SALT LAKE CITY — The holidays come packed with family, gift giving, and of course, food. While it all sounds fun, the season also lends itself to high stress.
If you’re in charge of hosting family and friends, the menu is the last thing you want to worry about. Local entrepreneur and cake extraordinaire, Cake by Courtney, teaches all things cake to a handful of home bakers at Orson Gygi each month.
While baking is just one more thing to add the plate during the holidays (literally), it’s anything but a chore for Courtney Rich.
“The kitchen growing up for me was a gathering place — it was our happy place,” Courtney shared.
Best known as “Cake By Courtney,” Courtney has turned her love for cakes into a business.
She said, “I wanted to say, “Here, this is what I’ve learned. I can do it; you can too.’”
She’s been on the baking scene for 10 years now and loves helping others through social media (@cakebycourtney), her own website (https://cakebycourtney.com/), and of course, hands-on classes at Orson Gygi.
Courtney said there’s now a waitlist of 3,000 people to get into her popular cake classes. Though tricky to get into, she spends three whole hours giving all her tips and tricks and hands-on instruction to each hopeful baker.
So, why cake?
Courtney said, “I’ve got a story with every cake. There’s a reason I make it; there’s a story behind it.”
For Courtney, it’s not just flour and sugar.
“Honestly, it helped me through some hard times. It became my sanctuary. It became my place of peace and happiness,” Courtney shared.
She wants to encourage others to bake for the same reason, or if anything, bake to impress the in-laws at this time of year.
If you’re wanting to try your hand at one of her cake classes, head over to http://www.gygicookingclasses.com/ for more information.
Happy holidays, bakers!
