James Strong

owner

Born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, James worked his way up from a busboy at the Moose's Tooth to manager of the Bear Tooth in college. He left the restaurant industry and earned his Master's in Fisheries Management, publishing a book on the pollock fishery. He was working on his PhD, but the food and fun of the restaurant biz enticed him to start Sweet Caribou (named after a hunting trip to Adak).

Barbara Strong

executive flavorologist

James’s sister, Barbara Strong has been sweetening up family members’ and friends' special events for years with Parisian macarons, cupcakes, and other handcrafted desserts. Barbara has an exceptional palate and is a perfectionist when it comes to designing recipes. James started Sweet Caribou to share Barbara's incomparable desserts.

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Samantha Wagner

Executive PASTRY CHEF

Sam is a graduate of the University of Alaska Anchorage’s culinary arts program, and furthered her studies with a “graduate-school” year as a lab assistant for Chef Vern at UAA. She worked at Haute Quarter Grille handcrafting breads and pastries before coming to Sweet Caribou.