Dallas host
Megan Smith
@megan_sm
Piece of Cake: A Divergent Life with Val Jean-Bart
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Local partners
VidHug is an easy-to use web app that enables you to create virtual group hugs to celebrate friends, family, and colleagues. In 2018, our founder created VidHug after trying to compile a birthday montage for his Mom’s 70th and realizing that there had to be a better way! When COVID-19 began to impact our celebrations, VidHug became the go-to app for creating meaningful connections while remaining safely distanced. We’ve delivered over 3 million virtual hugs and are deeply grateful to be able to help each and every VidHug user.
Additional details
Val Jean-Bart is the Val behind popular Dallas staple, Val’s Cheesecakes. Cheesecake was not always Val’s plan.
Originally from Haiti, Val pursued civil engineering at the University of Florida. His engineering career brought him to Dallas. But life is never one simple path: things began to diverge.
When his mother came to Dallas, Val began spending his Sundays in the kitchen with her. Cheesecakes were her favorite dessert, and they worked on new recipes in their test kitchen. After 200 Sundays in the kitchen together, Val’s mother’s legacy lives on in Val’s Cheesecakes. The beautiful blues and flowers that adorn the shops are a tribute to her.
Life is not always what we expect. It’s not always easy. But it can be so sweet, especially with a slice of cake, cheesecake to be exact!
