Young cake decorator overcomes obstacles to lead cake program at Bittersweet Pastry
CHICAGO (CBS) -- It's Foodie Friday and today we're featuring a local pastry chef who is overcoming obstacles and creating beautiful cakes.
Digital journalist Jamaica Ponder introduces us to the 26-year-old now leading a 30-year-old cake program.
Bittersweet Pastry has been serving a banquet to Chicago for more than 30 years, and their cake program is currently headed by Kerrie Breuer.
We sat down with her to see how she cultivated her talents a little differently.
"I was born with one hand, and my parents, from the very beginning, they instilled in me this sense of self-confidence, and this idea that I could do anything I wanted to, as long as I put the work in," Breuer said.
At an early age, Breuer started cake decorating through a friend of her sister's.
"This friend sort of taught me all the basics of cake decorating, and then after that, I kind of did it on my own," she said.
Breuer's parents, while supportive, didn't make things easy for her.
"I would say they let me ride the struggle bus, but it was like a learning process," she said. "So instead of getting, like, adaptive equipment, they kind of let me figure it out on my own. So now I'm very quick at figuring out, like, how I need to adapt myself to whatever situation I'm in."
Breuer said it's that mentality that got her to Bittersweet, initially as a cake builder and finisher, occasionally decorating cookies on the side. She's now the senior member of their cake production and design team.
"I think it's a little scary because, you know, obviously Bittersweet is, like, a 30-year-old brand. So I feel, like, a lot of responsibility to make sure that I represent it well," she said.
For Breuer, that most recently looked like winning first place on Amazon Prime Video's Dr. Seuss Baking Challenge. She and her partner took home a $50,000 grand prize.
"Even a year ago, I was, like, I remember someone asking me, 'Oh, would you ever do a tv show?' And I was like, 'Absolutely not.' Like, that's not my vibe. I'm like, very introverted. I guess me sharing my story was an opportunity to kind of encourage people, and to let them know that a lot of limitations are self-imposed, and you're the only one. Like it's your life, so, like, you have to be the one to be, like, I want this for myself, because I know that this will make me happy, you know what I mean?" she said.
