Carlsbad pastry chef to compete on Food Network’s ‘Spring Baking Championship’

When the pandemic arrived in mid-March 2020, Alexis Wells was furloughed from her task as a aspect-time pastry prepare dinner at the Omni La Costa Resort. But the task decline would grow to be a blessing in disguise for the 25-calendar year-old Carlsbad resident.

Almost promptly, Wells landed a whole-time chef and administration posture at a gourmand bakery in Carlsbad. Then she introduced two new impartial baking businesses of her very own. And ultimately, she earned herself a slot in Food stuff Network’s “Spring Baking Championship” competition sequence, which returns for its eighth period premiere on Feb. 28.

Wells claimed that inspite of the pandemic, the earlier two years have turn into an crucial period of time of personal enhancement for her very long-variety profession dream, which is to very own a Michelin-starred plated dessert restaurant.

But in the meantime, she’s on the lookout forward to tuning in up coming weekend to check out “Spring Baking Championship.” She’s not permitted to say how she did on the 10-episode sequence, but she mentioned just staying a element of the application produced her experience like a winner.

“It was pretty thrilling and this kind of a fantastic time to be there,” Wells claimed of the series, which not too long ago completed filming in Tennessee. “I achieved 12 astounding pastry cooks from all about the the U.S. and they were being all at so several skill ranges.”

Wells was born and lifted in Anchorage, Alaska, in which she reported she knew from the age of 4 she preferred to work in the kitchen area. Her wonderful-grandmother experienced owned bakeries and both equally of her dad and mom are business owners, so she began preparing for her long term dessert organization. Soon after large faculty, she moved to San Diego to show up at culinary faculty on scholarship at the San Diego Artwork Institute, the place she earned a certification in baking and pastry and a bachelor’s diploma in culinary administration. Just after graduating she joined the Omni vacation resort workers, wherever she skilled beneath govt pastry chef Keith Wallace. He mentored Wells in developing intricately made French-design plated desserts with just a several elements.

In January 2020, she commenced splitting her time at Omni and doing menu consulting for other enterprises, including The Merchandise Bakehouse, a 5-12 months-aged doughnut and croissant bakery and coffeehouse in Carlsbad Village. When she was furloughed from Omni, the family who owns The Merchandise supplied her a complete-time position. Currently, she’s the shop’s govt chef and supervisor, overseeing a workers of bakers, decorators, baristas and servers. She explained the shop is known for its gourmet doughnuts and brightly colored seasonal croissants.

When she was in culinary school, Wells reported she began getting into pastry competitions about the nation to hone her skills. In the a long time since, she has taken element in nearly 30 competitions and mentioned she has medaled in 12 of them. She explained she has a the natural way competitive mother nature and thrives on the obstacle.

“I did so many aggressive points in my existence when I was more youthful like bodybuilding, gymnastics and cheerleading. That was my launch when I wasn’t in the kitchen area. That translated into my operate ethic and currently being really competitive and constantly trying to be superior,” she reported.

Wells said she has been a lover of the “Baking Championship” Tv set collection for lots of a long time and has long adopted the professions of the show’s judges and host. Last yr, she felt confident that she was completely ready to audition for her 1st network television competitors present. The audition system provided making both equally a cake and a plated dessert for the audition panel to establish her techniques. Her audition pieces have been a vanilla sponge and chocolate brownie layer cake decorated like a hot air balloon and a plated dessert built with ingredients including lemon zest and turmeric.

Alexis Wells, 25, of Carlsbad on the set for the Meals Community series “Spring Baking Championship.” She’s competing on the show’s eighth time premiering Feb. 28, 2022.

(Rob Pryce/Food items Community)

Wells claimed the expertise of filming the collection was thrilling and exhausting. To continue to be sharp and focused, she and a fellow baker would get up at 4:30 a.m. to go for a few-mile operate to get started their day. The tension on the established was extreme, but Wells stated she taken care of her nerves by keeping targeted on the jobs. Among the spring-themed competitions the bakers will experience this year are earning a floral bonanza cake, fruit tarts that reflect their personalities and a twist on a mardi gras king cake.

Wells claimed one of her most loved ordeals was meeting demonstrate decide Duff Goldman, star of the cooking sequence “Ace of Cakes.”

“I grew up looking at ‘Ace of Cakes’ so I was super stoked when I got to meet Duff. He’s really an interesting person,” she stated.

Other than working at The Products, Wells also runs her very own personal pastry organization, Desserts by Alexis, and she and a pal lately begun a party function organization Flavor & Paint, wherever ticket-potential buyers paint pre-sketched canvases and take in 3 various desserts and hors d’oeuvres that Wells prepares. The every month events get position at the 5th and Sky Roof Leading Lounge in downtown San Diego.

“Spring Baking Championship” premieres at 8 p.m. Feb. 28 on both equally Food Community and on the streaming system Discovery+.