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Q4 HOLIDAY PLANNING

BAKERY TOURISM

CAKE SCULPTING

SUNFLOWER BAKERY

INSIGHTS AND INSPIRATION FOR THE RETAIL BAKING COMMUNITY

AYU BAKEHOUSE Q3 2026

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AVA N T F OO D M E D I A Paul Lattan

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The Fine Print Craft to Crumb is published by Avant Food Media, 1703 Wyandotte St., Suite 300, Kansas City, MO 64108. Craft to Crumb considers its sources reliable and verifies as much data as possible, although reporting

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FEATURED

BAKE R PROFILE: Kelly Jacques and Samantha Weiss

EDITOR’S NOTE

HOT TAKES: Top Trends in Retail Baking

BUSINE S S INSIGHT: Bakery Tourism

FE ATURE D BAKE RY: Ayu Bakehouse

DE SIGN TECH: Cake Sculpting

BAKE RS DOING GOOD: Sunflower Bakery

SEASONAL SPOTLIGHT: Q4 Holiday Planning

22 PRODUCT SHOWCASE

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AD INDE X

COV E R : Everything about Ayu Bakehouse, including its classic-eclectic menu, reflects the NOLA vibe. Photo by Olivia Siddall | Avant Food Media

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Craft to Crumb A Note From The Editor

IT’S A THING At some point in recent history, niche tourism became a thing. Wellness travel — retreats focused on yoga, nature immersion or technology detox — has grown to a multi-billion-dollar industry. Now, there’s a new niche: bakery tourism. “Bakery crawls” are drawing big Sunday crowds in London, and food-driven experiences with baked goods are anchoring vacation destinations everywhere.

JOANIE SPENCER E d i t o r- i n - C h i e f

This spells opportunity for retail bakeries. On a recent trek through Europe, our contributor Cydni Mitchell Hodges instinctively sought out bakery experiences as part of her trip. For a career baker and decorator, it’s a natural take. But she also discovered some great business ideas for bakery owners, which inspired her suggestions in this issue’s B usiness Insight department.

joanie@avantfoodmedia.com

This doesn’t have to revolve around vacation; those London bakery crawls often include a mix of visitors and locals. Think of it as an awareness generator, especially with social media, online referral apps, and services like Airbnb that now offer experience planning outside of booking stays. Even our featured bakery Ayu Bakehouse innately taps into these elements, thanks to its location in a New Orleans neighborhood that draws both regulars and tourists. The owners know their spot gives both types of customers a reason to come in — and come back — whether for local favorites with an Ayu spin or for the bakery’s authentic NOLA vibe.

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Today’s travelers, from down the street or across the pond, are nuanced in how they seek destinations … and what to do when they get there. Now, bakers have more ways than ever to become a part of it all.

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Craft to Crumb Hot Takes

HOT TAKES Photo courtesy of CookinBug

MINT IN BLACK

FRUITY + SPICY = FRICY

Also known as huacatay, black mint combines basil-like earthiness with hints of spearmint and pepper. This aromatic herb can add a touch of global gusto to any baked good where mint or cilantro is typically used.

While not traditionally found in desserts, cayenne pepper is becoming a magic ingredient for bakers. A pinch of the spice imparts subtle warmth and smoky depth to cupcakes, cookies, pies and fruit crumbles.

Photo courtesy of Carousel Macarons

Photo courtesy of Irvin Lin, eatthelove.com

TROPIC LIKE IT’S HOT

MEET CLOUD DANCER

Charring pineapple creates an almost entirely new citrus flavor. Bakers who find the just-right balance between tangy sweetness and caramelized heat are winning over adventurous customers.

Cloud Dancer, Pantone Color Institute’s 2026 “Color of the Year,” is trending for its absence of color. The minimalist white shade lends itself to visually refined desserts and elegant eats.

Craft to Crumb Seasonal Spotlight | Q4 Holiday Planning

PREPPING FOR THE

HOLIDAY RUSH

Setting menus, ordering supplies and staffing up early can maximize success in the busy season. BY CINDY ARORA

For many retail bakeries, holiday planning begins as summer winds down. Behind the scenes, bakers are creating menus, picking out packaging that will keep pies intact for shipping, brainstorming holiday cookie ideas, and working with vendors to secure specialty ingredients for the apex of the “most wonderful time of the year.” ’Tis the season to think ahead. After years of surviving and thriving through the holidays, a few bakery owners shared their best tips for prepping ahead of the winter rush. Look local. Michele’s Pies, the award-winning pie shop in Norwalk, CT, starts planning for Thanksgiving … the day after the previous Thanksgiving. The year-long process starts with evaluating what went right and what needs

tweaking to achieve the smoothest holiday experience. The bakery is nationally known for its fresh pumpkin pie, made in its commercial kitchen, where 10,000 pounds of pumpkins are steamed, roasted and pureed on-site during the busiest time of the year. “There’s nothing like fresh pumpkin,” said Stephen Jarrett, the bakery’s GM. “We’ve figured out that it is always best to look local. We work with area farms and during the holiday season, the cost is better and so is the relationship. One Thanksgiving season, we thought we were going to run out of apples, and one of our local farms loaded up their trucks and brought them to us.” Focus on details early. For Janice Jucker, co-owner of the award-

winning Three Brothers Bakery in Houston, the holiday season is a frenetic blur that starts in October and doesn’t let up until Mardi Gras in February. The bakery has made a name for itself with its DIY Gingerbread Houses and Pumpecapple Piecake — the Turducken of pie and cake — which features a threelayer cake with pumpkin, pecan and apple pies baked inside of it. Janice and her staff start preparing for the Q4 holidays as early as they can, ordering pie tins, designing new packaging, branding boxes, planning new menus, and creating instruction inserts to send home with holiday desserts. “These are things you don’t want to be dealing with in the middle of the holiday season,” Janice said. “You’re thinking of flour, sugar and eggs, but that’s the easy part.

It’s all the custom details, marketing collateral, and the listing of ingredients on all the boxes that we’ve been working on all summer.” For AMIE Bakery in Osterville, MA, summer on Cape Cod is peak tourist season. It’s also the time when holiday prep begins to take shape. Owner and pastry chef Amie Smith, along with her team, tracks the

data all year long, staying on top of what’s worked in previous years and what needs to be revised.

Yule Logs as early as possible, and specialty ingredients such as crystallized ginger, pecans, berries and chocolate are ordered in bulk months in advance to ensure the bakery is stocked for the holidays.

“We’ve got the holidays down to a science,” said Amie, who has been baking in the season for 12 years.

Plan for seasonal labor. For Amie, the toughest aspect of the holiday season is labor: finding (and keeping) staff at least through New Year’s Day.

Menu planning begins right after Labor Day, and pre-production starts in October. Amie orders boxes for the popular Christmas

Photos courtesy of Three Brothers (top), AMIE Bakery (bottom left), Michele’s Pies (bottom right)

“We have a team of about 35 people, most of them are part-time, high school kids, and we get students from Johnson & Wales University,” Amie said. “There’s a cost to carry labor. We have to get them and train them, so we try to find good candidates who understand that production baking is different than home baking.” A permanent staff and a roster of trained seasonal employees support new hires. “We have a small but mighty core team, and the holidays are always manageable,” Amie said. “We are a scratch kitchen, and it’s all hands on deck, but we always get it done.” For retail bakers, the months from October through December will always be hectic. Working ahead to lock in the holiday menu, hire seasonal help, and order ingredients and other supplies can minimize challenges and allow bakers to focus on optimizing sales and building brand awareness during their busiest selling season.

Craft to Crumb Featured Bakery | Ayu Bakehouse

ONE-OF-A-KIND PLACE

Ayu Bakehouse found its sweet spot in The Big Easy. BY MARI RYDINGS

Just across the street from Washington Square Park in New Orleans’ Faubourg Marigny neighborhood sits Ayu Bakehouse. Despite its Frenchmen Street location — an area known as the “locals’ Bourbon Street” — the bakery serves as an oasis of sorts for residents and tourists looking for fromscratch baked goods, a light lunch or a charismatic coffee bar. “The park acts as a type of filter between the neighborhood and vibrant Frenchmen Street,” said Kelly Jacques, head chef, who co-owns the bakery with Samantha (Sam) Weiss. “We’re in the sweet spot with this location. It’s easy to find parking, and we’re close to the French Quarter and the more touristy areas. It’s the best of both worlds.” Ayu opened in 2022, and everything about it, from its historic building to the open kitchen to the intentionally

classic- e clectic menu, was designed with the NOLA vibe in mind. “In the early stages, one of the questions we asked ourselves was, ‘How do we make sense of a bakery being on Frenchmen Street, the nightlife capital of the world?’” Kelly said. “Two blocks down are all the live performances of the jazz clubs and everything. The open kitchen is our version of a New Orleans live performance.” In keeping with the city’s laid-back personality, Ayu’s menu stays fairly static; the bakery doesn’t chase trends or reset with every season. Classics such as croissants, pain au chocolat, cinnamon rolls and sourdough bread are balanced with more adventurous sweet goods such as the Black Sesame Passion Fruit Danish and savory croissant-based pastries like the Boudin Boy and Shroom Boom.

All photos by Olivia Siddall | Avant Food Media

WATCH NOW

Get an exclusive look behind the bake at Ayu Bakehouse. 13

Craft to Crumb Ayu Bakehouse

“Our signature products are the Kaya bun, which is a top seller, the Muffaletta Breadstick, and our baguettes and house sourdough,” said Ayu’s head pastry chef Lauren Boudreaux, who studied at Johnson & Wales. “We stick with our classics, but sometimes we’ll add some flair here and there.” That said, Kelly and Sam like to keep the bakery case fresh and exciting, seizing opportunities to create limited-time items that lean into local seasonal produce such as figs and peaches. The bakery is known for adding an Ayu spin to holiday classics like Thanksgiving pies and the beloved King Cake. “I could just pull out some classic recipes and do the pie that everybody grew up with, but we want to put our mark on it,” Kelly said. “It doesn’t feel satisfying to just do a classic as it’s always been done. Sometimes we’ll use a croissant dough for the pie shell because you still get that flakiness. It uses a product we’re already working with, so we don’t have to mix another dough.” About that King Cake … is a NOLA bakery really a NOLA bakery if it doesn’t have its own version of this traditional baked good? During festival season — early January through Fat Tuesday in February — Ayu offers three varieties: the Croissant City Classic King Cake, which Food Network ranked one of the top 10 best sweet goods; the Babka King Cake; and a limited-time special edition King Cake.

WATCH NOW: For instance, last year the bakery collaborated with local cocktail bar Cure on a Vieux Carre King Cake. “The traditional King Cake stays the same every year, but we also offer a limited-edition version, as well as one inspired by our time in New York,” Sam said. “It’s one of our rotating menu items.” Menu changes and product development typically start with the team talking about what they’d like to add or remove, based on seasonality or sales figures. From those conversations, Lauren often takes the lead on R&D, determining production feasibility before diving into development. “I usually start backward, figuring out how the idea could work in production and how it could work in the case,” she said. “I don’t always get to see a product through from start to finish, so if I can start back-

Pastry sous chef Abbi Scott demos Ayu’s Black Sesame Passion Fruit Danish.

ward, I can make production easier for the team.” Keeping the production parameters in mind, the team starts developing the concept, offering informal tastings during the process, with the back-and-forth continuing until it’s deemed menu-worthy. “When we taste a new concept, we consider whether we want to keep going back for more or if we’re satisfied with one bite,” Kelly explained. “It’s indicative of the larger experience. We don’t want to make anything just to make it. If we’re going to put something new on the menu, I want it to feel like, ‘Oh, I’ve not had that before,’ or ‘I’ve not had it like this before.’ With limited space, every product has to earn its spot on the counter.” Kelly and Sam oversee back-ofhouse and front-of-house, respectively, and have carved distinct

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Craft to Crumb Ayu Bakehouse

lanes when it comes to evaluating menu changes or adding new items. “I’m more focused on the flavor and the final look of the products,” Sam said. “Kelly’s more focused on how we can produce them consistently at scale.” All production — an average of 1,000 pieces a day across retail, wholesale and online orders — happens in about 1,000 square feet of a U-shaped galley kitchen. Part of the “live performance” is how seamlessly team members move around in the small space. “Our movements are naturally choreographed,” Kelly noted. “That’s important when you’re baking at scale, especially when we hit the busy season, like King Cake season. There’s no time to waste when we are at full clip. Everyone on a dough knows what their movement is going to be.”

Ayu’s operational structure is designed so bread, pastry and front-of-house have their own teams. It’s an intentional system — one of many — that works even when the team changes. Repeatable systems are the Holy Grail at Ayu.

“If our systems let 90 percent of things go right, then we all have the bandwidth to deal with the 10 percent that don’t,” Kelly said. “There is a very clear delineation of responsibility here. There’s a lot of work, and it just makes sense for people to be able to focus. Plus, different skill sets are needed. Bread scoring is different from laminating.” There’s a system for every aspect of the b usiness, from inventory to wholesale orders to staffing. For instance, Ayu works with a select number of wholesale clients who can order standard products as well as specialty items such as pretzel rolls, lobster rolls and pandan bread loaves. In the early years, after several months of juggling last-minute order changes and late submissions along with the day-to-day details of running a new bakery, Sam realized a better system was needed. “We implemented a Google Sheets process where each wholesale customer enters their orders according to specific due dates,” Sam said. “It links to our production sheets, and I can quickly calculate what’s needed for those accounts as well as for the store and our online orders. And we rarely let clients make last-minute changes to their orders.”

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Craft to Crumb Ayu Bakehouse

“With limited space, every product has to earn its spot on the counter.” Kelly Jacques | co-owner and head chef | Ayu Bakehouse

The impact Ayu’s systems have on operations is priceless. “Our systems allow everybody to do their job more easily on the daily, which then translates to customers telling me they can see our staff is happy, that they enjoy the vibe here,” Sam said. “What allows for that attitude is all the processes that are in place on the backend. Our people have the tools and information they need to do their job.” That means everything the bread bakers need is ready to go when they arrive at 4 a.m. They start prepping wholesale orders, which must be out the door by 6 a.m., and then shift production to fulfill online orders and the store’s bakery case and counter. “We typically have three rounds of baking,” Lauren explained. “The first round is for wholesale orders, the second is to fulfill the storefront and the third, if needed, is for back-of-house needs. By the time the pastry team arrives at 7 a.m., the first two rounds of baking are done.” While the bread team is hustling at the front of the kitchen, the pastry team works on smaller projects, such as prepping dough and making fillings, in the back. When the bread team leaves, the pastry team migrates to the front, where they have space to spread out and work with their large doughs.

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Craft to Crumb Ayu Bakehouse

Making sure the whole team has what it needs is Ayu’s culture, which is a blend of what Kelly and Sam liked — and didn’t like — about working in the New York foodservice scene. For starters, the pair is serious about keeping reasonable working hours for their people. “If you have a 60-hour week because it’s Mardi Gras, that’s probably understandable,” Kelly said. “But we don’t want our people doing that every week. I think the work we do here is important, and I expect everybody to show up with a sense of that importance. But I don’t think this should be the most important thing in their life. It’s okay if it is — and it’s certainly super important for us — but to me, it’s a sign of success when people can see the work is important but not their whole existence.” Six years is a good run for a retail bakery, and most owners start thinking about expanding when they hit this mark. Kelly and Sam have other plans. “We don’t want more locations,” Kelly said. “New Orleans is a one-of-a-kind place, and Ayu fits right in because it’s a one-of-a-kind place. We don’t want to split our time between locations or create a situation where our teams don’t know each other.” While the co-owners aren’t exactly sure just yet what Ayu’s future will look like in the short term, one thing is for certain: They’re thinking about how they can maintain a

WATCH NOW Kelly and Sam talk about how they’ve created brand awareness organically.

sustainable life for themselves and their team. Perhaps it’s planting a garden in the plot down the street so they can grow some of their own produce, chives or pandan. Maybe it’s hosting events or developing a management-focused leadership curriculum for budding entrepreneurs. “For us, the path forward means, as we say, ‘going deeper, not wider,’” Sam said. “We want to create people who, when they have Ayu Bakehouse on their resume, potential employers know they not

only have a certain skill level in baking, pastry, coffee or customer service, but they also have the skills to be great leaders.” As for the long term, Kelly and Sam know exactly what kind of future they want for their business. “In about 25 years, we could sell Ayu to our staff, who have honed their financial understanding and business acumen over the years,” Kelly said. “That would be the perfect bow at the end of it all.”

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Craft to Crumb Product Showcase | Ayu Bakehouse

PRODUCT

SHOWCASE

Photo by Cedric Angeles

Photo by Sam Hanna

Every inch of Ayu Bakehouse was designed to reflect The Big Easy’s unique vibe, including a menu that mixes classic with eclectic. Here are a few examples of what sets Ayu apart.

Photo by Sam Hanna

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K AYA B U N F L U F F Y L A M I N AT E D P A S T R Y F I L L E D W I T H C O C O N U T P A N D A N C U S TA R D

B O U D I N B OY LO CA L B O U D I N P O R K SAU SAG E A N D A PAS T U R E- R A I S ED BOILED EGG WRAPPED IN CROISSANT DOUGH

M U F FA L E T TA B R E A D S T I C K M E AT S , C H E E S E S A N D O L I V E S E N C A S E D I N J U S T E N O U G H DOUGH TO HOLD IT ALL TOGETHER

Photo by James Collier

THE FRENCHMEN P R O S C I U T T O , M O Z Z A R E L L A , T O M AT O , W AT E R M E L O N RADISH AND SNAPPY GREEN BEANS ON A HOUSEMADE BAGUE T TE WITH FUNK Y AIOLI

JALAPENO CORNBREAD COOKIE SPICY CORNBREAD IN COOKIE FORM WITH JUST T H E R I G H T A M O U N T O F H E AT T O K E E P C U S T O M E R S COMING BACK FOR MORE

Craft to Crumb Baker Profile | Kelly Jacques and Samantha Weiss

IN SYNC

For the co-owners of Ayu Bakehouse, synchronicity is how the magic happens. BY JOANIE SPENCER

All photos by Olivia Siddall | Avant Food Media

In business, synergy is a buzzword that’s casually tossed around. But for Kelly Jacques and Samantha (Sam) Weiss — the baker entrepreneurs behind Ayu Bakehouse — it’s a non-negotiable. Although the two met in pastry school, the dichotomy was present from the beginning: Kelly was from a creative background that parlayed into pastry arts, while Sam studied finance and accounting. But in the day-to-day of the bakery business, they soon learned their differences not only ran deeper, but they also created a yin and yang that became the engine of the business. “I’m the gas pedal, and Sam’s the brakes,” Kelly said. “If we were both hitting the gas, we’d be driving off cliffs, and if we were both hitting the brakes, we’d never get anywhere.” Ever the optimist, Kelly doesn’t shy away from an opportunity. Meanwhile, Sam’s analytic mind takes a more pragmatic approach.

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“After hearing so many times, ‘Why did I say yes to this?’ I realized that sometimes Kelly can’t help herself,” Sam joked. “But it did make me learn that there’s a reason for us to say no sometimes. It helps me think about what the schedule’s going to look like. She likes to push the envelope, and while I’ll say, ‘Let’s try,’ I also think about what’s realistic, especially when we know what we’re able to accomplish.”

WATCH NOW Sam and Kelly talk about tools of the trade.

Ayu co-owners Samantha Weiss (left) and Kelly Jacques sync their differences to meet united goals in both baking and business.

Between the two, there’s a stabilization in the business that allows for innovation — and perhaps a little risk-taking — without overextending resources or the team. While Sam relies on instinct for quick decision-making, Kelly takes a more systematic approach through trial and error. “I like to have things in a process, while Sam has this strong discernment,” Kelly said. “She knows very clearly what she likes and doesn’t like, and it’s clear-cut for her. The combination of the two is how we have created systems that narrow the path.”

“If we were both hitting the gas, we’d be driving off cliffs, and if we were both hitting the brakes, we’d never get anywhere.” Kelly Jacques | co-owner | Ayu Bakehouse

As long as they’re working toward common goals, the pair’s diversity of thought is always their catalyst for solutions. The journey of bakery ownership has also been one of selfdiscovery for them both. Despite Sam’s finance background, Kelly is the one who fell in love with spreadsheets and is focused on developing systems for the operation. And although Sam’s day-to-day duties are managerial and outside the kitchen, she considers taste her most important tool. That instinct is what often leads to products that fly off the shelves.

Craft to Crumb Baker Profile | Kelly Jacques and Samantha Weiss

Bringing those skills together is how magic happens at Ayu. That’s when things click ... and from there, everything seems to move forward as it should. “We had a moment where we were able to pick our heads up and realize half the staff has been here for almost two years,” Kelly said. “When you get to look around and see everyone’s happy, those are the moments where you can sit for a second and take it all in.” While owning a bakery is highly rewarding, the pressure that comes with entrepreneurialism and the daily grind can be daunting, not to mention isolating. Then again, for Kelly and Sam, this is often where they feel the perks of partnership come in. “They say it’s lonely at the top, and that’s no joke,” Sam said. “But we have each other to vent to, or just someone who understands what’s going on and work through things together from different viewpoints.” For Kelly, she wouldn’t have it any other way. “Whenever I talk to someone who runs a food business solo and they’re struggling, I remind them that two brains are better than one,” she said. “I’m like, ‘You’ve gotta get a business partner, man.’” The vision of the bakery has come to fruition … and gone farther than either could have imagined.

“They say it’s lonely at the top, and that’s no joke. But we have each other.” Samantha Weiss | co-owner | Ayu Bakehouse

“We didn’t come to New Orleans to ‘make it big’ opening a bakery,” Kelly said. “I thought we would quietly open a neighborhood spot. But looking at it now, we did something that was good for us, and it’s also gotten us notoriety on a much grander scale. It takes time, but you have to believe in your vision and keep at it. We got there. And that’s very satisfying.”

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Craft to Crumb Business Insight | Bakery Tourism

HIGHLY

RECOMMENDED

Neighborhood bakery or travel destination? Make both happen. BY CYDNI MITCHELL HODGES

Food has always been an important part of travel, but increasingly, consumers on the move are actively searching for eating experiences as part of their trip planning. Tourism creates an interesting marketing opportunity when bakers focus on reaching people who are looking for ways to experience local culture through food. Here are a few ways to turn your neighborhood bakery into a must-see travel destination. Partner with existing food tours. Research tours that already operate in the city. Look at the stops they make, the foods they highlight and the types of stories they tell. Then, consider how your bakery might add to the experience. Offering small samples of a signature product and a few minutes of storytelling can introduce an entirely new group of customers to the bakery. It can also lead to additional purchases, repeat business and word-of-mouth referrals.

Connect with marketing organizations. When engaging in bakery tourism, the usual marketing channels may not be enough. Most major cities have tourism departments or convention and visitors’ bureaus. There may be opportunities to appear in visitor guides, website listings, newsletters, seasonal campaigns, media events or tourism-focused programs. Additionally, view the bakery through a traveler’s eyes and list classes in places they search for experiences. Find out how to get included in area business listings, culinary guides or suggested itineraries. The goal isn’t to market everywhere. It’s to make it easy for someone who doesn’t already know the bakery exists to discover it while planning or enjoying their trip. Partner with local hotels. Tourism boards may influence travelers before they arrive, but hotels have their attention once they’re in town. That makes them natural partners for bakeries.

Bakery tourism is about finding the right way to become part of the

LOCAL EXPERIENCE

and giving travelers a reason to remember the bakery — and recommend it — long after they leave.

Hotel employees regularly answer questions about where guests should eat, what they should see and which local businesses are worth visiting. Look for opportunities to be included in their recommendations. Invite concierge, front desk or guest services employees to experience the bakery so they’re familiar with what they’d be recommending. Then, consider whether there’s an opportunity to collaborate by, for example, offering pastries as a welcome amenity, breakfast vouchers for hotel guests, or cakes and desserts for celebrations. Create an experience. Build classes or demonstrations around regional specialties or culturally significant baked goods. If the bakery doesn’t have an obvious regional specialty, turn a signature pastry, decorating style or baking technique into its own experience. Monetize business knowledge and expertise while generating reve-

nue from sales of merchandise, baking kits, packaged products or other take-home items. Make sure the numbers work. The opportunity must work for the bakery before considering the additional exposure and sales a bonus. Before agreeing to a partnership or launching an experience, understand the costs and expectations. Arrangements will vary, so make sure to ask about group size, frequency, payment and any additional staffing or operational needs. Keep the relationships going. Eventually, visitors will go home, but the relationship doesn’t have to end. Travel-friendly p roducts and souvenirs — packaged mixes, baking tools, cookbooks or branded merchandise — can generate additional sales. Encourage visitors to post about their experience at the bakery on social media, with a reminder to tag the business. Use packaging, QR

codes or class materials to invite them to follow the bakery, join the email list or shop online. And never underestimate the value of the recommendations, photos and stories they may share with others. Bakery tourism is about finding the right way to become part of the local experience and give travelers a reason to remember the bakery — and recommend it — long after they leave. Cydni (Cyd) Mitchell Hodges is the director of digital strategy and revenue for American Cake Decorating, where she combines her expertise in finance, digital media and the baking industry to help shape the publication’s future. Since 2014, Cyd has served as a food business consultant through her brand Sweet Fest, an online company that supports the business needs of the food industry in the areas of professional development, accounting, marketing and branding. Contact her at info@thesweetfest.com.

Craft to Crumb Design Tech | Cake Sculpting

CAKE IT

TILL YOU MAKE IT WATCH NOW Click to see the full tutorial and a detailed materials list.

Cakes come in all shapes and sizes, from round to sheet to Bundt. They can also come in the form of dinosaurs, cartoon characters and race cars. No matter the occasion, sculpted cakes take any celebration to the next level. Craft to Crumb partnered with Sugar Geek Show to demonstrate how to sculpt a turtle out of cake. 30

Materials needed: Two 6-inch cakes, 6-inch dome cake, half-sheet cake, buttercream icing, white fondant, graham cracker crumbs, marshmallow, rice cereal, candy melts, glitter/sugar eyes, food coloring, edible dust, confectioner’s glaze, edible liquid paint, piping bag, acetate smoother, large silicone sphere molds, crème brûlée torch, straws, modeling tool

01.

03.

Cover both cakes with the crackled fondant and trim the excess. Paint with diluted edible colors. Add marbled fondant to the shell and make a hexagonal design with a modeling tool.

Carve the sheet cake and cover with ivory buttercream. Add graham cracker crumbs. Pipe buttercream around edges and blend. Insert straws into base to support the turtle.

02.

04.

06.

Apply a thin crumb coat of buttercream and chill until firm. Roll white fondant about ¼-inch thick. Carefully torch the surface, brush with glaze and let dry. Roll it again to create a crackled texture.

Melt marshmallows and candy melts separately, then mix with the rice cereal. Cool for 10 minutes, then shape into four flippers. Cover with buttercream and crackled fondant and paint to match.

All photos courtesy of Sugar Geek Show

05.

Cut two 6-inch cakes in half. Use three layers for the shell, and shape the remaining layer into the head/body. Layer with buttercream and carve into a rounded sea turtle shape.

Place the body and flippers on the base. Cut openings for the glitter eyes and secure with thin ropes of fondant. Add a small fondant tail, if desired.

Craft to Crumb Bakers Doing Good | Sunflower Bakery

BAKERS

DOING GOOD All photos courtesy of Sunflower Bakery

SUNFLOWER BAKERY The intricate process of pastry making and a lack of meaningful employment opportunities for young adults with learning disabilities spurred the origin story for this social enterprise in Rockville, MD. Established in 2009, Sunflower Bakery not only operates as a retail bakeshop but also provides a 26-week program for its students, who each receive workforce development training in pastry arts, culinary arts and hospitality. Every student who walks through the door receives individualized attention and guranteed access to professional opportunities. “We have a small teacher-tostudent ratio, and we make sure our students not only absorb the information but also retain it,” said Jody Tick, executive director of Sunflower Bakery. “Our students learn hard and soft skills: communication, time management, self-advocacy and employment readiness, just to name a few.” The bakery’s “secret sauce” is that it doesn’t train students in a vacuum; the employment specialists at Sunflower rely on employer partners to help each student find jobs in the communities where they live. Program graduates receive help with crafting a resume and cover letter in addition to searching for jobs based on their skills and interests.

“We’ve worked with 711 individuals across the Washington, DC, metropolitan area,” Jody said. “And we’ve worked with more than 70 employer partners across our history … from small mom-and-pop bakeries to larger companies like Nothing Bundt Cakes and Tatte Bakery.” The future is bright for Sunflower Bakery, and the pathway to employment is one step closer for each of its students. “It’s truly a gift to see the impact our program has on our students and watching how they grow from the day they come into the program to the day they leave … it’s transformational,” Jody said. “We see self-esteem and self-confidence; we see their independence grow. It’s amazing to be a part of that experience.”

Craft to Crumb Look | Listen

LOOK | LISTEN

Our multimedia collection features interviews, bakery tours, education, demos and more that give artisan bakers a fresh perspective on industry trends and issues.

Behind the Bake: Chicago 2026 Roadshow From Evanston to the Loop, take a look at six Chicago bakeries where authentic flair is crafted — and rewarded — every day.

The Intentionality Behind Hewn’s Success Ellen King, founder and co-owner of Hewn Bread, shares the intention behind the bakery’s in-person ordering approach and how it boosts business.

Inside Look: Pie-Making at Hoosier Mama Eliot Madrigal, assistant GM, demonstrates the meticulous production process for crafting the bakery’s signature apple pie.

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“BAKING IS A COMBINATION OF

ART AND SCIENCE,

RATHER THAN JUST PURELY WORKING WITH YOUR HANDS. YOUR HANDS ARE HERE TO TRANSFORM YOUR IDEAS.” — DIDIER ROSADA | AWARD-WINNING MASTER BAKER

At the Bench is an exclusive audio series hosted by Richard Charpentier, CMB, CEO of Baking Innovation (right). Richard chats with top artisan bakers and bakery owners from around the country about the trends and challenges facing retail bakers today. To hear this full episode and more from the series, subscribe to the Craft to Crumb YouTube channel.

LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE NOW 36