Thanks to all the voters, Annissa Cheyne, formerly of Kipling and now residing in Saskatoon, is in the quarter-finals and has a real chance of becoming the Greatest Baker, who will take home $10,000 and a feature in Bake from Scratch Magazine, along with a year’s supply of Stuffed Puffs.
“I have lots of support from Kipling. It doesn’t go unnoticed,” explains a very humble and appreciative Cheyne and adds, “I love and appreciate the little town I grew up in.”
After eight years of working in the corporate world, Cheyne left her job at Make a Wish to bake, just weeks before COVID-19 hit. “It's been hard, but I love it more than ever,” states Cheyne who owns her own at-home business Sweet Wheat Bakeshop.
In Saskatchewan you’re legally allowed to bake from your home because it’s considered low risk.
Cheyne grew up baking with her mom lots and actually inherited her grandma’s baking tools. Ironically her grandma’s last name is Sweet and her dad owned an agricultural business and lots of family are still farmers, so that’s where the name came from - Sweet Wheat Bakeshop.
“I’ve never been more thankful that that’s been a possibility to bake from home, because I’ve always felt inferior that I didn’t have a store front, but honestly I’ve never been more thankful especially for this year that I’ve been able to do this from my home,” explains Cheyne.
“I started baking with my mom at the age of four or five. I remember doing the character pans and the star tip with icing,” says Cheyne. “I’ve always been creative. I remember when I was super young my aunts said ‘You’re gonna be an artist someday.’ I thought to myself I don’t know if that’s a job. It’s fun how it turned it into that.
“Back in high school I graduated from Kipling in 2010. I was pursuing pharmacy in university so I was in pre-pharmacy courses,” explains Cheyne.
At that time Cheyne didn’t even realize that baking or pastry was a career option.
“I took a basic beginner class at Michael’s Craft Store. I fell in love with it. I started posting on my social media and got order after order from my dorm room. From there I switched to getting a business degree instead. After university I was marketing manager at Cabela’s, then moved out to B.C. for eight months and worked in a cake shop, I worked in catering kitchens on the side and always baked on the side. She moved back from B.C. I got a job at Make A Wish and then finally when I got the opportunity on the Food Network that really helped my presence in Saskatoon.
“That allowed me to take that next step or actually more of a leap to doing this full time. I quit my full time job about six weeks before the pandemic hit. Not only am I navigating my first year of full-time business I’m also in the middle of this pandemic. It’s scary, it’s hard, it’s crazy but I’m so very thankful that the stuff that I do is in more demand than ever to make occasions special and memorable.
“With the pandemic I started doing these DIY cookie kits and they’ve been wildly popular,” Cheyne added. “It’s kind of a quarantine activity and you can do it with your family and it’s good for all ages. That’s been my number one seller now.”
Cheyne’s next step was entering in this contest alongside thousands of other bakers worldwide. There’s six different rounds where bakers are divided into groups. The first round bakers had to make it into the top 10 (which Cheyne accomplished) and the next round was making it into the top five (which Cheyne again accomplished). Cheyne was in first place as of last Thursday which put her into the quarter-finals along with 500 other bakers. She was told she made it into the top one per cent of all competitors. She’s hoping to make it to the semifinals and then the finals. Everything is based on a free public vote and a very humble Cheyne would certainly appreciate support from Kipling and area. You can vote daily at http://greatestbaker.com/2020/annissa and you will need a FaceBook account.
“I feel so lucky. It’s a little overwhelming how busy I am sometimes but at the end of the day I’m so lucky,” states Cheyne.
