OAKLAND — Yahshimabet Selassie, 12, was the first runner-up in the Food Network’s Kids Baking Championship this spring, wowing celebrity chef judges Valerie Bertinelli and Duff Goldman in the eighth and final round of the baking bonanza with her two-tier mocha chocolate/chai spice concoction.
The Oakland girl’s path to the championship bake-off, which called for the three finalists to create a multilayered cake with a “Spring Break” theme, included such challenges as “Éclairs Gone Wild” and “Candymonium.”
“Yahshi is a fantastic baker and does an incredible job — and she’s still so young,” said Cheryl Lew, owner of Montclair Bakery, who encouraged Selassie to enter the Food Network contest. “I learned about Yahshi’s incredible interest in baking through my neighbor, Yahshi’s aunt, and encouraged her to submit an entry.”
Selassie, a student at Park Day School, won a spot on the show after submitting her signature lemon grass raspberry cake. “I tried lemon grass-flavored ice cream when I was younger, and it became one of my favorite flavors,” said Selassie, adding that lemon grass is known as “fever grass” in her father’s native Jamaica, where it is used as an herbal remedy for coughs and colds.
“I like to try different flavor combinations, and I always use all-natural ingredients.”
Although she narrowly missed winning the $25,000 first prize for the Kids Baking Championship, Selassie’s mother, Tsadae Neway, said her daughter’s success on the show has inspired her and piqued the interest of the community in her story and, of course, her sweet confections.
“Yashimabet has started her own baking business, Yahshi Bakes, and is working very hard, but she loves baking and finds it relaxing,” said Neway, who owns Souly Body massage and bodywork salon on Piedmont Avenue.
“I’m so booked up that people have to order one or two months in advance,” said Selassie, who even gets orders from out of state. “But with school and homework, it’s hard to fit everything in.”
Selassie was a special guest April 2 at “Bringing it to the Table,” a six-course dinner and fundraiser for a new reality cooking show featuring up-and-coming Bay Area chefs. She also addressed Laney College students at a Life Course seminar about her experience as a young entrepreneur and treated her audience to some home-baked cookies.
Selassie spreads the word about her baked goods through “pop-up” sales at local stores, with one scheduled at Cupcakin’ Bake Shop, 2435 Durant Ave. in Berkeley, from noon to 3 p.m. June 19 and another at Souly Body, 4168 Piedmont Ave. in Oakland, from noon to 3 p.m. June 26. She will also demonstrate her baking chops on Monday, Memorial Day, when she’ll be part of a special cook-off fundraiser for My Yute Soccer summer camp at The Hive, 301 Jefferson St. in Oakland, from 1 to 5 p.m.
“Yahshimabet is also focusing on a collaboration with Red Bay Coffee (in Oakland),” Neway said. “She is planning to provide baked goods at the new cafe in Oakland when it opens next month as well as supply special orders for events hosted by Red Bay Coffee.”
For a recent “pop-up” event at her mother’s Piedmont Avenue store, Selassie whipped up two lemon pound cakes, two orange cardamom coffee cakes, 100 cupcakes — as well as cookies and chocolate truffles.
“It’s a lot of effort to make all that when I don’t have much time,” said the young baker, who puts her own spin on traditional recipes. “I take a simple recipe and add my own ingredients to make it original. I really like that creative side of baking.”
Selassie, whose interest in baking started when she was just 3 and helping her grandmother in the kitchen, still loves to make Sunday morning breakfast for her family.
“A typical Sunday breakfast might be a loaf of banana bread, buckwheat pancakes with raspberry compote and crepes with a choice of fillings,” she said.
The seventh-grader, who lists science and art as her favorite subjects at school and likes to play basketball, isn’t limiting her career goals to baking. She might also branch into interior design, fashion or architecture. Above all, said Selassie, it’s important to love your work.
“I tell people to live their passion and make a living at what they enjoy doing,” she said.
“Make what you love into your job.”
FYI
For information or to place an order, email orders@yahshibakes.com. Selassie’s “pop-up” sales include one scheduled at Cupcakin’ Bake Shop, 2435 Durant Ave. in Berkeley, from noon to 3 p.m. June 19 and another at Souly Body, 4168 Piedmont Ave. in Oakland from noon to 3 p.m. June 26. She will also be part of a special cook-off fundraiser for My Yute Soccer summer camp at The Hive, 301 Jefferson St. in Oakland, from 1 to 5 p.m. on Monday, Memorial Day.
