March 8, 2012 - Local Teen Aspires To Turn Baking Into Business
Local Teen Aspires To Turn Baking Into Business
Newark Patch Newsletter, March 8, 2012
Newark Memorial student strives to build her own pastry business
By Lauren Lola, Newark Patch
Haley Dove has a passion for baking.
And while it’s common for high school students to bake
treats for each other on special occasions, the NewarkMemorial High School junior finds the hobby even more
near and dear to her.
Which is why Dove is pursuing her own business:
CakeSpaz.
CakeSpaz.
"For the past five years, I’ve been making cakes for friends and family. As more and more people started to seek me out to do cakes for
them, I realized that my desire to be a pastry chef was self-propelling, because of my passion and love for baking," she said.
them, I realized that my desire to be a pastry chef was self-propelling, because of my passion and love for baking," she said.
Named CakeSpaz to represent Dove's passion for pastry arts combined with her selfdescribed high-spirited, fun-loving personality, the 17-year-old's business is already taking off and growing.
And Dove isn't selfish about her cooking talents. She's created a YouTube channel for CakeSpaz, where she posts videos of her creating her treats and the adventures involved. Dove first fell in love with baking at the age of 5 and started entering baking competitions when she was 8. Her recipes and baking skills have resulted in her being named "Best in Show" in state fairs, live bake-offs and local community contests. And she doesn't stick to one sweet treat.
Dove specializes in a wide variety of baked goods, such as cakes, cookies, cake pops and more. But baking can be a bit challenging for her as well.
"The hard part is the amount of pressure to create and perfect edible works of art. You have to always have a Plan B, in case things don’t turn out,” she said. “You really have to be able to work well under pressure and remain calm when things crumble, and sometimes, they do!”
"The hard part is the amount of pressure to create and perfect edible works of art. You have to always have a Plan B, in case things don’t turn out,” she said. “You really have to be able to work well under pressure and remain calm when things crumble, and sometimes, they do!”
Dove's aspirations come from her numerous inspirations. She hopes to one day be as good as Debbie Brown, Bronwen Weber and Duff Goldman.
Dove said her Culinary ROP instructor, Chef Christopher Skrocke, has been a major influence and supporter for her. And a local favorite baker of hers is Beth Ann Goldberg from Menlo-Park based Studio Cake.
Dove said her Culinary ROP instructor, Chef Christopher Skrocke, has been a major influence and supporter for her. And a local favorite baker of hers is Beth Ann Goldberg from Menlo-Park based Studio Cake.
Dove said she plans to continue her education in both the culinary arts and business fields in order to create a unique experience for people to come to her with their ideas. "I want to create a business that is unique; a business that is fun, enterprising and always striving for excellence,” she said. “I have big dreams, big plans and big trails to blaze," Dove said.
To learn more about CakeSpaz, visit http://www.CakeSpaz.com. You can also like CakeSpaz on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/CakeSpaz and watch the CakeSpaz episodes at http://www.youtube.com/user/CakeSpaz.
