Timing was always tricky for pastry chef Adam Young when Food Network called. He turned down TV opportunities during his busy summer season at the Ocean House, then again when he was in the midst of opening his own bakery, Sift Bake Shop, in Mystic — with his first child also on the way.
But schedules finally aligned for Young to join the third season of “Spring Baking Championship” in 2017, his first national TV appearance. And when the network called again, looking for him to compete on the second season of “Best Baker In America,” he accepted.
“I’d seen the first season and I thought it was an excellent representation of kind of what we do here at Sift. So I thought, ‘Oh, I might be a good fit for this show,'” he says.
Young is one of nine competitors on the show, premiering on May 7.
“Bakers from across the country are put to the test in each episode to create elegant and delicious versions of classic baked goods,” a Food Network program description reads. Scott Conant hosts and Jason Smith and Marcela Valladolid return as judges; rotating guest judges include prominent cake and pastry experts and baking digital influencers. The winning baker at the end of the seven-episode run earns a grand prize of $25,000.
Young says his previous TV experience boosted his confidence, but “this competition, specifically, was much more challenging. The challenges themselves are a little more advanced.”
The television schedule, “a lot of 16, 18, 20-hour days” was grueling, and forced Young to test every one of his skills and techniques, he says.
“Competing is very, very different from what we do in everyday life and everyday operations. You’d normally take a day or two to make this very elaborate wedding cake [but on the show], you have literally 3 or 4 hours…They want that initial shock factor, and it wouldn’t be a competition if it wasn’t challenging.”
Young, a classically trained pastry chef and alum of the Ocean House in Westerly, R.I., opened Sift on Mystic’s Water Street in May 2016. The French-inspired bakery immediately captured the interest of locals and tourists alike with its daily selection of scratch-made cookies, muffins, artisanal breads, quiches, scones and tortes. Croissants with 81 layers of hand-rolled dough and butter are best-sellers, as are delicate French macarons.
Last month, Sift expanded over the border, as Young opened a Watch Hill outpost of the bakery on April 20. The Rhode Island location will be open seven days a week through the summer season, he says, receiving fresh product baked on-site in Mystic.
“We’re always looking at what’s the next thing, where are we going to take the business next … how can we expand our services to a wider demographic,” he says. “This is just breaking the ice, testing the waters with Watch Hill now. Ultimately we’d like to see a few of these throughout New England, but that’s part of the 10-year plan.”
Young says his first TV appearance brought “dramatic increases” in business last year. Passersby will sneak photos through Sift’s glass window, he says, laughing, and he’s received fan mail from as far away as Alabama. “The Food Network … we could never afford to pay for that type of exposure. It’s huge.”
Learn more about Sift Bake Shop at siftbakeshopmystic.com. Season 2 of “Best Baker In America” premieres on Food Network May 7 at 9 p.m. EST. foodnetwork.com/shows/best-baker-in-america.
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