Hi! I'm Steph!
Anyone who knows me knows I developed a very early obsession for food, and especially, all things sweet. I was always (and still am) a firm believer that there's always room for dessert! It’s delicious (obvi) but also a great way to bring a smile to people’s faces.
So a little about my background… I come from a Chinese immigrant family that began here when my grandmother came to America in the ‘60s. Ambitious and eager to start working, she opened a restaurant in New Jersey. That’s where my mom learned the culinary ropes and picked up her amazing cooking skills. When my parents moved to California, they had a couple plucky daughters including yours truly, and we grew up eating INCREDIBLE Chinese food every night. But, there wasn’t a lot of baking going on so my skills capped out with box mix cakes and slice & bake sugar cookies.
Fast forward to Christmas 2011, when my boyfriend (now awesome hubby) gave me my first Kitchen Aid stand mixer in a beautiful pistachio color. It was the BEST gift ever! Not only did he take a leap of faith giving his girlfriend a household appliance, he knew it was one of those things I always wanted but would never buy for myself. I was instantly hooked! First cookies, then cakes, then the rest was history! And what started as an evening hobby to relieve stress from my crazy job, baking has opened up a whole new world of passion, creativity and talent I never knew I had!
After spending nearly a decade focused on climbing the ranks in ad agencies managing some of the biggest brands in the world, I quit my corporate job in pursuit of a more balanced life and to see where a life in baking can take me.
In between my share of panic attacks about how I'm going to make a living, I took the biggest leap yet by auditioning and then being selected for Season 2 of ABC's The Great American Baking Show. It was one of the best decisions of my life and what ultimately gave me the confidence to leap out of the comforts of my previous 9 to 5 corporate life. I never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that I actually LOVE what I get to do every day. I am so thankful for all the support of friends, families and clients who give me the opportunity to feed, nourish and have a small part in their lives through delicious food! Nowadays, you can find me either baking with the badass pastry gals of Huckleberry Cafe and Milo & Olive, selling my pastries at local pop-up events or fulfilling private cake and event orders!
I'm excited to see where this journey will take me and to share with everyone my point of view on baking - melding beloved flavors from my childhood with modern day baked goods! So feel free to take a look around, and please don’t hesitate to say hello. :)
