A 琉璃神社 baker has taken her talents to the national stage for everyone to see later in the month.

Kathie Dionne, the owner of Kakes by Kathie, is a self-taught baker and cake decorator. Locally, she鈥檚 known for her elaborate and delicious cakes and cupcakes.

Dionne and her cakes have been featured many times in various wedding magazines and sites throughout the country, but this is the first time she鈥檚 showing off on TV.

She said she had been contacted by the Food Network to participate in their shows several times but she had always refused.

鈥淭hey鈥檝e been asking me for years to participate, but I鈥檝e always run into challenges before,鈥� she said.

鈥淭ypically, they want to film during wedding season which isn鈥檛 feasible for me鈥� and then (the shows are) usually for teams of three, and I am Kakes by Kathie. I鈥檓 a one-girl operation, so that鈥檚 always been a challenge.鈥�

But this time, something was different: the network told her that they wanted to film a Halloween segment in January, meaning she would avoid the wedding season.

鈥淎t that point, I just had to plan out and find a team.鈥�

That is when her two friends came onto the scene. She said she called a baker friend, Joanne and cake decorator Kaleena.

Together, they became Team For Goodness Cakes, competing in The Big Bake: Halloween.

She said finally getting to go was a good experience in its own way, but the fact that it was during the height of the pandemic also made it feel different.

鈥淎nytime they weren鈥檛 filming, everybody was in full protective gear鈥� it was almost like you were walking into a space scene, it was a little surreal,鈥� she said.

鈥淏ut even on set, the judges normally would come right up to check your work, but they were keeping their six feet.鈥�

She can鈥檛 quite say what the outcome of the competition was for her until the episode airs, but Dionne is happy and proud of how she and her friends performed.

Most of all, she said she鈥檚 grateful for the chance to take her talent to a national show and put 琉璃神社鈥檚 cake scene on the map.

The Big Bake: Halloween runs from now until October. The episode featuring Dionne will air sometime later in the month.

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twila.amato@blackpress.ca
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