It’s a long way from Lauren Rogers Gotti Sweets cake and pastry bakery in Olympia to the Food Network studios in Knoxville, Tennessee. But Rogers was invited to make that trip to compete against 11 other bakers from around the country in season 8 of the network’s Halloween Baking Championship which aired this fall.
And – spoiler alert – while she did not win first place, Rogers survived all the episodes’ qualifying baking challenges and competed as one of the four finalists. “I was excited,” she says. “I was shocked every time I made it through. I’m not going to lie.”
But this baker from Thurston County did more than just make it through. Professional chefs and celebrity judges Stephanie Boswell, Zac Young and Carla Hall praised Rogers’ baking during the competition. Rogers says it was a special moment for her when Hall called Rogers the “Queen of Cakes.”
Rogers’ Expertise at Gotti Sweets Sends Her to the Baking Challenge
Rogers bought Gotti Sweets in 2018. She specializes in creative decorated custom cakes ordered by appointment. Rachel Young, a friend who owns Miss Moffett’s Mystical Cupcakes in Lacey, appeared on the network’s Cupcake Wars in 2013. Young recommended Rogers for this year’s Halloween Baking Championship, and then it all began.
“It’s like a culture shock,” says Rogers of walking on the set for the first time with its multiple kitchen stations, baking supply racks, bright lights, cameras, film crew and judges’ table. “It’s exciting. It gets your adrenaline going.”
The set was constructed as a spooky hotel. During the eight episodes, competitors designed and baked Halloween-themed goods in timed challenges. Leading up to the finals, the judges eliminated one baker each week. From four finalists, judges crowned a Halloween Baking Champion at the end of the last episode.
Rogers says at first it was difficult to bake in an unfamiliar kitchen. “But the further along you make it, you know where stuff is,” she says. And she says that behind the scenes, culinary assistants help bakers quickly locate supplies on the shelves.
Rogers Bakes Elegant Cake for the Halloween Baking Championship Final
The finalists were required to design, bake and decorate a black multi-tiered wedding cake in five hours. They chose the flavors but could not use written recipes. “You use a lot of familiar recipes,” Rogers says in explaining how the bakers manage this. “You know your cake recipes and your buttercreams. You do things you are familiar with.” Even so, she says the stress of baking while being filmed can cause mistakes, like the moment in one episode when she almost forgot to add flour.
Each finalist was randomly assigned a cake theme and Rogers’ was “masquerade.” She made a purple velvet three-tiered cake, with a cream cheese and raspberry filling using fresh berries. Her top tier featured masks, the middle had harlequin diamond designs, and the bottom tier was wrapped in edible black filigree. In a dramatic turn, some of her cake overbaked so she tossed it. “I don’t have any time to spare,” she told the camera. “Every moment counts.” But she remade the cake and finished the event with aplomb.
“This is so you,” Boswell told Rogers in that last episode when judging her wedding cake. “Restrained elegance.”
Chef Hall chimed in, adding, “As dark as your cake is on the outside, the flavor is so bright and the raspberries are so cold, it was like ‘aahhhh.’” And Young judged her cake as a “class-querade” with solid flavors. Although another competitor – Blayre Wright – took home the prize and champion title, the judges applauded all the talented bakers, with Hall declaring that this was one of the best seasons ever.
And to add frosting to the cake, Rogers says the bakers enjoyed each other’s company despite being on-air rivals. They ate meals together, and even took a trip to the nearby Dollywood theme park. “We were so close,” she says. “We’ve all stayed in touch. We talk every day.”
Rogers Returns to Olympia After Baking Championship
Although she didn’t win, she says she had a fun time in Knoxville and has returned to a great life in Olympia. “I try to live in gratitude,” she says. Rogers says she is often recognized now after the series aired. She says she has been approached by fans while at local businesses and a flight attendant on one of her flights also spotted her. “That’s been pretty cool, fun,” she says.
Will she compete again? “Now that I know, and can be prepared mentally, I think I could do another one,” she says.
Call Rogers at 360.559.5626 to order one of her amazing cakes. She is not selling walk-in “grab and go” baked goods currently. Flavor selections, prices, photos and more are on the Gotti Sweets website.
