COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — From cookies to sundaes to apples, one Cottonwood Heights woman's secret family recipe tops them all off.
Sondra Latham founded Tom's Gourmet Foods LLC and now makes six different varieties of gourmet dessert toppings, based upon the original recipe created by her father in 1932. She says she has learned a lot starting her own business, especially since it's much harder than she anticipated.
"It's the hardest thing I've ever done," she said. "If I'd have known how hard it would be I probably wouldn't have done it."
The recipe for the original fudge topping dates back to 1932 when Latham's father, Tom Colarusso, the son of immigrant parents from Italy, began working as a soda jerk in a pharmacy in Yonkers, N.Y. When he wanted a fudge topping to serve over ice cream sundaes he developed the recipe that's been in Latham's family for more than 70 years.
In October 2002, Latham decided she wanted to see if the topping could be bottled and passed on to people outside her family. After working in the film business for 13 years, Latham was looking for a way to slow things down before she retired and to bring in some additional income.
"I needed a lifestyle change," she said. "I discovered that people outside the film industry work just as hard, but this is better because I can make more choices."
One of the biggest challenges Latham had to overcome to start her business was finding a commercial kitchen to make large batches of the topping, as many commercial kitchens don't like to rent out to entrepreneurs. However, Latham was finally able to procure a kitchen and began selling her father's original-recipe fudge topping at the Salt Lake Farmers Market.
Seeing the success her topping found among Farmers Market shoppers has sustained her.
"One of the easiest things for me was the consumer acceptance at Farmers Market. That's one of the things that makes me hold on," she said. "The response from customers when you see their face light up (is really rewarding). It's the flip side of the hard things."
Latham moved on to making other toppings after Farmers Market customers requested additional flavors. The second topping she made was Tom's Caramel Topping. It was followed by an additional seven toppings: Dark Fudge, Almond Fudge, Chocolate Pecan, Very Berry and the most popular, Caramel Pecan.
Neither of Latham's parents lived to see her start her business. Her father died in 1982 and her mother died in 1999. However, Latham feels that they would both be proud of what she is accomplishing.
"I think he (my dad) would be thrilled about (me starting this company). . . . He would be happy about it. It's a way of honoring my dad," she said. "I think my mother would be tickled."
Latham said her business has taught her to persevere.
"The biggest thing (I have learned) is to never give up, especially if you have a good product you can hang on," she said. "I have no qualms about the product. I know people love it."
Both marketing and avoiding debt have been major concerns for Latham.
"Most companies do have to take loans, and I'm still considering it every day," she said. "If I take a loan then I can do what I need to do. I've been avoiding debt as much as possible."
Latham's products can be found in various stores around the valley or on her Web site at www.tomsgourmet.com.
Even though her business is difficult at times, Latham still feels it's worth it.
"There's so many details to attend to on top of doing everything else. It's fun in that way but also overwhelming at times," she said. "Overall it's been a good experience, and I'm excited for what the future holds."
E-mail: twalquist@desnews.com