Latest news with #Johnson&Wales
Boston Globe
24-04-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Johnson & Wales University expands free tuition offer to select students in four states, including all of New England
The program, which takes hold this fall, was Students must also meet certain criteria: They must have a high school GPA of at least 3.2, complete and file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, and opt to live on campus. Those seeking full tuition coverage must also be eligible for Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter Email Sign Up Related : Advertisement On Wednesday, school officials announced students in four additional states are now eligible, too, noting 'there has been great interest from prospective students and their families' since the initial January launch. 'At Johnson & Wales, we are creating pathways to make higher education more affordable, accessible, and attainable for students of all means and backgrounds,' Chancellor Mim Runey said in a statement. 'This new initiative, combined with our recently launched Advertisement The initiative covers only the cost of tuition. It does not include books, supplies, lab fees, and other expenses, such as room and board, Meredith Twombly, vice president of enrollment management, told the Globe in January. Still, a free education at the university could be a yearly savings of $41,872, According to the university's Last year, Johnson & Wales announced undergraduates will also be able to That initiative will allow students to receive degrees in computer science, criminal justice, graphic design, and hospitality management after attaining only 90 to 96 credits, instead of the typical 120-credit requirement. Material from previous Globe stories was used in this report. Christopher Gavin can be reached at
Boston Globe
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Chris Anderson was Dwayne ‘The Rock' Johnson's personal chef. Now he's rocking the kitchen at Clover.
Advertisement It started off when I was young. I grew up in Missouri. I call myself 'Midwest Boy.' My parents were always really hard workers. Growing up, I filled my time with two things. One was playing basketball — I just loved the competitive grind and refinement of working out every day. Get Winter Soup Club A six-week series featuring soup recipes and cozy vibes, plus side dishes and toppings, to get us all through the winter. Enter Email Sign Up Two was, I wanted to work. At 13, one of my first jobs was at a fruit stand. I worked there on the weekends and after school. The owner had this tremendous passion for produce, and he would wake up at 1 in the morning and drive down into St. Louis, where the river was, and all the big farmers' markets, and he would scope out the best produce. My favorite food memory is the first time I had a perfect, ripe, in-season white peach. I also remember him cracking open a watermelon. It really got me excited; every day, I wanted to try and eat everything. My next few jobs were in local restaurants around town. I loved the grind, the hard work, the physicality, and nature of the business, working with my hands and producing something. How did you get hired by The Rock? I got a phone call from Johnson & Wales saying that they had an inquiry from Dwayne Johnson, The Rock. He was looking for a chef with a nutrition background. They asked me if I wanted to represent Johnson & Wales, and I did. Shortly thereafter, I found myself moving to Florida. Advertisement Did you have to audition with food? What was that like? I flew down and interviewed with the family, cooked for them for three days, and then flew back. They went through the interview process with other folks, and it was a long waiting period. At some point, they got back to me and offered me the position to come down. I had made a big menu, and they brought their family over — I have to be somewhat cautious of NDA stuff — but I cooked a slew of different family-style offerings that were all lean and in the spa cuisine spectrum. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson attends the UK Premiere of "Moana 2" at Cineworld Leicester Square on Nov. 24, 2024, in London. Tim P. Whitby/Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for The Walt Disney Company Limited Did you have to work all day, every day? It was five days a week. Whenever the family would travel, I would travel with them to support him and his lifestyle. He's very into his body and image. It's his brand, so he takes it seriously. A lot of that was precision, making sure he had access to food all day long that was within his prescribed macros. He really showed me what discipline, hard work, showing up every day and being consistent is — really, what's achievable and attainable in a lifetime. I did that for four years. It was an amazing job. But there was also a part of me that wasn't settled. I'm pouring all my energy into helping one of the most amazing people on earth, but I wanted a bigger impact, and I wanted to affect more than just one person or one family. I really wanted to build something bigger than myself. Advertisement My girlfriend, now wife, lived in Boston, and she didn't like Florida. I ended up coming up to Boston, proposing to her, and settling down, and I came across Clover. It aligned with my ideals of wanting to change the way people are eating food and to help better people's lives. I started in 2008, and I was one of the first employees on the food truck. A customer gets a sandwich from the Clover food truck in April 2014. Lane Turner/Globe staff Did that feel like a gamble, to go from working for a celebrity to a food truck? It was a huge gamble, but there was this burning desire. I was young at the time, so I had a huge appetite for risk and didn't have a lot to lose. I didn't want to come into a big corporate company; I really wanted to come in and build a company from the ground up. Let's talk about the genesis of Clover, because you've been there since basically the beginning. There's been a lot of changes. There were bumps in the road. There were some bumps in the road. Anybody who's in this business knows that it's not an easy one. You wake up, and you're constantly tackling the headwinds in front of you — but you have a passion for the business and in what you do, and you're constantly trying to evolve and figure out what's next. The pandemic really hit us hard in the sense that our locations were in the city and city environments, and at that point, the majority of folks in the area were working from home. It put us in a challenging position, but it allowed us to then expand. The primary focus in 2019 was restaurants, and our customers were coming in every day to the office. … Some folks were eating with us two, three times a week. Some people were eating with us two, three times a day. When COVID hit, people were not even coming to work, or they were coming to the office once a week, and it gradually came back over time. But we had to meet people where they were. Advertisement We went through a rapid innovation period over the last four years where we developed a meal box program and came up with a subscription service. We had different boxes: plant-based burgers, plant-based pizza, grain bowls, salad bowls, soup boxes. People could sign up for boxes, and we would deliver them once a week, and depending on what box you signed up for, it would either feed two to three people for a small box or four to five people for a large box. We could start to meet their food needs at home. We expanded into third-party delivery quite extensively. We developed a big, expansive corporate catering program so we could reach people in the office, because we were finding that a lot of people who were coming in two or three days a week were super-focused and didn't leave the office. We started making meal boxes for Christmas, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Rosh Hashanah, and the Super Bowl. Anything that was celebrated with food, we would take that opportunity to meet people where they were. It was a rapid innovation and expansion. It was a lot of fun for me, because we've been focused on restaurants so much, and that allowed us to make all these other really wonderful creations in the plant space, like plant-based burgers, grain bowls, salad bowls, and tacos. Advertisement How does Clover stay viable in the landscape with so many healthy, fast-casual places? Why do people keep coming back? That's a great question. I think, now more than ever, the landscape is extremely competitive and saturated. And I think at the core of what we do is: We make delicious and the most amazing food. For us to stay competitive, we have to source the best ingredients and be extremely innovative on the culinary side. That's a lot of hard work, and it just revolves around our supply chain, our local farmers. We have a whole list of those guys: Verrill Farm, Brookford Farm, Next Barn Over, Winter Moon Roots. It's really developing partnerships with those guys so that we know what's coming off the farm, and we know what they grow best to taste the best. Then we can time the menu and innovate where we have gaps and put out food that we know is going to highlight those vegetables and be amazing. A chickpea fritter sandwich at Clover. Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff/file You know, sometimes folks try to call us a vegetarian restaurant. But our standpoint is always: We're trying to make the most delicious food that just happens to be vegetarian. Over 90 percent of our customer base is meat-eaters, so it's really making that craveable food that's really exciting for folks. Ayr Muir was the face of Clover for so long. What was that transition like? There was so much going on when we were filing for restructuring, and there were a ton of changes being made — trying to look at restaurants that did or didn't make sense anymore. We had to close a few that we couldn't renegotiate rents on and restructure personnel. It was all about being honest, transparent, and open with everybody. We met a lot within the team and as an entire company, and we were going down a path that none of us had been on before. It was day by day, week by week, month by month, and we just talked through every step. What we didn't want to change was the core of Clover, the food and supply chain. We didn't want to skimp or change any of the products. I was buying great-quality ingredients and making delicious food. That was a non-starter. From there, we renegotiated a lot of leases and operated really lean as a team. The third part was reaching people where they are: How do we sell more food? That's where we evolved into different business verticals. Did working for The Rock influence your menu development at Clover? Protein was a major focus with him, and a lot of that translates to our customs at Clover. Folks are wondering if they eat enough protein when they dine with us. It's always part of our development criteria. Our pita alone has 10 grams of protein because we use 100 percent whole-wheat ground fresh from Maine's Grains. We then layer on different beans, pulses, and other plant-based ingredients to make sure we're at a level that people feel good about. It's one of the hurdles we look at during the invocation process. Let's talk about your life in Boston beyond Clover. Where do you eat when you're not working? My wife went to culinary school with me. She's a real estate agent, now very successful, but she loves food. She cooks dinner for our family almost every night, because I come home later. She's the best cook, really. I also love Oleana and Sofra. Every detail is spot on. One of my most memorable dinners at Oleana was a vegetarian tasting, and everything was so complex: the flavors and the textures. Every bite was just delicious. My family loves ramen and pizza. We love to order from Old School Pizza in Wellesley and Little Big Diner for ramen in Newton. What do you wish our food scene did better? Even in the suburbs, it's challenging that we don't have as many restaurants offering vegetables — you still see a lot of things that aren't vegetable-heavy. I would love to see the local farms and produce working more with the local mom-and-pops and getting away from the mainstream food supply. What's your favorite food to eat for pure pleasure? Anything braised. I love braised, whether it's meat or vegetables. I just love the complexity of flavors. And we have a garden in my backyard that my kids love to play in, so it's not so much a guilty pleasure but anything with tomatoes: black tomatoes, blue tomatoes, yellow tomatoes, purple tomatoes, all the varietals. We have an obsession with tomatoes in our family. You know, I have never heard of a blue tomato. Oh, we have black, blue, yellow, green, and — I call them zebra. One of the first tomatoes my son ever picked was a black tomato. It has outrageous flavor. Tell me a secret about Clover. Is there an off-menu item that only insiders ask for? Is there a fun factoid that nobody knows? Give me a little veggie dirt. We've evolved so much. We had a secret menu that we didn't talk about a ton, but we used to have a Russian-style barbecue sandwich, with seitan. We'd take our classic barbecue seitan, and we would add pickled cabbage to it, and people just loved it. The very first thing I made for that box program was a Romesco sauce. I eat it with almost anything. It ended up being the most sought after and requested thing. We got endless emails for it. Probably another secret menu item is our cheesy grits. We'll bring it back every once a while to satisfy those customers. It's one of the things that we got the most emails about after we test-launched. What food would you never eat again? Do you have a food that you absolutely hate? I always tell people that I don't discriminate against food. I eat everything. I'm trying to think of some funky, fermented stuff? But I love pierogies. I grew up Polish. Interview was edited and condensed. Kara Baskin can be reached at
Boston Globe
24-02-2025
- Health
- Boston Globe
Laced up, he goes for a once-inconceivable goal
'When it first happened, we didn't know if he'd survive,' says his father, Peter. 'Where he is today is a miracle in many ways.' Advertisement Endicott Gulls captain Jack Smiley, 25, is all smiles as he puts his skates on before his return to the ice after suffering a stroke and partial paralysis three years ago. Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff After his stroke on Feb. 21, 2022, doctors at Mass General Hospital's neurological care unit couldn't predict if then 22-year-old would ever walk again. When he transferred to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital he still couldn't walk, talk, or eat. On Feb. 15, the 6′5″ senior right wing skated three shifts in a competitive NCAA hockey game on Senior Day before nearly 500 cheering fans. His family, doctor, medical team, former teammates, and alumni were there. Kids held signs with dozens of hearts drawn on them. His mother, Debi, held a blowup photograph of him. She wept when she was presented with roses from the college and a big bearhug from her son, the last of the seniors to be introduced. Then it was time for what he calls 'Big Boy Hockey.' Jack Smiley gets a standing ovation and hugs from his mom, Debi, as he is introduced last during Senior Day. "I'm a mom and yes I was very worried," she said. "But I was very excited for him because he's worked really hard for this moment." Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff 'The guy I lined up against said he was happy for me. But other than that, we were out there to compete, and that's all I wanted. I wanted a real hockey game.' Related : The first thing Smiley — known as Smiles by his teammates — did was camp out in front of the Johnson & Wales net. In a spirited display, he left it all on the ice. He was fearless in the corners and in the crease. He moved the puck and he looked like he belonged out there. Advertisement 'We treated him no different,' says Conner Lindsoe, a Johnson & Wales defenseman. 'He played hard. He made some good plays. He played a solid game.' His journey to get here is inspirational, even as he humbly downplays it. 'I always had the expectation to accomplish what I set out to do so it didn't feel like a miracle to me,' he says. Days after being hospitalized, he told MGH neurologists he would be back on the ice in three weeks. Somehow, he did just that with a team of Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital therapists pushing him on a walker. Gulls captain Jack Smiley shows some moves as he advances the puck up ice in third period action against the Wildcats. Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff William Santana, a physical therapist, says Smiley far exceeded their expectations. They knew he was young, strong, and driven. But his was a big mountain to climb. 'To be here a couple of years out and be playing competitively, that's unheard of,' he says. 'Now we're here to see it, and it's amazing. He's come full circle.' Smiley, 25, says it's all about hard work and a positive energy. 'I just never really let myself feel down and out,' he says. 'I think the first couple of days, those first few days after the stroke happened, I was in complete shock, crying every day, all day. I didn't really know what had happened, but it was always (the belief) that I'll bounce back.' After rehab, he returned to his home in Washington Crossing, Pa. He studied dancing with a Philadelphia Eagles cheerleader and worked out with a mixed martial arts fighter. Young fans show Jack Smiley, nicknamed Smiles, some love and plenty of hearts as he took the ice. Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff When he came back to school, he skated with the team, even though he would fall, he said, 'like 19 times a day,' during noncontact drills. Advertisement Smiley swam the icy Atlantic to wake up his brain. He worked out like a man possessed and also advocated for stroke survivors. He helped the coach with practice drills and he became a social media star for his inspirational messages. He vowed to play on Senior Day last year, just to skate one shift with the team he started out with. That didn't happen. There were still limitations. 'Part of what makes Jack amazing is he is slightly delusional,' says Endicott head coach A.J. Tolan. The two have a special bond. When Tolan played at the University of Lowell, he caught a puck in the throat and had to have a tracheotomy operation just to breathe. His son, Cy, was born the day before Smiley's injury, and he went back and forth between two hospitals despite COVID restrictions. 'We would all joke that he started relearning to walk and move around about the same time as Cy was walking and falling in the locker room. And we were all so excited. But then from the day he got his speech back, he's just been torturing us all that we need him in front of the net on the power play.' A week before Senior Day 2024, Coach had a heart-to-heart talk with number 10. Jack Smiley congratulates Gull teammate Bret Beale after Endicott score a first period goal, Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff 'You can skate out there, but it would be an honorary shift. The other team would be told not to play you hard because you're not where you can handle that, and it would be a risk for injury,' Tolan told him. 'I thought about it a little bit,' Smiley says. 'But I eventually decided I might as well try to make it happen next year, a real game, a real competitive shift.' Advertisement He got to do that and then some. 'It was surreal being back out on the ice' he says. After the first shift, he returned in the third period, when his Gulls teammates peppered the Wildcats goalie with a season high 61 shots to take a 4-1 lead. Late in the game, when Johnson & Wales pulled its goalie, Coach Tolan wouldn't let Smiley sub out. In Smiley's dreams, he scores with a laser beam slap shot. Jack Smiley left it all on the ice in his return to play. Here he returns to the Gulls bench after a strenuous and successful first shift. "To get this chance and to get the opportunity to put the game jersey back on, it means the world to me," he says. Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff 'We were trying to get him one,' says Tolan. Every time he got near the puck 500 hearts started to pitter patter as one. Smiley nearly did get an open look at the net but a teammate's pass took a crazy bounce and it hopped over his stick. 'Yes, the puck bounced and maybe that was unlucky, maybe I would've scored, but that is hockey and that's just the way it goes sometimes,' he says. Ever the ultimate teammate, he would not leave the defensive zone early because Johnson & Wales had a six-to four-man advantage. 'When that happens the top priority is to not let the other team score,' he says. After the final buzzer, the team swallowed him in hugs. Then players banged their sticks on the ice and chanted 'Smi-ley.' Coach hugged him and told him he loved him. 'I just think he's a light in the world when you get to see him every day. He makes everyone's day better that he touches on a daily basis,' he says. Smiley (right) gets a hug from teammate Primo Self after the final buzzer of a 4-1 Endicott victory. Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff In the locker room, the sweat drenched, but a joyful 'Smiles' received a cowboy hat from teammates that is given to the hardest worker. Advertisement 'I can't encompass in words truly how much you guys mean to me,' he said. Then he left the locker room where he was surrounded by kids, looking for autographs. His mom, nervous all during the game, finally relaxes. She says her son's message is simple. 'To never give up.' Smiley 'giddy ups' to meet the waiting TV cameras. He says his future is helping other stroke survivors. 'The biggest thing that I would say to someone struggling with any adversity is, 'No one can tell you what's inside of you, what's in your heart, and the drive that you have as a human being. No one else knows that besides you,'' he says. ''Surround yourself with good people that push you and want the best for you, and anything can happen. Just work every day and see where that takes you.'' After the victory, Gulls players surround their captain and chant 'Smiley' as they slap their sticks on the ice. Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff @font-face { font-family: BentonSansCond-Regular; src: url(" format('woff2'), url(" format('woff'); } @font-face { font-family: BentonSansCond-Bold; src: url(" format('woff2'), url(" format('woff'); } .dipupnext_hed { font-family: "MillerHeadline-Bold", "Times New Roman", Times, Georgia, serif; letter-spacing: .75px; text-align: center; font-size: 1.25em; line-height: 1; margin-top: 3px; color: #000; width: 100%; font-weight: 600; } .dipupnext_cap_cred { font-family: "BentonSansCond-Regular", "Times New Roman", Times, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: .5px; text-align: left; margin: 3px 0px 5px 0px; font-weight: 200; color: #000; text-decoration: none; text-align: center; } .dipupnext_photo { max-width: 100%; height: auto; padding-top: 15px; opacity: 1; } .dipupnext__form:hover { opacity: .5; text-decoration: underline .5px; } .dipupnext__form{ opacity: 1; } .picupnext__container { width: 100%; position: relative; margin: 0 auto; } .dipupnext__content { width: 100%; display: grid; grid-template-columns: 3fr; } .cdipupnextcontainer { display: block; width:100%; height: auto; margin:0 auto; -moz-box-sizing: border-box; overflow: hidden; } .upnext { font-family: "BentonSansCond-Bold", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.15; margin-top: .5rem; letter-spacing: 0px; color: #000; padding: 8px 8px 4px 8px; margin-top: 5px; letter-spacing: .5px; } .upnext:before, .upnext:after { background-color: #000; content: ""; display: inline-block; height: 1px; position: relative; vertical-align: 4px; width: 32%; } .upnext:before { right: 0.3em; margin-left: -50%; } .upnext:after { left: 0.3em; margin-right: -50%; } .theme-dark .upnext:before { background-color: #fff; } .theme-dark .upnext:after { background-color: #fff; } .theme-dark .upnext { color: #fff; } .theme-dark .dipupnext_cap_cred { color: #fff; } .theme-dark .dipupnext_hed { color: #fff; } @media screen and (min-width: 800px){ .dipupnext__content { grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr 1fr; grid-column-gap: 40px; } } UP NEXT Stan Grossfeld can be reached at
Boston Globe
21-02-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
JWU's wrestling coach Lonnie Morris goes to the mat for his powerhouse team
They've also made him a bit of a celebrity on campus and around town. A graduate of Rhode Island College who now lives with his family in Barrington, Morris draws on his personal experience as an all-American wrestler. As a coach and the assistant athletic director at JWU, Morris says he aims to lead by example — and 'with love.' Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter Email Sign Up Q: What made you start a wrestling program at Johnson & Wales? Advertisement Morris: I was coaching high school wrestling. [It] was a pretty historic program, still very good, Coventry High School. They had won the state 17 years in a row, and I was helping out there, and then I went to another school, and I just wanted my own thing. I didn't want to play second fiddle, and I just wanted to start something from scratch. And they were starting wrestling at Johnson & Wales, and a longtime friend reached out to me and said this might be something you would be interested in. And we started with four kids, and next thing you know, we just got it rolling. And we really haven't looked back. How do you inspire your wrestlers? I try to live the right way; some people call it a championship lifestyle. I'm not a big drinker, I don't smoke. I try to be a good person. I try to live by the Golden Rule, treat others the way you want to be treated. I don't rule by fear. I rule by love. There's two ways to run a program. You can rule by fear, or you can rule by love. I choose love. I think it lasts longer. I think my guys know I love them, and I care about them. To inspire them, I share stories from some of the alumni that have come through. And like I tell everyone, there are kids that come from struggle, there are kids that come from privilege. And that's the best part of wrestling — you can benefit from learning from each other. Advertisement Can you talk about the upcoming NCAA DIII championships taking place in Providence in March? It's been a bucket list item of mine. It hasn't been back in New England since 1993. I actually wrestled in it. It was at the Coast Guard Academy. It was my junior year in college. It's just embarrassing that we haven't had it back in New England. Part of the reason no one wants to take it on is because it's a lot of work. But in the end, the Midwest kids deserve to come to the East Coast to see the ocean and get to see New York City, or Boston, or Providence. And our kids get to wrestle in front of their moms and dads. This year, it's right here in our backyard. So that'll be awesome for the JWU kids. I think this year's team has a chance to do something that no JWU team has ever done and have a chance to really win it, and doing it at home would be pretty special, so time will tell. Speaking of the Ocean State, you're a member of the New England Wrestling Association, you were inducted into the RIC Hall of Fame, the Rhode Island Wrestling Hall of Fame, and you're also an National Wresting Coaches Association hall of famer. How does it feel to have made such a massive impact on Rhode Island wrestling? Advertisement Do you know the only hall of fame I'm not in? Which one? Where are we from? Oh, Coventry, that's crazy! They have to get you in there, man! I think I'm a good nominee! But, in all seriousness, I've been very blessed to have great coaches, and I've been very lucky. I've surrounded myself with great assistant coaches. And when you recruit a lot of good kids, you win a lot of matches, and when you've been doing it a long time, that's how you get all those things, but it means a lot that we built the program from scratch, and we've offered a lot of opportunities. I'm very proud of the fact that more than half our lineup are local kids. But all that hall of fame stuff is just a sign of getting old and doing it a long, long time and surrounding yourself with really good people. Jason Simon is a student at Johnson & Wales University.
Boston Globe
07-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
JWU student with her own bakery is the youngest to compete on Hulu's ‘Cake Cupcake Cake'
Q: You have one more semester at Johnson & Wales. What are your plans after graduation? Advertisement I've been actively looking for the past few months for the right storefront to open my first brick and mortar in Mystic. For a long time, I had the typical dream of moving to Los Angeles or Hand-painted macarons by Jennifer Lee, a baker from Connecticut and senior at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I. Courtesy of Jennifer Lee Custom macarons prepared by Jennifer Lee, a baker from Connecticut and senior at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I. Courtesy of Jennifer Lee What are some of your specialties? Macarons. I love making French macarons, and they are some of the hardest cookies to make. I also focus on custom desserts, such as custom cakes and cupcakes. When I open my storefront, I want cake to be at the forefront. Advertisement What else would your bakery offer? Other than a focus on custom cakes, I want a plethora of French macarons, cakes by the slice, or A custom cake prepared by Jennifer Lee, a baker from Connecticut and senior at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I. Courtesy of Jennifer Lee Contestants on many Food Network shows, like 'Chopped,' have said how stressful it is to be under a tight time crunch and still produce excellent food. What was it like to be on 'Cookie Cupcake Cake?' This is a very unpopular opinion, but I didn't feel any stress at all. When I was a kid, I was in my parent's kitchen, cooking and pretending like I was on a TV show. I'd prep, stare at a mark in the kitchen, and narrate what I was doing like I was on a show. It's like I manifested this. The hardest part was the unknown and the fact that I was the youngest one on the show. One of the contestants has had just as much experience baking as I've had years on this earth. That's intimidating. What didn't we see on the show? All the cookies were baked at home. And then I had to drive them 4.5 hours from Mystic, Conn., to Jersey City where we were filming. My cookies broke on the way there. My entire cookie crumbled. There was nothing I could do about it. Advertisement Also, if you didn't notice [or watch], the judges don't actually eat the cookies. So they could taste horrible, but it's all about presentation. It's very different from other cooking or baking competition shows. Custom cupcakes prepared by Jennifer Lee, a baker from Connecticut and senior at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I. Courtesy of Jennifer Lee Custom cupcakes prepared by Jennifer Lee, a baker from Connecticut and senior at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I. Courtesy of Jennifer Lee Are you a baker or a cake designer? There's a difference. I definitely consider myself a baker. I love art and being creative, but design isn't my sole focus. A lot of the contestants on the show worked with fondant and did a lot of hyper-realism, which I never do. I will make my creations aesthetically pleasing, but delicious to eat. I don't like when things are too sweet. If you watch 'Cake Boss,' a lot of the cakes on there use piping to hold everything together. You can't really eat everything. It should be edible art. Not just art. I'll always choose a basic-looking cupcake over a monstrosity-looking cake that Buddy would make for his show. Related : Where do you go, besides your own bakery, when you need something sweet? Watch Jennifer Lee in episodes . This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity. Jennifer Lee is a Johnson & Wales student graduating after the spring semester. Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff This story first appeared in The Food Club, a free weekly email newsletter about Rhode Island food and dining. Already a member of the club? Check your inbox for more news, recipes, and features in the latest newsletter. Not a member yet? If you'd like to receive it via e-mail each Thursday, . Advertisement Alexa Gagosz can be reached at
