Morgan Brubaker

Connect Who or what inspires you to cook?

When people see or taste a plate of food that looks unexpected or tastes like home, their faces light up. That reaction - that one second of surprise, joy, excitement - is what makes the time invested in cooking worth it. I am a baker first and foremost, so I get that priceless reaction very often when people see my cakes. I love it!

What's your all time favorite dish to make?

I love baking 3D carved and sculpted cakes. The greater the challenge, the more impossible it looks to make it defy the gravity, the more detailed, the better. I am a trained and licensed architect with a master's degree in architectural restauration in Europe. When I moved to the States, I lost all my licensing, so I cannot practice as an architect. But building 3D cakes can be just as challenging as making 3D building models, and that is what I love doing.

What would you do with the $25,000?

I need the funds to open a brick and mortar bakery. I am not hirable in my field because my EU licenses are not valid in the US. If I win this, I will get a serious boost at furnishing a brick and mortar little bakery; I will have a small and intimate space, with no WIFI so people need to TALK to each other and start seeing each other's beauty again. Nothing brings people together as much as a good plate of food and genuine companionship. It's what good times are made out of. :)