For Easter, ‘Momma’ Reiner has prepared some special treats. Which means that for weeks now, she and her three helpers have been busy in the commercial kitchen she leases on Pico Blvd. turning out confections, including chocolate-covered marshmallows, as well as semisweet and white chocolate fudge. Reiner’s delicacies, which are individually packed in powder blue tins with brown ribbon for the holiday season, are available in half a dozen stores, including Black Ink at 873 Swarthmore. “I always recommend that people store their fudge in the refrigerator if they like more firm fudge or in a cool, dry place if they prefer it soft,” Reiner said. “Fudge can be frozen for up to three months. I put the fudge in a Ziploc bag inside the freezer.” Kimberly Reiner, a former attorney, has come a long way in the two years since she started her candy business in her Palisades home, when she would spend hours in her kitchen dipping a long spoon into a large pot of hot fudge and dropping spoonfuls onto sheets of wax paper. Row upon row, column after column, the treats accumulated on the counter, each made with the artful swirl of Reiner’s hand. “I like the dipping part,” Reiner said. Up until 2004, Reiner had been making the candy mostly for family and friends. She started cooking when she was about 5 years old’first with her mother, then with her own children. It was at the suggestion of her friend and neighbor, Palisadian business owner Patti Black, that Reiner began selling her homemade treats, which she now does seasonally. “Patti inspired me [to sell],”Reiner said. “Kimberly’s been giving [the fudge] to me every Christmas and I’ve been telling her we should sell it,” said Black, who’s been in the customized stationery business since 1998. “It’s selling great. People come in every day for samples [available at the counter].” Reiner and Black were neighbors in the Las Casas/Grenola neighborhood, where Reiner still lives with her husband, Steve, and sons, Alex, 7, and Emmett, 3. Reiner, a graduate of Pepperdine Law School, worked for five years as an immigration attorney in Los Angeles and Houston, Texas, where she and her husband moved after marrying in 1997. Originally from Beverly Hills, Reiner put her law career on hold when Alex was born. Her Texas friends gave her the name ‘Momma’ Reiner because she was the first among them to have a baby. When her husband’s job brought them them back to L.A. in late 1999, the same friends presented her with a white apron with the nickname embroidered on it. Even when Reiner was working as an attorney, she always made fudge for the holidays. “I think it brings back [childhood] memories.” She believes that the family fudge-making tradition began with her maternal grandmother, who used to make it with her daughter (Reiner’s mother, Terri Aidikoff). “I always knew I wanted to start a business,” Reiner said about the evolution of her “cottage industry.” While she won’t reveal the “secret recipe,” Reiner does say that the fudge has to boil at a high temperature and has to be the proper consistency before it’s shaped into pieces and set out to dry. Reiner announced this week that her company has been hired to provide fudge for the grand opening party of American Girl Place, which is owned by Mattel, at The Grove on April 21. There will be approximately 1,100 guests to this event.’Information is on-line at www.AmericanGirl.com’ ‘ Reiner’s next business moves include attending the candy food show in New York in July and to eventually open a retail shop of her own. She believes in “slow, steady” growth for her fudge factory. Contact: 454-2704 or www.mommareiner.com.
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