This past December we had the incredible opportunity to work with Hallmark as Baking Consultants for their new movie, The Secret Ingredient!
In The Secret Ingredient, small-town baker, Kelly, gets a big surprise when she is invited to compete on a Valentine's Day baking show in New York City - and an even bigger surprise when she runs into her ex-fiance!
When people from Hallmark first came into our little shop they were scouting locations for the upcoming filming of The Secret Ingredient. While our tiny storefront and kitchen on Academy road were too small for a film crew, the team at Hallmark loved the aesthetic of our shop and our assortment of beautiful treats. The rest, as they say, is history!
Working with the entire crew was such a blast and we were all blown away at how each and every person plays such an integral role in seeing the movie come to life. From meetings with executives and the heads of all the departments, we really saw how no detail is overlooked and how passionate every single person working on the film was about their piece. There were countless moments where we would stand on set and be so in awe of seeing it all come together from the script to filming.
As baking consultants, we worked closely with the amazing props team led by Alexis Labra to be sure all of the baking on the show looked real, offered scripting change suggestions for what would make sense in a kitchen and had the incredible opportunity to be on set to watch the magic unfold while directing the actors on what to do next during the baking scenes. We also had the privilege of having our treats featured throughout the movie-- including the show-stopping cakes for the Valentine's Day baking show! We did a baking class with Erin Cahill and Brendan Penny before shooting started to show them how to do the tasks they would be doing while filming. Erin and Brendan were both so kind, fun and a pleasure to work with. Erin has a natural talent when it comes to piping and Brendan fills a mean cream puff! It was also so incredible to be able to meet Maneet Chauhan! She's a judge on Chopped and so knowledgable, kind and talented.
Providing the treats for the movie was such a highlight for our entire team. Our bakers worked hard to bring to life all the treats for the show, including the signature cake featured throughout-- a 4-layer honey almond cake with berries. We couldn't have done it without them and we are so grateful for all of their time they put in especially while filming so close to Christmas! Talk about a busy kitchen!
We can't thank every single person involved in this project enough for welcoming us into your world with open arms, kindness and grace as we were introduced into this world of film. From answering countless emails to kindly asking us to 'get out of the frame', we are so amazed at the film industry and are hoping we have an opportunity to be involved in this unique work again!
Mark your calendars for Saturday, February 15th at 8pm cst to watch The Secret Ingredient on Hallmark or the W Network. Watch the trailer on Instagram here!
If you live in Winnipeg, be sure to pop by our shop on Academy on Saturday, February 15th. We are giving away 100 mini 'Honey Almond Cake with Berries'-inspired cupcakes to the first 100 customers who make a purchase. We are excited to see you then!
