A Dream Comes True

Malta Joe’s Baked Goods has always supported the local Tucson/Arizona community, so when Arizona’s Children Association reached out to Malta Joe’s Baked Goods owner Joseph Gauci (also known as Malta Joe), he knew this was an extraordinary opportunity.

Arizona’s Children Association is Arizona’s best resource for helping children and families. Their programs target the type of future we all want to see: a future where every child has a safe and loving home, and families are supported through difficult and trying circumstances. It is their commitment to providing a specifically tailored continuum of services to children and families in need. All programs are family focused, strength-based, culturally sensitive and outcome driven.

Each year this organization reaches out to local businesses to help fulfill a request from one of their orphans. In December 2018, it was Jason who had a request that Malta Joe’s Baked Goods could help achieve. Jason’s special Christmas request was that he wanted to be part of the staff in a professional kitchen. This is where Malta Joe stepped in and agreed to help fulfill this dream!

Malta Joe invited Jason to come to the Malta Joe’s Baked Goods commissary, in Tucson, AZ to help make his famous Split Pea & Curry Pastizzi with him. Jason spent the day learning the fine art of crafting handmade filo dough into the delicious Maltese savory pastry, Pastizzi. “We started off slow,” said Malta Joe, “but by the time Jason was on his third #Pastiz, he was flying solo! It was wonderful to see his enthusiasm for doing something that he really liked to do!”

Jason created a few dozen Pastizzi, then they baked them together so he could take them back to Arizona’s Children Center to share his creative goodness with his friends. Jason told Malta Joe, “they disappeared in no time!!”

That just proves that the love for Pastizzi knows no bounds!