People often ask “Why ‘The Stubborn Baker‘?”, and the answer is this: When I was 15 years old I fainted and fell two storeys off of a ladder while painting a house. The accident left me a quadriplegic and the years since have involved a lot of re-learning how to do things that I previously did on a daily basis, growing confident in my new body, facing challenges, and loving opportunities to prove people wrong. That last one was where The Stubborn Baker was born.

Stubborn has never been a negative word to me. “Stubborn” is the word I turn to for strength in moments of uncertainty. It is the mantra that has pushed me to always be better, work harder, and settle for nothing but my personal best. Stubborn is what drives me.

Doctors told me I would need to use a power wheelchair — stubbornness said I would make a manual wheelchair work.

Pastry schools told me there was no place for someone like me in their programs — stubbornness said there was, and that I would find a school that could see that.

Strangers looked at me and said “What a tragedy, so young to be in a wheelchair” — stubbornness said “just watch what we can do in this chair”.

And so a life of embracing being stubborn was born and continues to guide me as I follow my passion of creating custom desserts that are just as unique and beautiful as they are delicious.

Photo by Brian Van Wyk