Today we welcome a true wedding cake chameleon to the pod, because she can DO IT ALL!

Sugar flowers? Yes. Modern, colorful fondant cakes? Yes. Buttercream ruffles, petals, Lambeth? YEP. Baroque classical beauties? You know where I'm going with this.

Jenna Jenkins is the face behind ButterSugarFlour, 2024 winner of Best Wedding Cakes at the American Cake Awards, AND the Executive Cake Designer at Philadelphia-based Cescaphe Events.

Today we're talking about:

• Jenna's experience working in a high-volume cake design environment by day, and running her solo cake biz by night
• The importance of communication with your team, employees, and clients when working with tons of details
• Jenna's thoughts on how to be a lifelong learner and building long-term client relationships
• The excitement of working toward and finally WINNING Best Wedding Cakes at the American Cake Awards
• Jenna's tips on how to hack your workflow and how to find a cake design job that will improve your skills

Support Jenna on Instagram and Facebook!

Support the podcast on Instagram, or follow Blayre's biz on Instagram And be sure to tell your baker friends about the pod and leave us a 5-star review wherever you listen!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN WHISKTAKERS!

It’s become a thing on the podcast to have a fun episode for Halloween. After filming Halloween Baking Championship Season 8 in 2022, Halloween has become a super meaningful holiday to me! Last year I welcomed two past HBC winners for a fun roundtable. This year, I knew I had to go even bigger… so I invited HBC JUDGE, Pastry Chef Extraordinaire, and the entrepreneur behind the infamous Piecaken, Zac Young, to join us in the studio!

This episode has ALL THE THINGS:

• Hear about Zac’s unique journey from a musical theater career to somehow finding himself enrolling in culinary school
• Zac’s adventures working as part of the opening team at Bouchon Bakery, as the pastry chef for Alex Guarnaschelli, and consulting for (and ultimately becoming a partner at) The David Burke Group.
• The story behind the creation of the Piecaken, Zac’s foray into large-scale production desserts for wholesale, and the opening of his newest venture, Zac Young’s Sprinkletown
• How Zac landed his “night job” doing Food TV, and how he balances his crazy schedule
• ALLLL of the behind-the-scenes tea about Halloween Baking Championship, what it’s like to be a judge on Food TV, and a fun round of HBC-themed rapid-fire-questions!

Support Zac! Follow him on Instagram

Check out Piecaken Bakeshop on Goldbelly or visit Zac Young’s Sprinkletown Watch Food Network's Halloween Baking Championship, now streaming on MAX

Support the Pod! Follow us on Instagram Be sure to leave us a 5-star review wherever you listen to your podcasts!

Sometimes being a business owner makes us feel like a solo juggling act at the circus. Four balls in the air was fine, but then we add another, and another, and soon we've got 15 going all at once!

Our guest today is learning how to become an expert "juggler" and is here to share her tips on how you, too, CAN and WILL earn a standing ovation from your audience. Whether its figuring out how to blend biz life and family life, finding ways to connect with the community around you, or setting small, attainable goals to get you where you want to go, Pastry Chef Jill Davis is focused on finding the perfect balance of them all.

Today we're talking about:

• Jill's journey leaving her full-time baking job and figuring out how to provide for her growing family in the middle of the pandemic
• The story of how Jill transitioned from selling at markets into her brick and mortar studio space, and her tips for what to know and focus on when your business takes that next step
• How she found her stride and became sought-after in a small community, and how YOU can plug into your local area too!
• More Halloween Baking Championship tea, of course

Support Jill: -Visit the Drizzle website -Follow her on Instagram or Facebook Support the Pod: -Follow us on Instagram -Follow Blayre's business, Flouretta Sweet -Leave us a 5 star review wherever you listen!

*And don't forget to tell your baker friends about the pod!*