By Brian Ruth
The Scene staff
Forest Park alum Lia Weber and her teammate, Al Baker, won the Season 4 competition on TLC Network’s “The Next Great Baker.”
Known to show fans as “Team Blue,” they used their experience working together at Wedding Wonderland Cake Shop in Florissant to grab the title.
“When it came to baking and decorating, we complemented each other very well,” said Weber, 24, of Florissant. “We never really had a completely ‘off’ or horrible cake.”
Weber also works as head pastry chef at Hendel’s Restaurant in Florissant. She’s considering a job offer at Carlo’s Bakery in Las Vegas or New Jersey as part of the reality show’s prize package.
When the finale aired, Hendel’s threw a party for Weber’s family and friends. They watched the show on a big-screen TV.
Weber asked Forest Park culinary students to lend a hand with desserts. They had no idea she had won the competition.
“The finale party was an emotional moment for myself, as well as everyone else,” said student Abby Benz, 20, who is studying culinary arts, pastry arts, hospitality and tourism.
Weber earned an associate’s degree in baking and pastry arts at Forest Park in 2011 while working on her bachelor’s in business administration at Fontbonne University.
The Forest Park program is no stranger to the national TV spotlight. Coordinator Casey Shiller won the Food Network’s “Cupcake Wars” twice.
Weber took classes with Shiller for two semesters, and he gave her advice before she appeared on the reality show.
“Casey really taught me to be prepared for anything on the set,” She said.
Season 4 of “The Next Great Baker” began with 10 teams vying for a $100,000 grand prize and a chance to work at Carlo’s Bakery, which is owned by the show’s host, Buddy Valastro.
While Weber is classically trained, Baker got most of his experience on the job. Both would like to open their own bakeries someday.
Contestants on the reality show had to meet challenges, such as making a cake out of 100 pounds of candy and creating a life-sized cake sculpture of TLC Network diva Theresa Caputo. They filmed nine episodes in a month.
The two team finalists traveled to Las Vegas to create a “Vegas showstopper” themed cake in 12 hours.
The season finale set was constructed in the luxurious lobby of The Venetian hotel. Team Blue’s was shaped like a pagoda next to a tree with floral blossoms.
“We were told to make a cake inspired by the surroundings of Las Vegas,” Weber said. “We were surrounded by beautiful gardens and thought it would be the perfect tie-in to the theme.”
During college, Weber made cakes at Wedding Wonderland and worked as a server at Hendel’s. She landed the head pastry chef position in 2012 and now lives in an apartment above the restaurant.
Weber gives Shiller partial credit for her reality-show win. One of her showpieces was a sugar sculpture.
“I had made that once in pastry school at Forest Park,” she said. “If I had never done that in the pastry arts program, we wouldn’t have been the first team picked to go to Las Vegas.”
Recently, Weber returned to the Forest Park kitchens to serve on a panel of industry professionals. She answered questions from students in the pastry arts program’s revamped capstone course.
“She has a lot of engagement with our students,” Shiller said. “We’re right in there in the trenches with her. Our students are assisting in any way they can.”
Weber may take the Carlo’s Bakery job offer, or she could stay in St. Louis to open her own bakery. She already sells cakes and other sweets under the business name “Made. By Lia.”
“It’s an opportunity,” she said. “You don’t have to necessarily take the offer.
“I did go to Las Vegas last week to have dinner with Buddy and get to know the bakery a bit more. I still have to decide if I want to pack up and move, or if I want to stay and open up my bakery.
My business has skyrocketed since the show.”