COMPETITOR

Graciously Sweet

HEAD COOK: Juliana Evans

COMPETITION: World Dessert Championship

QUALIFYING EVENT: FoodChamp Challenge - Dessert

I'm a housewife and stay-at-home mommy of 4 young girls (7,5,3,1). I'm married to a local anesthesiologist in Orlando, Florida and basically run our household on every end you can imagine. Can you say stress?! Instead of drinking away the worries of the day with a nightly cocktail, I'd rather stuff my face with a sweet ooey-gooey dessert. I bake daily just to escape to my own little world....Free of stress, free of kiddos, free to express myself. I've had a pretty interesting life in the dessert world (considering I am fairly new to it). I began baking in the kitchen with my mom at the age of 2. My passion grew from the days spent with my mom mixing up homemade cookies and cakes. Sometimes they would even become adventurous and splatter cake batter on the walls or tangle my hair in the stand mixer all the way to my scalp! I am 100% positive when my head was stuck in the electric beater and covered in cookie dough, the baking bug absorbed into my bloodstream giving me the ultimate passion for baked goods. I continue the tradition of baking at an early age with my young daughters. My sweet creations became so popular with friends, family, and strangers that I eventually began dessert catering and taking orders. The demand led me to the food truck industry. I had a successful cupcake truck for awhile "Graciously Sweet". I ran the truck at local central Florida events until I became pregnant with our 4th daughter. Later down the line, I attempted to open my own mini cupcake boutique. I ran the shop for 3 months before family circumstances caused me to close. I missed baking badly. I had to continue creating and expressing myself in my little dessert world. I have always been asked numerous times a day for recipes and secrets to my baked goods. It wasn't until recently (the beginning of this summer) I ventured into the blogging world and decided it was time to teach the world how to bake like me. I changed my business website into my blog graciouslysweet.com. I am a fighter and refuse to go down a loser. My dream of serving the country my incredible desserts, drives me to create memorable sweets with impeccable flavors and execution. I will show my daughters what it means to chase your dreams and never give up. Baking is my creative outlet. I am in the zone in my kitchen and feel empowered. And working under-pressure is an everyday affair at our house with 4 chaotic muchkins running around! Food brings people together, but dessert causes us to embrace each other. I have chosen to make my life graciously sweet and when the world gets one taste of my madness, they too, will chose a graciously sweet life.