Brown Sugar Bakery Owner Competes in Food Network Holiday Competition
A South Side bakery owner who was eliminated during the Sunday night premiere of the Food Network’s Holiday Baking Competition, was a winner at shining a positive spotlight on the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood where she operates her business.
The Chicago Citizen Newspaper spoke to Stephanie Hart, owner of Brown Sugar Bakery, 328 E. 75th St., Monday morning, to ask about the experience and how she came to be on the show.
“It was a lot of fun,” said Hart whose long, reddish-brown locks, cascaded from underneath a mud-cloth print, top hat. “I got a telephone call out of the blue, in late spring from a casting agent asking if I wanted to audition for the holiday show.”
Show casing her supreme talent for concocting delicious sweet treats, Hart wowed the Food Network judges with fabulous flavor combinations of her ad-libbed cookies. The judges were not as impressed however, with Hart's presentation of the treats, which led to her elimination from the competition during the shows premiere Sunday night.
The $50,000, Holiday Baking contest, featured a pre-heat and main-heat round Sunday night, where eight competitors--bakers with varying degrees of experience--were given a tool to use during the pre-heat round to help create the “perfect” holiday cookie. Using a "scoop," Hart created a Butter Cookie with powdered sugar and crushed peppermint.
During the main-heat round, competitors had to create three cookie recipes using, oranges, chocolate, toffee and a surprise, raspberry jam.
Hart said during the airing as she plated her black forest, orange and ginger and toffee pecan cookies, “I’m nervous because cookies are not my strongpoint…I’m winging it.”
The Food Network judges liked the way Hart’s cookies tasted, but eliminated her because they did not like the way she presented the cookies.
"The fact that you were able to make three cookies with no recipes only knowing cake up there, that's amazing," competition judge Duff Goldman told Hart.
"Stephanie knows cakes, but she doesn't know cookies. That being said, she completely invented three recipes out of thin air. I was pretty impressed," Goldman added.
Born in Detroit and grew up in Downers Grove, Hart watched the episode Sunday night with family, which she said, was difficult to do.
She’s now focused on the busy holiday season.
“Doing the show was a blessing and I look at it as a gift.”
Brown Sugar bakery is now taking online orders for the holidays only.
“You can now order online right now for the holiday season. We plan to have online orders beyond the holidays at some point. Brown Sugar is also offering cake-in jar and will begin shipping in Dec., just in time for Christmas,” said Hart.
Brown Sugar offers a variety of cakes, cupcakes, cobblers, wedding cakes, pies, and other goodies.
For more information about holiday orders and upcoming events, please call Brown Sugar Bakery at 773-224-6262 or visit them online at brownsugarbakerychicago.com.
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