When Rachel Jongejan was growing up, she was a huge fan of the Food Network and its baking shows.
Now things have come full circle for her as Jongejan and two friends will compete on the show this spring on the Food Network Canada.
鈥淚t鈥檚 crazy!鈥 Jongejan exclaimed. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so surreal!鈥 She can鈥檛 believe something she dreamed about for years finally became a reality.
Jongejan 鈥 along with teammates Cory Jong and Leila Shook 鈥 formed and will compete for $10,000 May 5.
鈥淲e had five hours to make a cake.鈥
鈥淚t was so tall,鈥 emphasized Jong.
鈥淚t had to have moving parts, be fully edible, and we had to bake it,鈥 added Shook.
According to , The Big Bake is 鈥渁n over-the-top baking competition series in which teams of three talented bakers compete to create the freshest, awe-inspiring cake displays.鈥
Of course, the episode has already been shot, edited, and delivered to the control room at the Food Network and now only awaits its broadcast date.
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So although the three know how it all baked out, everyone else will have to tune in to see if they bring home the $10k.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 tell you what happened,鈥 laughed Jongejan. 鈥淲e all had to sign non-disclosure agreements.鈥
Even though the trio knows the outcome, Team Flour Power is eager to see themselves on the small screen and to learn what the other teams were doing and saying behind the scenes.
鈥淲e were focusing on our stuff,鈥 said Jong. 鈥淲e had five hours, but you鈥檙e so busy creating your own cake 鈥 you don鈥檛 have time to look over to see what the other team is doing.鈥
The team explained they all had to apply to The Big Bake individually. Once they were all accepted, then they formed their team.
Jong hails from Burnaby, while Shook and Jongejan are both from Cloverdale.
They all describe the experience as crazy and incredible with high stress, but ultimately a tonne of fun.
鈥淚t was, like, bam!鈥 Jong exclaimed with a big smile, slamming his palm on the table. 鈥淪uddenly we were done and the show was done.鈥
鈥淚t sounds like a lot of time, but it鈥檚 not,鈥 added Jongejan.
The team said they don鈥檛 have plans for a watch party yet, but there may be an in-store viewing at Jongejan鈥檚 bakery in Clayton Heights 鈥 Happycakes.
Team Flour Power is not allowed to talk about hardly anything related to the actual on screen competition, but they did reveal their baking theme for the episode was 鈥渟pring.鈥
鈥淲e had to plan everything, build our structure, all on set within five hours,鈥 explained Jongejan.
鈥淚t was hectic,鈥 said Shook, 鈥渂ut it was such a dream.鈥
鈥淲e all watched these shows when we started making cakes,鈥 added Jongejan. 鈥淪o just to be there on set, and to have the opportunity to do it 鈥 it鈥檚 just bonkers.鈥
Being on Team Flour Power sparked a deep bond between the three.
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And all followed similar paths to becoming professional bakers: a love for baking pulled them away from other pursuits, slowly drawing them into the kitchen.
Jong got into baking as a second-choice career path.
鈥淚 originally went to school for video game art design,鈥 he said.
Jong found himself baking in his spare time and having a lot of fun with it. Then one day he realized his creative heart firmly beat in baking. So it was back to school.
鈥淚 went to VCC to learn baking and pastry art,鈥 Jong said. After that, Jong worked at a bread bakery, then moved on to work at a cupcake shop. Finally, he decided to immerse himself into making cakes and cupcakes and created his business out of that.
Now Jong runs
He said is about making 鈥渟weets and delicious creations with a nerdy and geeky spin on them.鈥
鈥淐ome to me with any idea, and I鈥檒l cake it,鈥 he said.
Shook got her baking start in 2011 after a eureka moment of inspiration. Shook鈥檚 uncle got a custom cake made for another relative鈥檚 birthday. When Shook saw the cake, she was hooked on baking from that moment.
鈥淚 was gobsmacked by (this cake),鈥 remembered Shook. 鈥淢y sister鈥檚 birthday was two months later. So I spent two months studying up on cakes.鈥
Shook then baked a 鈥3D, luau pig cake鈥 for her sister and she loved it.
But Shook didn鈥檛 pursue baking right away, either. She went to dental school and worked as a dental assistant full time until her son was born.
She started baking again 鈥渇or diaper money,鈥 but was soon drawn back in as the demand for her creations grew and grew.
鈥淓verything just snowballed from there.鈥
That鈥檚 when she started her cake business 鈥 . She said she loves to experiment with baking and Shook uses her husband and kids as guinea pigs to test out .
鈥淚 love to bake new things. I just love to push the boundaries of what can be done.鈥
Jongejan got into baking when she was sixteen after being obsessed with the show Cake Boss.
鈥淢y mom thought Cake Boss was stupid,鈥 she laughed.
Jongejan followed a circuitous path to baking too, as she soon went to school to study education and seemingly left baking behind. During her studies, though, she landed a job working at a bakery.
Then, one day, she came home with some news that startled her mother.
鈥淚 told my mom I was quitting university because I just wanted to make cakes.鈥
Her mom wasn鈥檛 thrilled, but Jongejan soon got hired at and the die was cast.
has been open in Clayton Heights for about 10 years.
鈥淚 started working for (the previous owner) about six years ago,鈥 said Jongejan. Then about three years ago the owner wanted to move on.
鈥淪he wanted me to buy it,鈥 explained Jongejan. 鈥淎nd I was 22. And I said, 鈥楴o.鈥 And she said, 鈥楶lease.鈥 And then I said, 鈥極kay.鈥欌
But it wasn鈥檛 easy for Jongejan to convert that 鈥極kay鈥 into a business loan. She was turned down by bank after bank.
鈥淚 was 22,鈥 she explained. 鈥淎nd I had no money. And I had no assets. And I had no business experience whatsoever.鈥
After running around for a few months, she was finally granted a 鈥済iant business loan.鈥
鈥淚 took a leap,鈥 she said. 鈥淓veryone told me not to do it, but I did it because I like cake,鈥 she said with another laugh.
鈥淢y mom left her corporate job at the same time, so she started working with me. Three years later, we have changed a lot of things and made a lot of improvements and my mom is still working with me.鈥
Jongejan now has nine staff members working for her and she is quite satisfied with where Happycakes is at as a business.
鈥淚t鈥檚 crazy,鈥 she said, lost in the thought of looking back over the three years she鈥檚 owned the bakery. 鈥淛ust the fact that it happened 鈥 that the opportunity came up for me.鈥
Jongejan said her life was crazy after she got the keys to Happycakes.
鈥淚 worked seven days a week, 12 hours a day,鈥 she remembered. 鈥淲hen I finally hired enough staff to take one day off a week, I was thriving.鈥
She felt the business changed for the better about a year after she took over. She spent time infusing the bakery with new ideas and working to increase her customer base.
鈥淚鈥檓 so grateful to Lisa Low for the foundation that she laid for (Happycakes),鈥 Jongejan said. 鈥淔inding an operating business changes the game. I started with the ball rolling and tried to improve things along the way.鈥
Now that things are successful for her at Happycakes, Jongejan is able to manage the higher operations of the business and concentrate on creativity.
But with all her success, she has no plans to expand.
鈥淣ever!鈥 she exclaimed with a laugh. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the number one thing people ask me. But my goal is just to make cakes and to be the best bakery in Clayton Heights.鈥
Team Flour Power takes the kitchen on Tuesday, May 5 at 6 p.m. The new season for 鈥淭he Big Bake鈥 begins March 31.
editor@cloverdalereporter.com
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