About Us
Sarabeth Levine:
Yes, there really is a Sarabeth!
Sarabeth is a
multi-award-winning restaurateur, artisanal baker and jam maker,
cookbook author, and winner of the prestigious James Beard Foundation’s “ Outstanding Pastry Chef of
the Year” award. In 2015, she received an Honorary Doctorate at LIU-Post University for her
remarkable achievements. In 2015, she was elected to the Specialty Food Association’s Hall of Fame.
Sarabeth first began her business in 1981 making her family’s unique 200-year-old
recipe for Orange Apricot Marmalade at her apartment in New York City.
Today, Sarabeth operates a 15,000 square foot jam manufacturing facility and a
4400 square foot wholesale bakery, café, and retail shop in Manhattan’s Chelsea Market. Under
her direction, there are presently 17 successful Sarabeth’s restaurants throughout the world; 6 in
the United States, 4 in Japan, 1 in Dubai, 2 in South Korea, 2 in Taiwan, and 2 in Saudi Arabia. In
addition, Sarabeth’s is scheduled to open in Qatar later in 2022 or early 2023.
Sarabeth is the author of two highly acclaimed cookbooks, “ Sarabeth’s Bakery –
From My Hands to Yours” published in 2010, and the “Good Morning Cookbook”, published in 2015.
The Sarabeth brand is very well recognized for its excellence in the New York metropolitan area and, indeed, throughout the nation due to her frequent appearances on QVC, TV, in magazine articles, newspaper stories and by customer word of mouth.
Charlie Apt:
Charlie is CEO of Sarabeth's after joining Sarabeth and Bill in June 2011 as
President and Chief Operating Officer of SBK Preserves, Inc. the corporation that manufactures
Sarabeth’s line of jams and other gourmet products. Charlie is a graduate of Haverford College and
earned an MBA from Columbia University. A former partner in the famed Ciao Bella Gelato Company,
Charlie sold his company to a private equity group in 2008 and remained on board until 2011.
A fellow member of the NASFT (The National Association for the Specialty Food Trade), renamed the SFA
(Specialty Food Association), Charlie knew Sarabeth and Bill
for 20 years and had great admiration for their company and brand. In the early years of both
companies’ existence, they had teamed up in a joint venture to produce a line of ice cream called
“Ciao Bella Sarabeth’s”, an extraordinary combination of Sarabeth’s spreadable fruits, baked treats,
and Ciao Bella gelato.
Charlie is working closely with the owners of Sarabeth’s to help manage brand
equity, build consumer awareness and loyalty, and structure the business for aggressive growth and
profitability. In 2016, Charlie was inducted into the SFA’s Hall of Fame. He is the Chair of the
Specialty Food Association Board of Directors and sits on the Board of Sarabeth's.