Food Network contestant Brittany Lombardi, a Pelham Bay native, bakes
during Round 1 of “Spring Baking Championship: Easter.”
Photo courtesy Brittany Lombardi
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, M BTR MAR. 4-10, 2022 7
BY ROBBIE SEQUEIRA
The Bronx was well-represented
when the fi fth season of
Food Network’s “Spring Baking
Championship: Easter” aired
on Monday, Feb. 28. Representing
the Boogie Down was Pelham
Bay native Brittany Lombardi
who hopes to dazzle the
Food Network judges with her
showstopping French and Italian
cakes, that are accented by
artful design and a lifelong passion
for baking.
“Ever since I was a little
girl, growing up in a big Italian
family, I was surrounded by
food,” Lombardi told the Bronx
Times. “I vividly remember sitting
on the counter being a taste
tester for both my father and
grandmother. Food was always
a part of my life, and as I got
older I always had an interest
in learning what my family was
cooking. When I was in high
school, I fell in love with art and
eventually wanted to pursue a
career in that industry.”
Lombardi’s passion for artistry
originally seemed prime
for a career as an artist, but she
said she was discouraged and
told that she would never make
it in the art world while in high
school, so she needed to fi nd
new outlets for her creativity.
Instead, Lombardi found a
home in Rhode Island’s Johnson
& Wales University’s Baking
& Pastry degree program,
where she said she was able
to showcase her skills as both
an artist and culinary creator.
That prowess led her to ply her
craft under NYC’s top pastry
chefs, including jobs at Chef
Bobby Flay’s Restaurant Gato,
and the Times Square-New
York Marriott Marquis, where
she offi cially incorporated her
business Little Cake Baker in
2019.
And those experiences actually
earned her an appearance
on Food Network’s “Halloween
Baking Championship” in
October 2019. While she didn’t
win that culinary competition,
she comes back to the Food Network
stage in 2022 as a more experienced
competitor.
“Being on the set of Food
Network is a one of a kind experience,”
she said. “It’s like no
other environment you’ve been
in before and it could be quite
intimidating at fi rst. Having
multiple cameras on you at all
times while baking in a kitchen
you’ve never been in before
could sometimes get the best of
you.”
The past year and a half has
been a wild ride for the 30-yearold
Bronx native. During the
pandemic in 2020, Lombari was
laid off from her gig at the New
York Marriott Marquis — one
of 852 workers that were axed
by the hotel in March — but
that setback served as her impetus
to begin the process of opening
her own physical storefront
in Westchester County, the location
of which is unconfi rmed at
this time.
“(When) I was laid off from
my full-time job, it forced me
to decide if I wanted to fi nd another
job working at another
company, or take a leap of faith
and start the process of opening
up my fi rst storefront,” she said.
“This process has been a huge
learning experience for me, I
have always wanted to have my
own bakery and I knew this was
the time to start.”
Seasoned by her fi rst goround
on “Halloween Baking
Championship” and the pressure
of television, the Little
Cake Baker learned to “tune
out” the cameras and do what
she does best: bake.
And this time, she’s in it to
win it.
“Being that this is my second
time on Food Network,
I do feel that I had an advantage
on the other contestants,”
Lombardi said. “Compared to
my fi rst experience, this time
around I was much calmer and
didn’t overthink what I was
making. I had a plan and stuck
with it; I did what I was comfortable
and good at to showcase my
best work possible.”
Bronx-born baker looks for
sweet success on Food Network
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