A group of bakers will soon have the chance to save their struggling businesses with the help of pastry chef Stephanie Boswell in the upcoming Food Network series “Bake or Break.”
In the series, Boswell will lend not only her baking expertise, but also her business acumen, to get these failing bakeries back on their feet. In addition to freshening up recipes, she’ll also partner with HGTV’s Lauren Makk and Breegan Jane to revamp the storefronts and get customers back in the door.
“Emotions run high as there is so much on the line both personally and professionally for the bakery owners,” Boswell said in a statement. “I see the potential in these struggling bakeries, and encouragement is the ingredient these owners need to believe in themselves so they can turn their businesses around. With hard work and some guidance, we freshen up their menus, add flavor, and fill counters with bounties of colorful baked goods to make each shop fun, vibrant, and inviting so customers pour in.”
Each of the four one-hour episodes will follow Boswell as she assists a different bakery owner. In the premiere episode, Boswell heads to Flint, Michigan, to The Cookie Jar, where owner Teressa Morris has poured every penny she has into her bakery and is struggling to keep the lights on. While her “Million Dollar Cookies,” she’s learning that one hit menu item is not enough to keep her in business.
Later in the season, Boswell will jet to Los Angeles, where she’s needed to help third-generation family-owned bakery 27th Street Bakery. Owner and Olympic gold medalist, Jeanette Bolden Pickens and her family have been making mouthwatering pies for nearly 100 years, but they need Boswell’s touch to bring the storefront back to life.
Boswell will also use her expertise to help a crumbling Greek bakery owned by a molecular geneticist that is losing over $60,000 a year, as well as a cake shop whose one-off over-the-top celebrity cake orders can’t sustain the business.
Boswell is the executive pastry chef of the Peninsula Beverly Hills. She is also the mastermind behind the Faberge Egg and the Foie Gras Candy Bar, which was deemed “a must-do in Las Vegas” by Anthony Bourdain. She previously judged Food Network’s “Halloween Baking Championship” alongside Zac Young.
“Bake or Break” will debut on Food Network and discovery+ on April 11 at 10 p.m.