Posted on March 2, 2022 at 9:43 am by West Facet Rag

Tom Smallwood of Magnolia Bakery. Photograph courtesy of the Food items Community.

By Lisa Kava

A well-known Upper West Facet bakery is staying represented in Food items Network’s 2022 Spring Baking Championship. Tom Smallwood, head of Culinary Development and Coaching at Magnolia Bakery, is a person of 12 contestants from all more than the region taking part in the competition’s eighth period, which premiered on February 28th. The levels of competition carries on for eight months and will air every single Monday from 8 to 10 pm. A winner will be declared in May perhaps at the season finale.

Magnolia Bakery, known for its cupcakes, pastries, and well-known banana pudding has a retail outlet on Columbus Avenue at 69th Road, and 7 other locations in New York City, such as a single at Broadway and Central Park South. The bakery has expanded to contain direct shopper revenue and nationwide transport. Smallwood is liable for the growth of new products and solutions, assignments, and recipes. He also trains team in significant volume baking.

Food items Network is a cable television network, with courses about cooking and food stuff-associated entertainment. The network also publishes a magazine. The Spring Baking Championship is one of numerous seasonal baking competitions showcased all through the calendar year some others include the Halloween Baking Championship, the Easter Baking Championship, and the Kids Baking Championship.

In the Spring Baking Championship, which was filmed for the duration of the summer of 2021, the contestants are presented a diverse “assignment” just about every week. The 1st assignment was to build a floral bonanza cake with the concept “Everything’s Coming Up Floral.” The contestants, who are all together in a large kitchen, do not know the assignment ahead of time. They need to come up with a recipe swiftly and bake on the place, Smallwood explained to West Aspect Rag on a zoom interview.

“More than something you will need to imagine on your feet. It is about coming up with an plan or plan and adhering to by way of with it,” he said. The display offers all substances and kitchen area gear. “We were like little ones in a candy retail store, they give us everything we will perhaps need to have.”

The demonstrate options 3 judges and a host, all regarded personalities in the food field. The judges sample the creations of each and every contestant and then give individual but non-public feed-back. At the end of each and every episode, a person contestant wins a ribbon and one particular is despatched residence.

“You have no plan how your dessert is executing compared to the other people even while we all chat in the holding mobile although waiting,” Smallwood said. In the long run, the contestant who wins the remaining challenge at the close of the period wins the entire competitiveness and a prize of $25,000.

Magnolia Bakery. Photograph by Lisa Kava.

Taking part in the level of competition was a “fun expertise,” Smallwood informed the Rag. “I bought to flex some inventive muscles and believe exterior the box. The actuality that it was cakes, ice creams, and tarts was neat as I like to bake a great deal of various pastries.” He also is grateful for the friendships he made. “There was a large amount of camaraderie. We all still have a group chat and swap recipes all the time, we are all actually near.”

Developing up, Smallwood loved to bake. “My grandfather created all of our birthday cakes. A person of my earliest recollections was generating Xmas cookies with my grandpa,” he recalled. Following a short stint in the finance environment, Smallwood decided to return to his correct passion, baking. “I understood I wished to be a pastry chef.”

Just after graduating from culinary college in Paris, Smallwood worked at the Dominique Ansel Bakery in the Village. He then labored with marriage ceremony cake designer Ron Ben-Israel serving to to launch a cookie enterprise termed RBI treats through the pandemic when the marriage ceremony business experienced dwindled. Smallwood joined Magnolia Bakery in late summertime 2021.

On Monday night, February 28th, Smallwood hosted a viewing occasion for good friends and household in his Hell’s Kitchen area apartment to view the time premiere. He whipped up 85 tarts earlier in the working day to share with his guests. When Smallwood currently appreciates who receives sent dwelling each individual 7 days, and who wins the championship, he has to hold it a mystery. The rest of us will have to tune in on Monday evenings to come across out.

Smallwood is fired up to observe every 7 days and wishes viewers to delight in the show. “I hope I am a supporter favorite!” he exclaimed.