Burbank baker competes on ‘Spring Baking Championship’
Local pastry chef Heather Wong had always avoided — and even feared — competition with other bakers. Understanding that it is usually one person doing all the cooking, the thought of going up against other talented chefs was intimidating.
Wong, the owner of the dessert catering service Scootabaker, said she had been approached by those working in the television industry to be in a cooking competition and had always turned down the invitation.
However, the Burbank resident decided it was time to give herself a new challenge, and is now competing against nine other pastry chefs in this season’s “Spring Baking Championship” on the Food Network.
Each week, the contestants try to outbake one another for a chance to win $50,000 and to take the title home.
This season debuted on Monday with an episode during which Wong and her competition had to bake a tie-dye cheesecake and an ombre cake. The Burbank baker survived the first episode and lives on to bake in another episode.
“It’s been a really amazing experience and has challenged me in ways that I could have never been challenged in the kitchen on my own,” Wong said. “It was like a pastry boot camp.”
Becoming a pastry chef was not Wong’s original career path. She was studying cultural anthropology at UCLA and needed a job while in school.
She ended up working at a bakery and quickly realized she liked making pastries and found out she was good at it. She then launched her business Scootabaker, which started as a pastry delivery service but has now evolved into a catering service. Wong said she also was offered work at various restaurants in Los Angeles County to bake their pastries.
Many of her pastries incorporate flavors for Asian and Latin cooking, and she uses black sesame, taro and Mexican vanilla in her dishes.
Wong said that to be a successful pastry chef is to remain passionate about one’s craft and to keep pushing oneself to try new techniques or use different ingredients, adding that success will come later.
“You don’t really do it for the money,” she said. “You’re doing it because you want to create, and you’re essentially an artist. But eventually, you hope to push through and build a brand and business and make that money. It’ll come eventually.”
anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com
Twitter: @acocarpio
