu of a downtown restaurant — one that’s already grabbed attention for redefining what steak house dining can look like.
If you’ve tried the banana pudding or chocolate mousse at Paris Steak, you’ve already tasted the work of Sweet Geez Treats, Petta’s homegrown dessert brand. And if you haven’t? Let’s just say you might want to book a table.
“I was always in the kitchen with my mom,” says Petta, who credits her mother’s love of baking as the spark behind her own culinary curiosity. What started as a hobby quickly turned into a business. “Everybody around me always gave me really positive feedback. That kind of inspired me to go somewhere with this.”
That “somewhere” now includes a growing list of clients, a dedicated website and a surprise partnership with one of the city’s busiest new restaurants. Paris Steak owner Peter Armanious first tried Petta’s chocolate chip cookies at a friend’s party and immediately tracked her down.
“They were a huge hit at that party,” she says with a grin. “He reached out to me after that, and it all kind of went from there.”
Armanious approached Petta with a challenge: he wanted dessert options that would complement Paris Steak’s French bistro–inspired menu: something classic. Giuliana got to work immediately. A meticulous self-starter, she dove into researching traditional French desserts, studying existing recipes not to replicate them, but to understand the fundamentals: texture, balance, structure.
“First, I followed a few different versions just to get a feel for what the consistency should be,” she explains. “Then I started tweaking things—changing ingredients, adding flavours. That’s when it really became my own.”
The results? A silky banana pudding and a rich chocolate mousse — both entirely her original creations.
Armanious was sold from the first bite. “It’s the best banana pudding I’ve ever had,” he says. “No question.”
Between school, soccer and baking, Petta’s schedule would put most adults to shame.
“My number one priority is education,” she says. “I always get my schoolwork done first, then I prioritize everything else.”
Her desserts, meanwhile, are quietly building a fanbase of their own. Paris Steak customers rave about the mousse’s rich texture and the pudding’s perfect balance of sweet and silky. And while Giuliana’s focus is firmly on finishing Grade 8, she’s already thinking about what’s next. More recipes. More clients. Maybe even a storefront one day.
For now, though, she’s just taking it all in. “I love to bake for others,” she says. “That’s the best part.”
Follow Petta on Instagram to see what she’s whipping up next.
