Great Macon Baking Week sparks friendly competition among local pastry chefs
Macon Bakers Amber Palfy and Caroline Stubbs compete in the Great Macon Baking Week, showcasing their best desserts
MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The Great Macon Baking Week begins on Sunday, and while the event is aimed to bring fellow sweet lovers together, two pastry friends are making this into a friendly competition.
Macon bakers are gathering their mixing bowls as they prepare to make the best dessert.
“We get an opportunity to showcase what we do at the restaurants,” The Rookery baker Amber Palfy said. “And normally people don’t know who does the desserts half the time, so it gives us a chance to showcase what we’re doing.”
Amber and Carolyn Stubbs, the pastry chef at Natalia’s, are more than just bakers. They’re good friends who work for the Moonhanger Group.
“We do different things, and we always give each other pointers: what we can do better and ask each other questions, and if it’s something like, ‘I don’t know, Amber. What do you think?'” Stubbs said.
Stubbs’ entry is “Carolyn’s Chocolate Mousse in Pecan Basket,” while Palfy’s entry is “Cosmic Brownie Cheesecake Dippers.”
Palfy says she gets to learn from Stubbs, who has 30 years under her apron as a baker.
“I get to see especially how she maintains her dessert area and how she keeps her stock going,” Palfy said.
They’re competing against the other Moonhanger restaurant, Dovetail. The bakers say they’re excited for people to come out and support local businesses and their desserts. For 51 weeks out of the year, they all root for each other, but this upcoming week, it’s personal.
“Competition is a competition, and we wish everyone the best of luck,” Palfy said. “There’s a lot of talented bakers out there, but at the end of the day, it’s a matter of which one of us is first and second. (out of the two of us).”
The Baking Challenge runs from July 21-28. To see the full list of participating restaurants and items, get your passport to mark all the desserts you’ve tried, and a get chance to win prizes, go to visitmacon.com.
