Shows
Cake TherapyGayrielle Harper's Sugar Rush: A Conversation on Finding Balance Without Losing Edge.A dream of psychology turned into a love affair with sculpted sugar. We sit with Barbadian cake artist Gayrielle Harper to unpack how a gap-year culinary course sparked a 3D cake career that thrives on trust, humor, and the courage to price what craft really costs. From handbags and cars to interactive elements that surprise guests, Gayrielle shares why challenge fuels her creativity and how simpler buttercream orders act as strategic breathers between high-stakes builds.We talk about the unglamorous but crucial parts of the job: importing supplies to a small island, swallowing customs fees, and doing...
2026-01-2336 min
Cake TherapyDr. Nneka Onuma On How Baking Became A Lifeline And A BusinessWhat if a cake could give you back your sense of control? We sit down with Dr. Nneka Anuma—Nigerian American cake artist, educator, and PhD in multidisciplinary human services—to explore how baking became her refuge, her business, and her bridge from heavy frontline work to moments of joy. From a childhood filled with art supplies and oven hunts in Nigeria to a bold ask at Dairy Queen that launched her cake design journey, Nneka shows how speaking up turns curiosity into opportunity.We get candid about the realities of a demanding nine-to-five in human services, rais...
2026-01-1742 min
Cake TherapyFood As Connection: Nourish and Gather with Chef Melanie UnderwoodWhat if your kitchen could quiet anxiety and spark connection at the same time? We sit down with Chef Melanie Underwood—culinary educator, mindfulness teacher, and founder of Nourish and Gather—to explore how cooking, gardening, and simple rituals transform everyday meals into meaningful self-care. From farm roots and family dinners to high‑pressure hotel kitchens and meditation, Melanie shares the practices that helped her turn attention into ease and ingredients into anchors.We dig into the power of seasonal, local food and why flavor is the best teacher for mindful eating. You’ll hear how phones‑off classe...
2026-01-0937 min
Cake TherapySalome Kyei Unpacks How Culture, Constraint, and Courage Shaped Afua's SweetsA salty first batch of cookies, a cross-continental childhood, and a decision to walk away from nursing—Salome’s path to Afua's Sweets is equal parts grit and grace. We sit down with the Ghanaian cake artist to unpack how culture, constraint, and courage shaped a business that blends bold flavor with delicate technique.Salome traces the roots of her palate from Ghana’s tropical brightness to Ethiopia’s Italian-leaning pastry traditions, revealing how coffee, mango, and passion fruit found their way into her modern designs. When lactose intolerance made traditional tasting impossible, she pivoted into vegan methods...
2026-01-0240 min
Cake TherapyRosa's Cakes: A Mother-Daughter Legacy of Craft, Resilience, And PurposeBeauty lives in the smallest details, and sometimes those details become a life. We welcome Gabby from Rosa’s Cakes in New Orleans—a self-described non-cook who transformed a love of clay miniatures into intricate fondant toppers, sought-after treat sets, and a thriving home-based bakery with her mom, Rosa. While preparing for an approaching hurricane, Gabby opens up about resilience, family legacy from Nicaragua, and the practical choices that keep their creative business strong through real-world storms.You’ll hear how clay beads turned into cake toppers, and how event-planning experience evolved into stellar customer service and effici...
2025-12-2135 min
Cake TherapyFrom Burnout To Blueprint: Octavia McIntosh on Designing A Life of FreedomWhat happens when your spark fades but your calling won’t stay quiet? We sit with author and strategist Octavia McIntosh to trace the honest arc from high-output corporate life to designing a freedom-aligned business that doesn’t demand constant presence. Octavia opens up about the subtle signs of burnout, the two-year inner conversation that led to her “I’m out” moment, and the practical blueprint she wished she had—now captured in her book and a growing I’m Out ecosystem.Together we unpack four anchors that changed her leadership and her life: knowing herself, deepening self-awareness...
2025-12-1332 min
Cake TherapyTamara Harding Left A Thriving Agency, Rescued Trees, And Found Her Purpose In WoodA thriving ad agency, a growing ache, and a leap into the unknown. That’s the backdrop for our conversation with Jamaican wood artisan Tamara Harding, whose purpose found her in the grain of fallen trees and the quiet of a bamboo-lined workshop. She didn’t tinker her way into a craft; she built a values-first brand, wrote a business plan, and let the material lead. The result is a body of work that rescues condemned trees, restores damaged slabs with resin, and turns flaws into features—sustainability you can touch.We dig into the moments that change...
2025-12-0543 min
Cake TherapyKitchen Therapy with Charlotte HastingsWhat if the most healing room in your home isn’t the one with the couch, but the one with the stove? We sit down with Charlotte Hastings, the pioneering force behind Kitchen Therapy, to explore how simple, hands-on cooking can lower anxiety, unlock conversation, and guide people back to trust and connection. From a childhood marked by trauma to eight years of sobriety, Charlotte shares how food became a safe third space—where a wooden spoon can reflect a life story, and a cheese sauce can invite truth without pressure.We trace her path from teaching to p...
2025-11-2843 min
Cake TherapyWhat I'm Baking Through: Season Four, Fresh BatterSeason four starts with a warm whisk of honesty, relief, and purpose. Dr. Altreisha Foster shares a heartfelt update on her mom’s recovery and how the kitchen became a steady anchor during Hurricane Melissa, setting the tone for a year that favors truth over polish. We revisit how Cake Therapy Foundation grew from two students to serving 75 girls across Minnesota, and why simple tools, reliable recipes, and a safe space can transform confidence, voice, and community.We map the road ahead—deeper conversations with multidimensional guests from mental health, business, education, and food—people who use the ki...
2025-11-2321 min
Cake TherapyAn Inspiring Chat with Leah Sherman: "You’ll work hard no matter what, so pick a path with meaning."What if the sweetest way to learn money basics starts with a whisk? We sit down with journalist and producer Leah Sherman to trace a winding path from PR to newsroom, then into the kitchen where baking becomes a refuge, a love language, and a vivid toolkit for storytelling. Leah opens up about studying psychology and economics, learning to see how media shapes identity, and translating those insights into pieces that feel personal without losing rigor.The heart of our conversation is Money Bakers, a NowThis series that turns finance into something you can see and almost...
2025-11-1434 min
Cake TherapyCraft, Consistency, and the Courage to Begin: A Conversation with Chef Noel CunninghamA whisk, a visa, and a vision. That’s how Chef Noel Cunningham went from Kingston kitchens to Canadian acclaim—building a culinary brand that balances savory discipline, pastry creativity, and deeply human storytelling. We sit down with Noel to trace the line from Sunday dinners with his mom and aunt to high-pressure hotel brigades, early media buzz, and a pandemic pivot that made cake both a business and a balm.Noel breaks down the real toolkit he took from Runaway Bay HEART—professionalism, language skills, and the soft skills that open doors in luxury resorts. Then he get...
2025-11-0746 min
Cake TherapyYou Are Enough: What We Wish We Told Our Younger Selves!!! Our Reunion SpecialFour high school friends reunite to discuss the transformative power of female friendships spanning three decades, exploring vulnerability, support, and sisterhood in a world that often pits women against each other.• Security and honesty form the foundation of non-competitive female friendships• The "no new friends" philosophy reflects the deep work required to build authentic connections• "Riding at dawn" means showing up for friends in whatever way they need, even when they don't ask• Vulnerability within friendship requires trust and creates deeper bonds• Many women struggle with accepting help while being quick to provide it• H...
2025-07-2537 min
Cake Therapy"Dare To Do It": Erseline Principaal Finds Joy and Success Through Cake DesignIn this heartfelt conversation with cake designer Erseline Principaal, founder of La Dent Sucrée , we explore the surprising therapeutic power of baking and entrepreneurship.Erseline's journey begins on a farm in Aruba, where pre-dawn baking sessions with her father shaped both her work ethic and baking skills. Though his traditional stone oven might have seemed outdated to some, the values instilled during those early mornings became the foundation of her successful business. Unlike many Caribbean families who pressure children toward traditional careers, Erseline's parents supported her pivot from nursing studies to following her passion for pastry a...
2025-06-2734 min
Cake TherapyThe UTECH Connection with Marcia Fraser-Cummings: How Cake Therapy Impacts Education in JamaicaWhen passion meets purpose, transformation happens. That's exactly what Marcia Fraser-Cummings brings to her students at Jamaica's University of Technology, where baking isn't just taught as a vocational skill but as a pathway to empowerment and emotional well-being.Fraser-Cummings shares her remarkable journey from academic studies to pursuing her true calling in baking technology. Despite societal expectations that "smart" students shouldn't pursue hands-on careers, she followed her heart and now leads the next generation of hospitality professionals. Her story reminds us that sometimes the most fulfilling paths aren't the most conventional ones.What truly sets...
2025-06-2032 min
Cake TherapyHow Culinary Arts Bridge Divides and Heal Minds with Capri Cafaro of Humble Pie Home & KitchenEver wonder how the simple act of baking could transform your mental health? This eye-opening conversation with Capri Cafaro reveals the surprising therapeutic power of food in our increasingly disconnected world.Cafaro's remarkable journey from Ohio State Senate Democratic leader to culinary entrepreneur offers powerful insights about finding balance in unexpected places. She shares candidly how her kitchen became a sanctuary during the high-stress world of politics—a place where chopping vegetables and kneading dough provided the mental respite she desperately needed. This accidental discovery led her to create Humble Pie Kitchen, a platform where food transcends me...
2025-06-1351 min
Cake TherapyHow Disaster Fueled Authenticity: A Conversation with Haley of Cakes by CenzaWhat happens when your lifelong calling meets unexpected disaster? Haley of By Cenza Cake Studio shares her extraordinary journey from childhood chocolate-making sessions to professional cake artistry, revealing how authenticity became her secret ingredient for success.Unlike many who stumble into baking mid-career, Haley knew from age five that creating beautiful, delicious treats was her destiny. "I found meaning in bringing something to life and then bringing it to somebody else," she explains, describing the dual satisfaction that has fueled her passion for over two decades. Even while pursuing a business degree, she remained steadfast: "It doesn't...
2025-05-2357 min
Cake TherapyA Conversation with The Tiny Italian - How Cooking Nourishes Body and Soul with Paola MaggiulliPaola Maggiulli, known as "The Tiny Italian," invites us into her world where culinary arts and self-love converge in surprising, transformative ways. Despite her name, there's nothing small about her mission or impact—she's revolutionizing how we think about food, wellness, and personal growth.Born to an Italian father and Colombian mother in London, Paola spent 15 years climbing the corporate fashion ladder before a pivotal moment changed everything. When her father's Italian delicatessen closed, she found herself drawn to the kitchen—a place she had previously avoided—to reconnect with her roots. Making a simple tomato sauce became...
2025-05-1659 min
Cake TherapyHaley Larson's journey through creative entrepreneurship, burnout, and rediscovery.What happens when your viral cake creation becomes your identity, but your soul is calling you in a different direction? Minnesota cake artist Haley Larson, known online as the "infamous turkey cake lady," shares her refreshingly honest journey through creative entrepreneurship, burnout, and rediscovery.Haley's path winds from art school with a ceramics degree to high school teaching, before finding a new creative outlet in cake decorating alongside her mother. Her realistic turkey cake creation catapulted her small business into unexpected viral fame, leading to television appearances and overwhelming demand. But as orders piled up and migraines...
2025-05-0945 min
Cake TherapyThe Cookie that Changed Everything: Carolyn Haeler's 'Mightylicious' Story"That's the best gluten-free cookie I've ever tasted." These powerful words from a Whole Foods team leader changed everything for Carolyn Haeler, launching her from disappointed celiac patient to revolutionary force in the gluten-free baking world.Carolyn's story begins with a devastating health diagnosis that transformed her relationship with food. After months of declining health—gray skin, falling hair, and a failing immune system—she was diagnosed with celiac disease. Suddenly, food wasn't just nourishment or enjoyment; it became a potential poison. The world of convenience, celebration, and simple pleasures closed its doors.The defining mome...
2025-05-0240 min
Cake TherapyTessa's Cakes: Kemi Sanni Shares Her Journey of Navigating Grief and Finding PurposeGrief takes many forms, but for Kemi Sanni, it manifested as beautiful, fondant-wrapped works of art. After losing her mother suddenly, Kemi reconnected with her childhood passion for cake decorating—a skill she learned at her mother's side in Nigeria. What began as therapy evolved into Tessa's Cakes, a business named after her mother Teresa, honoring her legacy with every creation.In this deeply moving conversation, Kemi reveals the delicate balance she maintains between her full-time career as a court mediator and her thriving cake business. She poses a question many creative entrepreneurs face: "Is your day jo...
2025-04-2544 min
Cake TherapyMind The Crown: The Healing Power of Self-Care with Adrianna WillisDr. Altreisha Foster welcomes Adrianna Willis, founder and CEO of Mind the Crown, for a soul-stirring conversation about reclaiming your peace through intentional self-care. After nearly three decades in corporate America, Adrianna made the brave decision to walk away from her high-paying career to focus on her mental health and purpose-driven business—a choice that came after a defining moment when her inner voice simply said, "I quit," despite not being financially prepared for the transition.Born from the isolation and racial tensions of 2020 following George Floyd's murder in Minnesota, Mind the Crown has evolved into a sa...
2025-04-1852 min
Cake TherapyStay Curious: How Chiantae Campbell Built Her Cake Empire - Chic Little CakesWhen passion meets purpose, magic happens. Jamaican pastry chef Chiantae Campbell exemplifies this through her remarkable journey from teenage baker to Food Network competitor and founder of Chic Little Cakes. Her story isn't just about beautiful confections—it's about cultural heritage, entrepreneurial wisdom, and finding joy through creating edible dreams.Growing up in Jamaica profoundly shaped Chiantae's creative approach. "There's just this flair that we have," she explains, describing how her Caribbean roots influence her bold flavor combinations and striking designs. This cultural foundation gave her the confidence to experiment beyond traditional offerings, building a menu that st...
2025-04-1159 min
Cake TherapyNatasha Givens of NattyKakes shares her journey with infused cakesNatasha Givens transforms cannabis and cake into art with purpose. As the creative force behind Cream Cakery (also known as Natty Kakes), she's turned her twin passions into a platform for healing, advocacy, and destigmatization.Our conversation traces Natasha's remarkable journey from her Caribbean roots to corporate America, where she thrived as an art director before workplace challenges pushed her toward a different path. What began as a creative outlet—making a three-tiered cake for a friend's baby shower—eventually blossomed into something unexpected when she rediscovered baking during her pregnancy in 2019. "It felt like revisiting an old...
2025-04-0439 min
Cake TherapyEboni Sims: Baking Through Adversity, "If I got through that, anybody can!"Resilience takes many forms, but for Eboni of Ebi Cakes, it came wrapped in fondant and buttercream. In this deeply personal conversation with Dr. Altreisha Foster, Eboni courageously shares how she transformed from corporate banker to celebrated cake artist through one of life's most challenging detours.When most cake decorators share their origin stories, they often reminisce about childhood baking with grandmothers. Eboni's path couldn't have been more different. After making a serious mistake at her banking job that resulted in termination and eventual felony charges, she found herself a single mother with few employment options. What...
2025-03-2846 min
Cake TherapyThe Farm as Pharmacy: Chef Leah DiBernardo's Food RevolutionChef Leah DiBernardo's remarkable culinary journey defies conventional paths, weaving together the threads of family tradition, environmental stewardship, and passionate storytelling. From her idyllic childhood on an Oregon farm where her American-Italian family embraced a "food hippie" lifestyle—growing their produce and butchering their own animals—emerged a profound understanding of food's connection to land and health.The transformative moment came when her grandmother Conchetta taught young, shy Leah to make gnocchi while singing "Jingle Bells" at the top of her lungs. This joyful culinary awakening sparked a lifelong relationship with cooking, though her path first detoured thro...
2025-03-2151 min