Check Out Piper Guy’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Piper Guy.

Hi Piper, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Well, I don’t have the typical story where I had an Easy Bake oven and always dreamed of having a bakery or grew up in the kitchen baking alongside my grandma. Actually, I never did much baking at all besides the occasional holiday baking. It’s actually something we joke about all the time as a family now because “Who knew?!” lol

I actually got into baking because of my daughter, Kapri. For her very first birthday, I went searching around to all the local grocery stores around town trying to find a cake that went with her ladybug theme. As basic as the theme was, I couldn’t find a ladybug cake anywhere (I wasn’t really aware of the custom cake world at the time). I went to Micheal’s, bought a ladybug cake pan, and made her cake myself. Needless to say at almost 15, she’s NEVER had a “grocery store cake”. My following birthday, my mom bought me my very first Kitchenaid mixer! I had just been laid off from my job working in home retention for a major bank, so I was looking for creative ways to make some extra money. I started out making various flavors of gourmet cupcakes and doing holiday specials. I was soon introduced to a friend of mine that took me under her wing and showed me all the basics of cake decorating, as well as, allowed me to apprentice under her and help her decorate cake orders. I also shared my very first televised cake competition for Food Network with her! It was one of the most nerve-wracking experiences of my life! Who would’ve thought the little girl who never expressed any interest in baking and is insanely shy when it comes to speaking in front of people would be baking on national television for the world to see?! Unfortunately, we lost in the first round, and you would never believe what for!! Forgetting to put the sugar in the cake!! Although we lost, I told myself if I ever had the opportunity to do it again, I would!

After months of job searching in the bank industry, I went out on a limb and applied to work for Duff Goldman’s first DIY cake and cupcake decorating shop on the iconic Melrose. I started working there as a part-time decorator and worked my way all the way up the ladder to the corporate team and even served as the interim CEO. This was such an amazing experience that taught me so much about the industry and running your own bakery business. Working for a celebrity cake artist has its perks. I have met and worked with so many amazing celebrities such as Justin Bieber, Beyonce, Stevie Wonder, The Kardashians, Chrissy Tiegan, and John Legend just to name a few. I also had the opportunity to be a part of several reality tv show filmings as well.

Over the last few years I have been on Food Network twice competing on both Holiday Wars and Cake Wars, HBOMax’s Baketopia, even got the chance to compete internationally on Food Network Canada’s, The Big Bake Halloween. Never in a million years did I think that me making that little ladybug cake for my daughter would lead me here!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No great journey runs completely smoothly without its struggles, right?! For me, one of the toughest times for me and my business were the first two years of the pandemic. I went from getting big 4 and 5 tier cake orders to NOTHING. Although I had my corporate job, the one thing I was most passionate about seemed to come to an abrupt halt. I went into a deep depression and considered giving up cakes all together! Ironically enough, during that time is when I did the majority of my filming for cake competitions. I even decided to add an additional menu item to my menu: cheesecakes!! It ended up being one of the best decisions I’ve ever made because it ended up becoming one of my best sellers.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I specialize in custom cakes, cheesecakes, and treats. Although my primary business is making customer cakes and bringing people’s visions to life, while also making sure it’s delicious, my specialty cheesecakes have been quite the best sellers as well.

One of my proudest moments was winning first place in the first round of Baketopia when I made my prize-winning “Unicorn fried cheesecake bites”. That was the first and only time I’ve done a show solo, so I was super nervous about the whole thing. Although I was very confident with my dessert, I wasn’t expecting to win at all!

We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
During Covid-19, there was a significant decrease in cake sales, especially large cakes. Similar to most of America at the time, I had a lot of downtime on my hands. I decided to dabble in gourmet cheesecakes in various flavors. The cheesecakes ended up being a hit and I would do slice sales about once a month. The lesson for me was for the longest, I was set on not adding anything additional to my menu besides cakes, cupcakes, and chocolate-covered treats. I decided to learn something new and put it out there to see if people were receptive to it or not. Turns out people love cheesecake, and it did extremely well!

Contact Info:

• Website: pattycakepiper.com
• Instagram: @pattycakepiper
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/pattycakepiper