Childhood Love of Baking Pays Off for Los Angeles-Based Cookie Maker Melissa Sanders.

LOS ANGELES -- Al Roker's "Roker on the Road" on Food Network Will Feature Sanders' Company, Melfer's Macaroons, Makers of Chocolate Macaroons

Melissa Sanders baked her first batch of chocolate macaroons at the age of eight. Now, as an adult, Melissa is still baking macaroons -- by the thousands.

Tomorrow, Melissa's chocolate macaroons and her business, Melfer's Macaroons, will hit the national airwaves on The Food Network's "Roker on the Road" with host Al Roker, weatherman and co-host of NBC's "The Today Show." The segment, "Cookie Masters," will air on Tuesday, August 31, at 9:30 p.m. and Wednesday, September 1, at 1:30 a.m. (Check your local listings as times may change.)

Melissa's start in the business of making chocolate macaroons ("Not chocolate-covered macaroons," she stresses, "they're chocolate through and through") began as a child using a family recipe passed down through four generations to bake treats for friends and relatives.

The chocolate macaroons were a hit at family gatherings. To keep relatives from downing the treats before dessert, she resorted to hiding them. Attics, car trunks, closets and even empty clothes hampers proved to be ideal hiding spots.

The growing popularity of the macaroons convinced Melissa and a friend to go into business together.

Their first sticking point was choosing a name. The mutually acceptable choice proved to be a synthesis of their names, Melissa and Jennifer: MELissa + JenniFER = MELFER. And so was born Melfer's Macaroons.

"The first few months were really hard," recalled the Los Angeles native. "I was working out of my home, and baking at my grandmother's house."

"My grandfather had recently passed away, and the house seemed empty. But it was great for my grandmother. There was a lot of activity in the house. It reinvigorated her."

Business picked up through word of mouth. Like most small businesses, the first year was a little chaotic. "We used to joke as we baked and packed that we were Lucy and Ethel."

The mom-and-pop aspect of the business has long since changed. The baking operation moved out of her grandmother's home, and business has doubled with each passing year.

In addition to "Roker on the Road," the chocolate macaroons have caught the attention of publications like Bon Appetit magazine, which listed Melfer's Macaroons in their "Best of the West" sections in 2002 and 2003, Chocolatier in 2002, and the Los Angeles Times Food section in 2002.

"Everyone who tries our macaroons loves them," says Melissa. "Even people who don't like coconut tell me that they are really surprised by how much they love the taste."

In addition to the original chocolate recipe, Melfer's Macaroons offers 15 flavors, including chocolate caramel, chocolate peanut butter, pina colada and white chocolate raspberry. Most of the desserts are wheat-free and gluten-free, and all the ingredients are natural and kosher.

The chocolate macaroons can be purchased by phone [phone]) or at www.melfersmacaroons.com.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Samples of the original chocolate and/or flavor of the month (August: white chocolate pina colada; September: milk chocolate) are available upon request. Product photos are also available upon request.