About Reddy Made Cakes
Hi, my name is Crystal Reddy and I am the woman behind Reddy Made Cakes.
I think it all first started with my love of cakes when I was in high school during a co-op placement at a hotel. At this hotel there was a cook by the name of Julie that was so amazing and kind to me. I honestly really had no idea what I was doing… or getting myself into and I probably made a fool of myself almost every day but Julie was always there to teach me the ways. She told me one day that she makes cakes on the side and I was so intrigued and excited because her dessert plates were always so amazing and I couldn’t even imagine what her cakes looked like.
My best friend was pregnant at the time and was having a baby shower and I wanted to surprise her with a baby shower cake. Well of course I asked Julie to help me because I thought it would be fun and she was already so good at it. Well sadly I didn’t make the cake itself though it was made out of boxed mix… to those who know me and what I am about I am NOT a fan of boxed mix, nor will I EVER be a fan. That’s beside the point, I could go on and on about things I don’t like about the baking products out there now to make it “easy” for the average person… maybe I will make a blog about it 😉
So making the characters on this cake and making a bow for the first time was amazing and the feeling I got from it was out of this world and I couldn’t even put it into words, not to mention the reaction I got from everyone about how awesome it was.
From then I went on to culinary school because I had a seriously love affair to food, with that came the weight gain but that’s another story for next time 😉 The first year was chef training and let me tell you right now baking…yeah it just wasn’t my best friend but cooking regular food was. Time after time I was learning the basics of baking it was fail after fail and I am not a person to fail. I would go home with my mess of what I created and sit and stew on it. I needed to figure out how to make it better and the Reddy way. I went into that baking class and taught it who was boss, seriously could you add any more love to your creations when you are rubbing the bowl and kissing the machine to make it work… sometimes that’s all that was needed.
Soon I was into my second year and flying through the baking part of culinary management and I loved every minute of it. I did simple baking jobs on the side and I even got to enter into 3 competitions where I was professionally judged on my work. I couldn’t believe everything that I accomplished in school and what I got out of it. Culinary school was just a stepping stone to what has happened to me in the past 3 years.
After culinary school I went to an awesome job opportunity at a camp to work for a french pastry chef, even though sometimes I didn’t understand a thing he was talking about I still nodded my head and was in that kitchen everyday proving that I wanted to be there and determined to learn a lot from him. Plus I met some awesome people that to this day still call me and support everything that I do. I giggle at people that say “it shaped me into the person I am today” but I am still learning and still working on my curves so that can’t be true 😉
I moved to British Columbia, December 28th 2010 and yes I did drive here from London….no not London England… London Ontario that’s about 2 hours away from Toronto for those of you who don’t know
Why did I move to this beautiful province?
I didn’t want to be that statistic of going nowhere after college, which tends to happen all the time!!
I didn’t want to think about traveling when I “had” money because let’s get serious is money really the option when traveling?…(I’ve seen people hitch hike before) 😉
Apparently B.C is the place to be 😉 and to B.C’rs Ontario is the place to be… no idea why… ha ha
What better way to see this country then to drive across it!
I want people to get to know me as part of their family or one of their friends; I am more than willing to work with you on what you want when it comes to baked goods. I focus on ingredients and make them shine. Anyone who has ordered from me can tell you that.
I was taught to bake from scratch using natural ingredients from none other than my grandmother. We all know grandma’s cooking is the best when it comes to anything, I guess it’s all the love and care they put into it. I have a serious passion for what I do and I take pride on my creations.
