Despite a reluctant start to her culinary career, pastry chef Carla Hinote, is gaining a glowing reputation in the USA as a life-sized cake boss.
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Raised in Goodwood, Hinote settled in the town of Cashiers in North Carolina, where she is affectionately known as Carlacakes for her sugary creations.
However, baking wasn’t the first career choice for Hinote who originally studied to become a chef at the City and Gills College in Green Point before securing an apprentice job as a pastry chef.
“I didn’t want to be a pastry chef – at the beginning, I just wanted to be a regular hardcore chef on the line. In the industry it’s very hot, very tough, especially for women because we have to work hard to prove ourselves. It’s a man-driven industry,” Hinote told IOL.
After spending some time working in Cape Town bakeries, an opportunity arose to work in the US.
“I applied, went through all the hoops,” Hinote explained. “ It was not easy. You had to do paperwork, background checks and a bunch of interviews, and I made it through all the interviews, and finally, I got the job.”.
Hinote added that she was excited about a line cook position in Florida but got the pastry position instead.
She initially worked under chef Charles Rosselli as a pastry chef at the Sailfish Point Country Club in Florida,and fell in love with baking.
“I met my husband in 2012, and we permanently moved to North Carolina, and I had to make my way.” she said.
“I eventually worked my way up to an executive pastry chef. I have an assistant named Wendy Botha and she is also South African. And we have South Africans that come and work with us every year.”
The pair later started working on projects where they would bake cakes each year, one more extravagant than the other, beginning with a clubhouse, the size of a table.
“People call me Carlacakes,” she said.
“I have an amazing husband, and I couldn’t ask for a better life and a career because I am challenging myself to new heights, and that is just amazing to me.”
Speaking to IOL, Mountaintop’s Food and Beverage director, Danielle Grobler, said: “I love working with Carla. I have been at Mountaintop for 15 years and have worked with Carla off and on over the years. She made my 8-year-old’s birthday cake for each birthday.”
“People are amazed and shocked that we can make something huge and take pictures (of the cakes).”
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Picture: Facebook/ Carla Hinote