Yolanda Gampp, also known as "the Beyonce of cakes," is currently starring as a judge in the baking competition series Crime Scene Kitchen. While Yolanda normally showcases her baking skills, she is on the opposite side of the kitchen in this series, critiquing contestants on their desserts in this culinary guessing game.
Hosted by Joel McHale, Crime Scene Kitchen is truly unique. The show follows contestants in a team of two who decode the type of dessert made in a kitchen using only crumbs, a few ingredients, and other clues. They then have to create the dessert they think the sweet treat is based on the clues. Yolanda and Michelin star chef Curtis Stone serve as the judges. Curtis and Yolanda both know what dessert contestants should be making. They determine the winner by taking both the accuracy of the dessert and the taste into .
Fans may know Yolanda from her popular novelty cakes that look like other objects. Some of her most viral videos include cakes that look like a Popeye's chicken sandwich, sushi, a swimming pool, a watermelon, and a hamburger. The web series gives step-by-step tutorials on how to create eye-popping cakes. Yolanda has become so popular in the baking community that she created a second YouTube channel called "How To Cake It Step by Step," and now offers live baking classes, courses, and a cake decorating masterclass on her website howtocakeit.com.
Inspired by her father, who was a baker, Yolanda started baking at a young age and recalls making her first cake at 13 years old. She attended George Brown's Culinary Arts Program in Toronto in hopes of becoming a chef but soon found out she preferred baking over cooking. After graduating, Yolanda focused on baking and got a job at a bakery to hone her skills. Focusing on entrepreneurship, the queen of cakes built a strong clientele and quit her job at the bakery in 2005. Yolanda's TV journey began in 2012 when she starred in SugarStars, a Food Network Canada show that highlighted Yolanda's top-tier baking skills (via Bake). However, the show only lasted for one season before it was canceled by the network.
Shortly after the birth of her son, the creators and producers of SugarStars ed Yolanda to create a YouTube series. Alas, "How To Cake It" was born. Yolanda channeled her 20-year baking experience into the show that catapulted her into culinary fame. When asked what made her want to create novelty cakes, she told Sweety High she wanted a challenge. "I moved away from standard cakes because I wanted to challenge myself," she said. It surely worked because Yolanda's YouTube series continues to grow, as well as her brand. She has created cookbooks, merchandise and has won a Webby for the best web series.
"How To Cake It"success has led Yolanda to other TV roles, such as being a guest judge on the popular Nailed It!, Best Baker In America, Sugar Showdown, and Cake Wars. Crime Scene Kitchen is the first show where Yolanda serves as a permanent judge. This show is a great step in Yolanda's career. Fans are looking forward to what she will be cooking up next.
Crime Scene Kitchen airs Wednesday nights 9/8c on Fox.
Source: Yolanda's YouTube, Bake, Sweety High, howtocakeit.com