Spotlight On Kassandra Jimenez – Owner Of Con Amor, Nina Y León

I grew up in Calexico, a small border town, and spent much of my childhood crossing into Mexicali. That duality shaped me deeply. It’s where I developed my appreciation for cooking, art, and the restaurant scene. Being immersed in two cultures gave me a rich perspective on flavor, hospitality, and creativity. My mother was a home baker and caterer in Calexico, 90% of the equipment I use is hers. The kitchen was always a place of warmth and expression — that’s really where it all began.

I haven’t always been passionate about baking, but I was introduced to it at a very young age because my mother baked constantly. I used to sift through her cookbooks for hours, fascinated by the recipes and photographs. Over time, that curiosity turned into a deep respect and love for the craft.

Her attention to detail and devotion to her work is something I always admired. Her customers loved her, and her baking and catering are still talked about in our community in Calexico today. The way she respected her craft, her clients, and the planning and sourcing behind every event is exactly what I try to model in my own business.

It’s an experience I’ll never forget. My cousin was living in New York at the time and offered me a place to stay while I completed my internship at Ceci-Cela. I worked there for about a year, supporting Chef Laurent’s wholesale operation in Brooklyn, as well as working at his shop in SoHo. Baking at that scale was intense and humbling. I wasn’t doing the heavy lifting, but witnessing the precision, discipline, and coordination of such a large operation left a lasting impression on me. It was an intense and formative experience that refined my technique and discipline.

When my internship ended, I moved back home because I missed my family. I hoped to continue pursuing baking somewhere closer to Calexico, but instead I was offered a corporate visual merchandising role at Donna Karan in New York, which ultimately relocated me to Palm Springs, where I became the Visual Director for Anthropologie on El Paseo. That role strengthened my understanding of storytelling, branding, and spatial design. Years later, baking slowly found its way back into my life. What started as something creative and personal eventually became something I couldn’t ignore — it felt like returning to myself.

It’s inspired by the way you might sign off a love letter — “with love,” followed by my children’s names. Everything my husband and I create is inspired by them. We work hard to make them proud and to build something meaningful that they can one day shape in their own way.

When we were producing pastries from home, our days started around 3 a.m. Now that we operate out of a commercial kitchen, my husband and his team run wholesale production full-time. I manage the cake studio portion of our business from home. My day typically starts at 5 a.m. I wake up, make my coffee, get ready, and begin working on cake orders or restocking our pastry fridge at The Place in Indio (pictured), which we refill with fresh-baked goods Thursday through Saturday each week.

My children usually wake up around 9:30 a.m., and then my mom duties begin. They’re not in school yet, so our days are filled with play, light learning, breakfast, time outdoors, art projects, puzzles, movies, lunch, and dinner. After bath and bedtime stories, any unfinished work from the morning resumes. In between it all, there’s the cleaning, laundry, and everything else motherhood requires.

We began hosting backyard cafés in early 2025, and my husband encouraged me to start making pastries. We invited mobile coffee shops to pop up with us, and many of those relationships evolved into wholesale partnerships — like Buena Matcha, Mentosa, and Rutina.

This summer, my husband left his position as a culinary director to join our family business full-time. His business acumen, vendor relationships, and culinary background have truly elevated our operation. He oversees wholesale pastry production and our catering division, while I focus on cakes and creative direction.

Our most popular cake flavors are pistachio raspberry and vanilla dulce de leche. Tres leches cakes are especially meaningful to me — they’re tied to my childhood. More recently, we’ve become widely known for our pastries.

I spend a lot of time revisiting my mother’s old cookbooks, browsing Pinterest, and listening to baking and food podcasts. I’m constantly observing textures, colors, plating, and seasonality.

My grandfather and uncles on my mother’s side worked the fields in the Imperial Valley. We ate seasonally because that’s what was available. My husband’s family also worked in agriculture, so we both grew up understanding how food reaches the table. That connection to land and season deeply influences how we source and create.

Citrus! There’s nothing like desert citrus at its peak.

Tres leches cake. It’s my mother’s signature recipe, and every time I make it, I’m transported back to childhood memories and family gatherings.

In Palm Springs: Mentosa at Mojave Flea Trading Post, Ernest Coffee, and Coffeeism Co. (pictured).
In Palm Desert: Buena Matcha and Rutina.
In Indio: Saguaro Coffee and The Place.

Yes — hopefully in the near future. We dream of a small, intimate bakery space where we can bring to life the pastries we’ve been imagining.

The community. The support from our partners and customers has been incredibly humbling. We feel honored every time another small business welcomes us into their space.

Start now. Start with what you have. Do it for the love of creating. Growth and business structure will come — but the passion has to lead.

The people, the history, the art, and the landscape. I love that the beach, the high desert, Big Bear, the snow, and the lakes are all just a short drive away. The food scene and creative energy here are special. There’s room for everyone’s vision in this valley — and that’s something I deeply appreciate.

Bar Cecil in Palm Springs (pictured) — our absolute favorite spot for a sexy dinner and drinks. The Heyday in Palm Springs for something nostalgic, casual, but elevated.

Our favorite cafes are our partners, Mentosa, Ernest Coffee (pictured), Coffeeism Co., Buena Matcha, Rutina, and Saguaro Coffee. All offer different menus and styles of caffeinated/decaffeinated drinks, but the same attention to detail and overall excellent customer experience.

My favorite place to shop is The Fine Art of Design in Palm Desert and The Place in Indio.

Also for shopping – any and all thrift shops in the desert!