Posted: July 14, 2020
Angela Bowes shares her "I got my start in 4-H" story.
At left, Angela and her "Big Time Bake" teammate, Timmy. At right, the Food Fight Show Piece that helped the team win their title!
I got my start in 4-H while growing up on our family farm. Every July of my childhood was spent at the Lycoming County Fair, playing in the sawdust piles as a toddler to showing market beef, sheep, and hogs once I turned 8.
I had so many great opportunities and memories through my 4-H years. From club meetings, 4-H camp, County Council, State Days, Dale Carnegie class, Lycoming County Dairy Princess, prepping and showing animals, working, and eating at the 4-H food stand, starting the Youth Livestock College Scholarship and so much more! They all built me into the person I am today. I have always been a competitive person. Growing up, my sisters and I would make jumping hurdles and workout runs for our sheep to muscle up to prepare for the fair. We put in the time and push them and ourselves to be the best possible. While we were fortunate to bring home several trophies, my favorite thing to win overall was Showmanship because that was about how much I worked to be the best me!
This same concept of pushing myself has always been something I have enjoyed.
While I have come a long way since making muffins during my club meeting, I will always remember the things that have shaped me into who I am today. Having left the medical field after 15 years, I now have my own business, Cakes By Angela Bowes, in Johnson City, Tennessee; I am a Dessert Chef Instructor at Serenity Knoll Cooking School where I teach others the art of baking, decorating, and creating delicious desserts; and I work for CakeBuds Bakery where I make macarons and decorate celebration and wedding cakes.
I recently had the opportunity to compete with Timmy, the owner of CakeBuds Bakery, on Food Network! Our host was Buddy, from Carlos Bakery, and we competed for 6 straight hours on a show called Big Time Bake. The clock never stopped as we made a cookie, cupcake, and then an over the top show piece cake with the theme Food Fight! At the 2, 4, and 6-hour marks, one team was sent home while they were in the middle of baking and decorating! It was the most intense competition I have been in, and I have competed in several karate and weightlifting competitions!
During Big Time Bake, we had to include a savory element in each of our desserts. We choose a ninja throwing star-shaped cookie that was blue cheese and fig. Next, we made a habanero carrot cake cupcake that we topped with carrot nunchucks. Our final show piece was a rosemary, orange, and sweet potato cake that we carved to look like a carrot and banana fighting in front of a chocolate and wafer dojo wall. We had the great honor of winning the final round and bringing home the title of Food Network Champions to Johnson City, Tennessee!
I would like to encourage everyone who is still in their 4-H years to enjoy and take advance of all the great opportunities and experiences that 4-H offers. Push yourself out of your comfort zone just a little and see where it takes you! While your path may change several times over the years, the experiences, friends, and memories will last forever!
- submitted by Angela Bowes
