Chef Dana Herbert has a lot to celebrate. He not only took home $50,000, a new car, and the title of TLC’s Cake Boss: The Next Great Baker, he earned a rare opportunity to work with one of the finest baker’s in the country, Buddy Valastro, at Carlo’s Bake Shop.
Herbert, a quiet family man, didn’t stop there. He’s also opening his second bake shop to add with his successful first bakery, Deserts by Dana in Delaware. Check out our interview with Chef Herbert below. —mckenzie harris
Talk about your experience on the show.
The show was amazing. The competition behind the scenes was rough, a little catty from time to time but it was great. We worked really hard and you learned a lot from some of the other competitors that you were with, so it was a pretty cool experience. After winning that, going to work with Buddy … now that was crazy!
How did it feel to win the competition?
Oh my gosh, winning … it’s like you get there to the end and on one side of your brain you’re saying let this be over already and on the other side it’s amazing. It opened up so many doors for me and my family, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Where did your passion for baking come from?
I really attribute it to my grandmother. I used to hang out at the edge of her counter and she could hook it up. I would just watch her making cookies, jams, jelly’s and all that.
Can you share a desert recipe you specialize in that’s easy to make?
I have this off the hook peanut butter cheesecake, with chocolate, caramel and bacon. The secret to baking cheesecake in my opinion is that you almost have to liquefy the batter. Everyone has his or her own techniques, but if you want that nice smooth cheesecake, I put everything into the food processor. And when it comes out, I put on the caramel sauce and sprinkle bacon on it. Bacon gives you that sweet and salty contrast.
Tell us about your cookbook, “The Sweet and Savory Union.”
I play with the savory ingredients used on the pastry side and then use what people think are pastry style ingredients, in the savory fashion. I have a mixture of everything in there from breakfast, lunch, sides, salads, entrees, deserts, even a few cordials.
For those who get a little heavy handed in the kitchen when it comes to how much sugar, butter, and seasonings we put in our food, what are some substitutes you can let us in on that will make our food healthier but still delicious?
When it comes to salt, I use Kosher salt so it kind of gradually builds up the saltiness and not as fast as iodized table salt. If you can cut a little butter out, I say cut it out and use olive oil, which is better for you. I also play with Splenda which definitely helps drop the calories and “keeps everyone’s sugar in line” as grandma would say.
