Cobb back in spotlight as Kennesaw woman competes on Food Network
by Sally Litchfield
Special to the Cherokee Tribune
sallylit@bellsouth.net
August 05, 2012 12:00 AM | 2243 views | 0 0 comments | 5 5 recommendations | email to a friend | print
Patty Cakes Cupcakes owner Patricia Katopes, right, recently competed in Food Network’s ‘Cupcake Wars.’ The episode airs tonight at 8. Katopes was assisted by her sister, Emily Theriot, left. <br>Cherokee Tribune/Todd Hull
Patty Cakes Cupcakes owner Patricia Katopes, right, recently competed in Food Network’s ‘Cupcake Wars.’ The episode airs tonight at 8. Katopes was assisted by her sister, Emily Theriot, left.
Cherokee Tribune/Todd Hull
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Could Cobb County have its second winner of the Food Network’s “Cupcake Wars”? Find out tonight at 8 when Kennesaw resident Patricia Katopes of Patty Cakes Cupcakes in west Cobb goes cupcake to cupcake against some of the best bakers in the country.

Miss Mamie’s on the Marietta Square won “Cupcake Wars” in March. In May 2010, Katopes, a single mother, created Patty Cakes Cupcakes as a way to support her two children. She partnered with Great Harvest Bread Company at 3894 Due West Road where she sells gourmet cupcakes baked daily on-site using all-natural ingredients.

“(Cupcake Wars) was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It was very intense. It was a surreal experience,” Katopes said.

To win, Katopes assisted by her sister, Emily Theriot of east Cobb, will have to beat out three other bakers from around the country. At stake is a $10,000 prize and occasion to showcase winning cupcakes at a black-tie gala in San Francisco for WildAid, the theme of this show.

“We went up against established storefront bakeries that are culinary trained,” said the self-taught baker. The sisters dueled Drizzle Cupcakes of Gold River, Calif., Indulgence Cupcakery of Haddenfield, N.J., and Signature Sweets of Milwaukee, Wis.

The team also worked within the assigned two countries, Asia and India, and a list of exotic ingredients including curries, tamarind and lemon grass.

“I put that whole idea that if (WildAid) protects endangered animals, I didn’t want to use any animal prints or anything like that,” Katopes said. “We just tried to make our cupcakes look more indigenous to the countries rather than center the cupcakes around a specific animal.”

The creation is done in the high-pressure atmosphere of television. She said, “You’re trying to keep your calm and cool and create what you’ve come to do.”

Find out tonight if judges Minnie Driver (English actress, singer-songwriter and Academy Award nominee for Best Supporting Actress in “Good Will Hunting”), Candance Nelson (founder of Sprinkles Cupcakes whose flagship store is in Beverly Hills, Calif.) and Florian Bellanger (chef and co-owner of online macaroon company MadMac) go wild for Patty Cakes Cupcakes.

“I followed the philosophy of doing what you’re good at and enjoying it, and things will fall into place for you,” Katopes said.

To learn more about Patty Cakes Cupcakes, visit www.pattycakescc.com or contact (770)-421-9998 or patty@pattycakescc.com.



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