Pastry chef Sara Brook founded Dessert Gallery Bakery & Cafe in 1995 to continue her passion for baking. While the bakery originated in Houston in 1995, Dessert Gallery Bakery & Cafe expanded with a second location in The Woodlands in 2024.
Although Brook earned a degree in computer science and sociology from The University of Texas at Austin, Brook said she pivoted back to her passion for baking with her first company, The Executive Sweet, in 1983.
“I was born with my love for baking,” Brook said. “I literally have been baking since I was big enough to stand up on my own two feet.”
While working for a law firm, Brook said she realized she wanted to create her own path, which led her to open her first baking company at the age of 21.
“It's great to be 21 and invincible, because you think you know everything, and you think you can do everything,” Brook said. “And so even though back then there wasn't a lot of talk about entrepreneurship, after working in the real world for five minutes I just thought I would do better paving my own path.”
The Executive Sweet operated from 1979-88 in Houston before Brook sold it and opened her second company, Sara Brook Desserts, one week later, operating out of River Oaks Grill. After customers repeatedly asked for the chocolate sauce Brook had created, The Great Chocolate Cover Up, she decided to focus her time selling it through gourmet food stores.
After selling The Great Chocolate Cover Up business in 1992, Brook moved on to open Dessert Gallery Bakery & Cafe. Brook said the original Dessert Gallery on Kirby opened in 1995, but the company relocated to another building across the street in 2009, and she expanded the business with a location in The Woodlands in February 2024.
With a team consisting of Dessert Gallery chefs, the bakery offers baked goods made from scratch.
“I'm very fortunate to work with a lot of people who've been here for 10-20 years, and even more. And that’s definitely a blessing, and very special in today's world,” Brook said. “We're known for our old-fashioned, homemade, yummy desserts like your grandma used to make, but better.”
The bakery is known for offering baked good classics made in small batches with quality ingredients. Brook’s Dessert Gallery offers handcrafted desserts iced one at a time by the bakery's chefs.
Desserts offered include cakes, cookies, brownies, pies, cake pops and cupcakes. Some customer favorites include the tres leches cake, lemon blueberry cake and the hand-dipped chocolate chunk cookie known as “the cookies that started it all," she said.
“I've just aspired to have the dessert that's special to someone because they always get this ... particular dessert for their birthday or for their family's special celebration,” Brooks said.
As a Houston staple, Brooks said Dessert Gallery aims to give back to the community through charitable donations, being responsive to community needs and raising money for causes. A few organizations Dessert Gallery has contributed to include Gracie's Corner Foundation, Heart Gallery and Second Servings of Houston.
- 25 Waterway Ave., Ste. A-125, The Woodlands
- 3600 Kirby Drive, Ste. D, Houston
- www.dessertgallery.com
