Allie La Valle is the co-owner and baker at Larder Delicatessen and Bakery, the modern Jewish deli she and her husband, Jeremy Umansky, opened seven years ago. “My first love was cake decorating,” she says. In culinary school and beyond, that love grew into something bigger. Today, she makes all the breads and desserts at the bustling storefront in Cleveland’s Hingetown neighborhood. In January, she was named a semi-finalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker in the James Beard Awards. This is not the first time she has been nominated- in 2023 and 2020 the Larder team were semifinalists for Best Chef: Great Lakes region and in 2019 Larder was considered for Honors in Best New Restaurant.