Our Story & Our Team
PHOTO BY JENNY GRANT PHOTOGRAPHY
It all began in her Nana's kitchen...
Inspired by her passion for hosting smaller, more intimate gatherings, owner Christie Ross decided in early 2021 to give her 10-year-old custom cake business, Buttercream & Sprinkles, a fresh twist by creating Tin Can Confections + Cocktails. After all, who wouldn’t want gourmet treats and craft drinks served straight from a stylish mobile cart?
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Christie’s culinary roots go way back to her Nana’s kitchen in Ramsey, where she first learned to whip up breads, pies, and other cherished family desserts at just nine years old. Between running a restaurant in the mountains of Western North Carolina and accumulating more than fifteen years in the restaurant industry, she fine-tuned her skills for cooking, baking, and making folks smile. Her flair for flavors soon earned her a steady following in Virginia—enough to transform her side hustle into a full-time custom cake business, which thrived for more than a decade (including five sweet years here in Ramsey).
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Beyond the kitchen, Christie has volunteered for Icing Smiles, Operation Shower, and numerous local charities, with her work proudly featured in Women’s Day Magazine and on popular blogs like Kara’s Party Ideas, Catch My Party, Pretty My Party, and Party Planning Magazine. Now, she’s channeling her love of bold, eclectic flavors—and her fondness for all things sweet and Southern—into her Tin Can adventure.
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When she’s not busy baking or handling day-to-day operations, you’ll most likely find Christie doing what she does best: serving desserts and drinks while belting out off-key 70s and 80s hits. But don’t worry—her baking skills are very much in tune, even if her singing isn’t!
PHOTO BY JENNIFER TESKER PHOTOGRAPHY
Working alongside Christie, is Amanda Nokes, a native of Bergen County and fellow resident of Ramsey. Amanda also grew up baking with her mom on the weekends, which led to a passion for baking cookies. She is the former owner of Manderin Cookie Company in Seattle, WA, where she not only had a thriving online presence, but also had her delicious cookies featured in coffee shops throughout the city. Her use of and amazing ability to blend creative and unique flavors, like peanut butter, chocolate, pretzels, and caramel or coconut, toffee, and dark chocolate, made her cookies a sought after local favorite and garnered national accolades, including the #6 spot on Fox News' "America's best chocolate chip cookies" list for her Crazy Love cookie, a scrumptious combination of dark chocolate chunks, coconut, and toffee. Amanda does not just limit herself to cookies, though, creating other delicious baked treats including pies, cheesecakes, and jam bars, which you will surely see on the menu. In addition to baking, you will often find Amanda and her infectious smile serving up your favorite drinks and confections at events while belting out REO Speedwagon. Amanda also handles donation requests and our public food truck bookings.
