Growing up, High Hampton pastry chef April Franqueza has always had a love for baking.
It runs in the family, since her mother, grandmother, and father also had a passion for baking, especially cakes made in the shapes of bunnies or elephants.
That meant sugar cookies were a staple at Christmastime and lemon meringue pies were a favorite during the Summer.
“I got a Tweety bird birthday cake at four years old, and it was the highlight of my year,” Franqueza said.
Franqueza’s passion has earned her a spot on the Food Network’s upcoming “Spring Baking Championship” competition, set to begin at 8 p.m. on March 6.
Host Jesse Palmer puts a dozen bakers to the test in 10 episodes featuring unique challenges that showcase everything there is to love about Spring. The bakers, including Franqueza, were tasked with illustrating their skill, passion, and most of all, their love for baking while ensuring their flavors and decorations embodied the season.
Judges Kardea Brown, Nancy Fuller, and Duff Goldman determine which baker’s skills have blossomed to move on in the competition. The show filmed in August in Knoxville, Tenn., and the grand prize was $25,000.
Franqueza, a Virginia native who oversees High Hampton’s pastry team and their in-house production of everything from breads to pastries and desserts, talked about her experience in the competition and said it was not as easy as pie like people watching at home would think.
“It was definitely so much harder than I would have ever thought,” Franqueza said. “You watch those shows and think, you know, I can do that. But then you get in there, find out what the challenge is and how much time you have. You have no idea where anything is, and everybody is just running around. It was really an awesome experience.”
Franqueza said she did not apply for the show, and the Food Network has tried to get her on the competition in the past.
Traditionally, August has been a busy time for High Hampton. This past August was not as busy, allowing Franqueza the time to make the trip to Knoxville to compete on the show.
She said everyone, from the directors and producers to the people behind the cameras, were so kind to her during the competition.
“No one was there to knock people out of the way,” Franqueza said. “It was so much more fun than I could have expected. It was, of course, nerve wracking but it was awesome.”
The show tests each baker’s ability to craft a delicious treat in addition to doing each challenge within a certain amount of time. There is a level of strategy involved in the competition, such as baking thinner layers for a cake that will not take as long in the oven.
But for all the knowledge Franqueza has, she said there were some things she does not do daily, such as working with gum paste or fondant.
“There were definitely things that I felt were in my wheelhouse and that I excelled in, but there were things that I hadn’t done since I was in culinary school over 10 years ago or things that don’t fit into my everyday craft,” Franqueza said. “I don’t cover wedding cakes with fondant or make gum paste flowers. I don’t do really intricate chocolate work. For some of these chefs, that’s all they do.”
Over the past decade, Franqueza has had a storied career. She went to school at 19 years old at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, graduated in 2014, and found herself living and working in a bakery in France as a 20-year-old.
“When it came time for me to graduate high school and college, for me it was like, well there’s nothing I really want to do unless it’s baking,” Franqueza said. “That was at a time when my dad unfortunately passed away from cancer, but before he passed away, he said I should go to the CIA. That’s the best.”
She’s worked at Magnolia Bakery in New York City, and her career recently came full circle when she and her husband, Scott Franqueza, were featured on NBC’s Today Show on New Year’s Day and Valentine’s Day at Rockefeller Center across from the bakery location she worked at seven years prior to her appearances.
The Franquezas met at the Culinary Institute of America, and Scott is the executive chef at High Hampton.
In 2016, she and Scott moved to Blackberry Farm, and the couple worked their way up to High Hampton, where they have been together for the past two years.
Scott Franqueza worked as a sous chef at Blackberry Mountain in Tennessee before April started working there as the pastry chef.
Three years later, Blackberry Farm food and beverage director Andy Chabot and Sandy Beall, a restauranteur and co-owner of Blackberry Farm, approached the Franquezas about working at High Hampton.
“There really wasn’t a lot happening when we came up, you really had to use your imagination, but we said, OK, we’re in,” Franqueza said. “We bought a house in Sapphire, have lived here over two years, and it’s been amazing. It’s been such a fulfilling experience that I couldn’t have believe we would have two years ago if you told me when we signed off on this project.”
Overall, she said what inspires her is being able to share the passion of baking with the guests at High Hampton.
“When you eat something, I want you to think, that is the best muffin or the best cookie,” Franqueza said. “You might not know why, but maybe it tastes like what my grandma used to make. I just love hearing from our guests, this croissant is the best I’ve ever had. That’s my philosophy. I don’t present it unless I think it’s the best that it can be. Of course, there may be someone out there that can do it better, but they aren’t there. I find that there are some things that take a lot of work.”
“Our bread program, our pastries, there’s a lot of work that goes into making sure those recipes are exact and precise every time. When it comes to our P.M. dessert menu, the plated desserts like cake, I find those come together best naturally and most effortlessly.”
“Spring Baking Championship” will air weekly on Mondays on the Food Network at 8 p.m.