Amber Stephen

owner/pastry chef

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My love for baking started early, with my grandmother. For most of my childhood, I spent every afternoon at my grandparent’s house, with much of that time being spent in the kitchen (or at the table eating what we created). Sure, sometimes we used frosting out of a can (who didn’t?!), but I also learned to make it from scratch. If you ask her about the time I made a black forest layer cake by myself at around age 10, she will smile proudly and tell you all about it. I enjoyed helping with her traditions too; my favorite is filozes, fried Portuguese donuts covered in sugar, always made on fat tuesday. Besides making them, I mostly like eating as many as I can and covering my face in sugar in the process (seriously, I still do this every year).

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Like many young adults, I struggled to figure out what I wanted to do for a career. It had never crossed my mind to be a professional chef. I thought I wanted to be a drafter, then an accountant, then a veterinary technician, you get the idea. It wasn’t until age 25 that I realized I love working in food service. I had been a server for a long time, but wanted to be a part of preparing the food. So I quit one of my two jobs and enrolled in culinary school! I realized in my last semester that desserts were my calling, I was happiest working the dessert station for our school restaurant.

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I was fortunate to be hired by Enjoy Cupcakes right after I finished school, and stayed with them for nearly 7 years. It is in their kitchen that I have learned how to work hard, care for clients and exceed their expectations, and be creative on demand. The many hours I have spent with them, preparing amazing desserts from scratch, has given me the skills I need to create my own dream.

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Everything has come full circle; I am back where I started (no surprise to my grandmother). I look forward to creating treats that will make your day a little bit brighter, or your event a little more special.