ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – Abilene native Elsie Stark baked her way into the top five on The Food Network’s Kids Baking Championship, and her time on the show was just a drop in the bucket of the young baker’s talents.
Elsie started helping out in the kitchen at just a year old, when her older brother had started a food business.
Since then, the now 11-year-old has found his passion in the spoonfuls of sugar and the heat of the oven. Christi stark, Elsie’s mom, told KTAB/KRBC once Elsie wanted to start her own business, that was when they knew she was making it for the kitchen.
“When she was really like one, two, three she would help put stuff in the mixer, she would want to be a part of it all, and then as she got older, she wanted to do more of it on her own. “I think when she started her business was when we realized she really had a passion for it because it’s a lot of work,” Stark said.
Elsie’s Awesomes Sweets & Treats was launched in 2021 when she was only eight years old. It was with her business that she learned the hard work of entrepreneurship.
“I had to stay ’til 3:00 in the morning working on [cookie orders]. So, the next day I went to school I was so tired,” recalled Elsie.
On the fluffier and sweeter side of the business, Elsie used those opportunities to try new things, explore her passions, and meet her goals. One of those goals is saving up for a trip to Boston.
The young baker’s dreams become more vivid when she gets news of competing on a show she already loves.
“I was like, ‘I love to bake it would be cool if I was on this.’ So, then there was a lot of auditioning and then finally my parents made me a little card that said ‘Elsie, you made it on Kids Baking Championship,’ and then I was just shocked,” Elsie smiled. “I was like, ‘wait… Am I dreaming? is this real?’”
Elsie began competing in season 12 of the competition show when she was nine years old- making her the youngest to compete that season, and worked her way up to fifth place. With all the friends she made competing, Elsie said nothing else mattered!
“Whenever I went there, I was just like, ‘okay, all I want to do is make it past the first challenge. I know I won’t make it that far,’” said Elsie. “At first, I was going in it to win it, but then whenever I met everybody it was almost like the baking was a side part to it.”
After returning to Abilene, Stark continues her business, preparing for an Easter and St. Patrick’s Day themed bake sale. You can find all of her available sweet treats on Facebook and here on Instagram.