A Williamsburg baker will make an appearance on the Discovery Family Channel this month.
Tawanda Hammond, owner of Cakes by Tawanda at 1408 Richmond Road, will be featured on a Thanksgiving-themed episode of BAKE IT LIKE BUDDY at 9 p.m. Nov. 17, according to a news release from Discovery Channel.
The episode featuring Hammond is called “Topsy Turvy Thanksgiving Cakes.”
In the show, Hammond and her cousin, Lisa Palmer, go head-to-head with another set of cousins from Maryland. The two pairs have four hours to bake a holiday Thanksgiving cake.
“I’m so excited about it airing,” Hammond said Thursday. “It was so inspiring to actually walking into the atmosphere where you’re just surrounded by other amazingly talented people.”
In BAKE IT LIKE BUDDY, family pairs face-off against each other at Carlo’s Bakery in Hoboken, New Jersey. Each episode features a unique challenge, and final products are judged based on design, flavor, technique, finish and how well the contestants followed the theme.
“Cake Boss” Buddy Valastro, head baker Joe Faugno and Marissa Lopez judge both the cakes and pick the winner.
The winner’s prize is $1,000 and professional baking supplies.
Hammond said she and Palmer traveled to Hoboken in February to film the episode. The show is filmed about a mile away from Carlo’s Bakery, where Carlo’s staff work to build cakes.
“If you watch the show, it’s just amazing,” Hammond said. “Like, the size of the refrigerator alone… First of all, I’ve never seen a refrigerator this big. And it’s all glass so you can see all the cakes inside. And on everybody’s cake station, there’s nothing basic.”
She figured the show would air sometime around Thanksgiving, but Hammond did not know its official air date until about three weeks ago.
When asked for a hint on what the cake looked like, Hammond said it was “whimsical — not a straight-laced tier cake.”
Tune in Nov. 17 to see if Hammond and her cousin win the face-off.
