When ABD first introduced Joey Blackwell to our readers two years ago, he had just competed in a New York Bake Off against fellow macaron bakers. His concoction, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, won Best Color at the event.
Now the owner of Mac Daddy Macarons is going for a national title in the Greatest Baker competition.
“Someone on social media tagged me about the event and I signed up, not knowing where it might lead,” said Blackwell.
It has led to the Aiken home baker being in the top 4 in his category! Blackwell has steadily moved up the rankings in the past month. He needs votes to move into the semi-final round of the competition by tomorrow, Thursday, December 5. You can vote here.
If Blackwell wins, it means the title of Greatest Baker, a feature in Bake from Scratch Magazine, and a $20,000 prize. He has some big plans if that happens.
“My dream would be to open a shared commercial kitchen for CSRA bakers. It would create so many possibilities.”
That ambition to help others comes as no surprise. Blackwell, aka Mac Daddy, has partnered with many small businesses around the CSRA over the years, including NOLA Coffee’s Fall Market and Kels & Faith’s Black Friday event. His delicious, sweet treats are a draw for customers.
The Greatest Baker competition is presented by a familiar name in the baking world, Buddy Valastro. He is an American baker, reality television personality, and businessman. He has taken his small, family-owned New Jersey bake shop, Carlo’s Bakery, and turned it into a baking and restaurant empire. His baking shows are featured on A&E.
The Greatest Baker winner will get to spend some time with the Baking King, Valastro, and who knows where that may lead.
In the meantime, Blackwell is taking a few weeks off to create more mouthwatering macaron confections. Don’t forget to vote in the next two days. It could lead to another new CSRA business.
Editor’s Note:
Mitzi Oxford is a veteran broadcaster and features writer who also worked at the same television station in Columbus, Georgia as Augusta’s Brad Means! If you have a South Carolina story idea for Mitzi, please email her at mitzioxfordcreative@gmail.com.
