Just In
'A senseless murder at the hands of terrorists ...' -- Gov. Youngkin on the death of Hersh Goldberg-Polin
Alert Top Story
- Fox - Milwaukee
'Blue Ribbon Baking Championship' is available now on Netflix
Meredith Lindemon
Food and Drink Reporter
- Author twitter
- Author email
Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Followed notifications
Please log in to use this feature
Log In
Don't have an account? Sign Up Today
If you tune in to the Netflix series “Blue Ribbon Baking Championship” this season, you’ll see Glen Allen baker Kimberly Thompson compete for the grand prize of $100,000.
Thompson has been baking with her business Kimmy Kakes RVA out of her home since 2020. Her cakes, cupcakes, pies, and inclusive gluten- and sugar-free items are available online.
In “Blue Ribbon Baking Championship,” a panel of judges selects the best baked goods throughout a series of judged bakes and awards the winner the namesake blue ribbon and $100,000 grand prize. The contestants are winners from various state fairs across the country, who each received blue ribbons for their treats.
“Blue Ribbon Baking Championship” started streaming in August, with all eight episodes available to watch now on Netflix.
People are also reading…
Thompson taped the show in October of last year.
“It was interesting to say the least. This was my first time competing, so I didn’t know what to expect. You think you’re going in there to just bake, but there’s more to it than just baking.”
Being on a Netflix show is a far cry from competing in a state fair. Thompson said, “You have the whole production piece of it, so I think that’s where it got a little stressful. You have to wait around for production to get all their shots and, when it’s time to go bake, you have to turn on and be ready to bake for three hours, five hours or an hour and a half. Because when it started, it started.”
The show brings in Sandra Lee of the “Semi-Homemade” cooking show as the inspiration behind the series. She’s a blue-ribbon winner and wanted to get other state fair blue-ribbon winners across the nation to compete for the Netflix-sanctioned blue-ribbon title. Each episode includes a mini bake and a finale of a big bake.
During the mini bake, the judges select the winner and they move on to the next episode. In the big bake, contestants get a ribbon in first, second or third place. The winner took home the coveted blue ribbon and $100,000.
“I did not win but it’s okay because I don’t do anything on this level,” said Thompson. “At the state fair, you hand in your goods and you go, so I’m fine with the experience and the friendships I made. I’m surprised I made it as far as I did because there are so many amazing bakers.”
Thompson has won awards at the State Fair of Virginia, where she has been awarded numerous blue ribbons for cakes and cupcakes. She also second place for her pound cake in 2022.
So where did Thompson place in the series?
She said, “I’ll give you some spoilers — I did win some ribbons throughout the episodes so I got pretty far. I did place, so I don’t think there’s anything I would do differently. I went in there and I just did the best that I could do and that’s it. Sometimes the odds are against you but there’s a lot of factors that are out of your control. I just went and had fun and experienced it, and was along for the ride.”
Thompson is holding a meet and greet this weekend for people interested in getting to know her and her cakes. The event is free and open to the public. It will be held from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday at Charles’ Kitchen at 10835 W. Broad St. in Glen Allen.
54 Richmond-area restaurants, bakeries, ice cream shops that opened this year
Cookie Chris
Zorch Pizza Parlor
Brecotea Bakery & Café
Latitude Seafood Co.
Saladworks Frutta Bowl
Kline's Dairy Bar
Mudhouse Coffee
Le Box Lunch
Il Forno Bar & Grill
Cochiloco
Kali Love
Stock Bistro & Bar
Taco Bamba
Raising Cane's, Glen Allen
Shake Shack Midlothian
Marylous
Parlay at Graybo's
Eggs Up Grill Mechanicsville
Trouvaille
Texas Inn
Smoke & Barrel
1870
Cafe & Sabor
92 Chicken
The Mantu Express
Fuji Ramen
ML Steak Chesterfield
Lalo's Margaritas
Lucky Chopstick
The Bowl Vietnamese Cuisine
Blue Bee Cider
Tito's Taqueria
Beaucoup
Tiny Vegan
Scott's Shawarma
Fogo de Chão
The Foundation
Lillian
West End
Importante Bodega Bar
River City Wood Fire Pizza
Chipotle
Raising Cane's
Chipotle near The Diamond
Bad As Philly
Gather & Hem
Brecotea Bakery & Café
Pho 60 Café
The Hive Bar and Grill
KavaClub
Honest Indian Vegetarian
Maracuchos Fast Food RVA
El Chido, Midlothian
Oh Mochi
Editor's Pick Top Story
19 Richmond-area restaurants that closed in 2024
- From staff reports
Take a look at the following restaurants and breweries that closed in the Richmond area.
Meredith Lindemon
(804) 649-6029
mlindemon@timesdispatch.com
'); var s = document.createElement('script'); s.setAttribute('src', 'https://assets.revcontent.com/master/delivery.js'); document.body.appendChild(s); window.removeEventListener('scroll', throttledRevContent); __tnt.log('Load Rev Content'); } } }, 100); window.addEventListener('scroll', throttledRevContent); }
Meredith Lindemon
Food and Drink Reporter
- Author twitter
- Author email
Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Followed notifications
Please log in to use this feature
Log In
Don't have an account? Sign Up Today
