'Halloween Baking Championship' Featured Local Black Baker

Miami FL

22 September, 2021

10:38 AM

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By Johania Charles, the Miami Times Sep 21, 2021 Paul Allicock, a Miami-based pastry chef and business owner, had not thought that those long hours in the kitchen perfecting recipes and mastering his craft would land him a spot in a national baking competition, much less one as popular as Food Network's "Halloween Baking Championship." Though he didn't get very far in the competition given he was eliminated in round one, the experience is one he thinks will positively impact his baking career and future endeavors. Allicock is the owner of Atomic Biscuit, a home-based catering business that specializes in unique biscuit-based gourmet sandwiches and also offers custom-made cakes and other sweet treats. The business, which he started last October with his girlfriend, came after he felt his culinary creativity was being stifled by former employers, and amid a pandemic that threatened the livelihood of thousands of Americans. Those circumstances compelled him to pursue entrepreneurship. "Some places never allowed me to explore my creativity, so it was a bit of a challenge," said Allicock, sharing some of the obstacles he encountered in his 16-year career. "I was always searching for some form of stimulation to keep me going. Sometimes, when you're just doing a job, it can get monotonous and you need something to stimulate you to [remind] you of that passion inside of you." "Halloween Baking Championship" entered the picture right on time. The former Komodo Miami and Kimpton Epic Hotel pastry chef's creative process was on full display for thousands of Americans who tuned in to the hit baking series, which returned for its seventh season last week. Allicock, who often watched the series with his Halloween-adoring sons, was overjoyed when a representative from the network reached out to him in April about participating in the competition. Crippled by fear, he never thought his skills would be good enough to enter a competition until the opportunity to be on the show presented itself. "It has been nothing but a roller coaster of excitement since I was notified," he said. "I felt a sense of relief. Like finally, I made it far enough out there for people to see who Paul Allicock is, what I do and the types of flavors [that] I can produce." Allicock has had a keen interest in baked goods since the age of 8, finding every excuse to linger in the kitchen and learn what he could from family members. His curiosity and desire to find creative outlets of expression also led him to dabble in the arts. His big break came in 2006, after graduating from Georgia's Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts and gaining employment as a pastry chef. "I'm an artist by trade and I didn't want to be a starving artist, so I figured why not combine my artistry and pastry work?" said Allicock. "Being a pastry chef is like when I am painting, sketching or air brushing, it's just a different medium." The opportunity to be recognized and selected for a platform like the one the show provides, he said, was a dream come true. In the season's opener, titled "Welcome to Camp Devil's Food Lake," 10 professional bakers were thrown headfirst into a unique challenge called "Cereal Killer." Round one required contestants to create a cereal-inspired pie that fit the selected serial killer theme. Fighting for a chance to win the $25,000 prize and be crowned the Halloween baking champion, Allicock turned to his Caribbean roots to create his pie, selecting corn cereal for a Dutch mango-pineapple dessert infused with tropical liquor. Judges Carla Hall, Stephanie Boswell and Zac Young raved over the filling in his pie and how well the cereal was incorporated into the dish. His downfall was the crust, a dough mix into which he had blended the cereal. Allicock competed alongside one other Black pastry chef, Sherelle Morrison from South Carolina. Nicole Proske, the other Miami contestant, won judges over with her cookie cereal s'mores pie. "I might be underestimated just because I'm the youngest here, " she said on the episode. "I can definitely knock anyone out of the competition with my decoration." The Johnson & Wales University North Miami graduate won round one in last week's episode, which earned her an advantage for round two. Proske's experience stems from the culinary program at J&W, her current employment as a cake artist at the JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa, and years of baking with her grandmother. "I try not to think about age as a direct relation to skill set, but I do realize that experience does come with age to some degree," she said, sharing that the competition helped her pick up some things from the other professional bakers. Allicock also said he was inspired by the work ethic and strategies he witnessed among his competitors. "The highlight of this whole competition was meeting the (other) pastry chefs," he said. "They're all down-to-earth people trying to be their own entrepreneurs, and each has some unique thing about them. I'm not exactly close to any local pastry chefs in my area, so now having nine of them I can reach out to has been the best thing for me." Allicock's main focus now is to continue building his business as he works on getting a storefront location or pursuing a food truck. The challenge, as well as the network of bakers he can now rely on for support, has encouraged him to step beyond his comfort zone and think outside the box with recipes and even business ideas. Show competitors each either own a home-based bakery business or operate one in their community. "It motivates me to go even harder," Allicock said about the competition's result. Season seven of "Halloween Baking Championship," airing every Monday at 9 p.m. on Food Network and Discovery +, pays tribute to classic 1980s slasher films. The Miami Times is the largest Black-owned newspaper in the south serving Miami's Black community since 1923. The award-winning weekly is frequently recognized as the best Black newspaper in the country by the National Newspaper Publishers Association.