Jono, Ben & Megan - The Podcast - BONUS : The Caker Jordan Rondell Interview

Episode Date: August 24, 2022

The guys chat to Jordan Rondell - she started in Auckland, then moved to L.A, with her cakes shared on Social Media by celebs like Chrissy Teigan. She's appearing on the TVNZ 1 Show 'The Great Kiwi Bake Off', and caught up with the guys to discuss her start, working in L.A, and shares 3 essential tips for bakers. Enjoy!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Hits with the Jono and Ben Podcast. Jordan, good morning. Good morning. Lovely to have you on. Before we kick off, I was given one of your wonderful Black Forest cakes for a birthday and it changed my course in life. It did? This is embarrassing.

And I ate an entire cake by myself. I see. Got it. Yeah. As I understand, Jordan, you've always been obsessed with baking. entire cake by myself. I see. Got it. Yeah. I was going to say, Jordan, you've always been obsessed with baking.

Like, every day after school, I'd say you were baking, but who ate all the baking? Were you giving it away? I mean, what happened there? Good question.

Yeah, I was just giving it away. I think eventually, I was mostly to my family and stuff, but eventually, they were done. They,

like, didn't need more cakes. I started to think about, maybe I should start selling these, and that's how it all took off. It's been such a success story as well. Do you have your cake and eat it too? Are you sick of cake?

No, I still love cake, just as much as the day I met it. I really do. It's a wonderful relationship. I love to sit down and have a proper slice on a plate with a fork and just actually enjoy it, rather than stuffing my face in the kitchen while I'm baking. I love to sit down. Yeah. I'm a stuff my face in the kitchen while I'm baking. I like to sit down.

Yeah. I'm a stuff your face in the kitchen kind of guy. What made you decide to start up a shop, which obviously here in New Zealand, then you started one in LA. What inspired you to do that? When I first started the cake back in 2010 in Auckland, there really wasn't anyone doing

this kind of homemade style of cake. So you could get something pretty like mass-manufactured commercial tasting. But I really did see this gap in the market for a bakery selling cakes that really focused on how they taste and the ingredients they contain. So it was kind of a no-brainer. It took me – I had three different little shops before I got to the one we're in now, each time tripling in size. So it's not been like an instantaneous thing. You're like 18 or 19 and going, there's a gap in the market.

I was learning the alphabet at 18 or 19. That's not a good reflection, though, is it? Yeah, because it's done so well. Chrissy Teigen, obviously she basically gave you a shout-out on her social media. There's a photo of John Legend with his face next to one of your cakes. That's pretty wild. Yeah, I know. That was a good day, actually.

Does that boost sales when celebrities do things like that? Yeah, totally. It does. And it just gives you some more credibility. Moving to LA hasn't been this sort of breeze that I anticipated. We're such a small fish in a big pond here, and it's the opposite of what it is in New Zealand. So it's been an interesting journey,

and when people notice it, it feels good. Yeah. So you are based in Los Angeles now. You've obviously got a bakery over there. But you also do pre-prepared packages with the ingredients. So do you sell those in supermarkets and things over there? Yeah, so we call those our cake kits. And it's pretty much all direct-to-consumer through the website at the moment.

But we've got a few stores that stock them. We're just trying to – wholesale's a tricky one when your costs are so high and stuff. But we're working on it. But, yeah, they're the focus over here, actually, because the bakery, because of COVID and stuff, that all got put on hold a bit. Yeah, no, fair enough. You've been asked to host, alongside Hayley Sproul

and Pax Asadi, the Great Kiwi Bake Off. Yeah, you're judging on that one. It must have been inspiring for the contestants on there to see someone like yourself, because you've got no professional experience, so you didn't train, but you've made such a career out of it. Yeah, totally. I think there were definitely a few contestants who know they brought my books and stuff to the show and yeah it was quite like yeah you're right like i do love to push the self-taught

baker side of the brand because i think it's important to show people they don't need to be afraid of baking anyone can actually learn how to do it and push the boundaries and be creative with it. Because, yeah, as a judge on the show, how much cake are you eating a day? You have no idea. So much. It'll just be like pies and scones and cake.

Amazing. I wanted the contestants to see that I was properly going in for it and trying it all. So I would go back to seconds and thirds sometimes and it was a lot. Yeah, I imagine you get home at the end of every day and go, whew. Obviously the contestant numbers got smaller and smaller over the course, but I remember on that first day of judging when they were all 10 people,

it was a lot. What's the secret? Like, obviously I can't wait to see what the people do on the show, The Great Kiwi Bake Off on TVNZ1. But is there a secret that people are listening right now? Is there one thing that they can keep in mind if they're going to bake a cake in the next coming weeks? Yeah, it's one thing.

Gosh, okay, I've got three things. Okay, three things. Okay, what's three things? There you go, ask three things. First of all, get to know your oven because that really is going to affect the way that your cake turns out. And you can't exactly follow a recipe as gospel because it's very hard for a recipe writer

to make a bake time and a bake temp for every single oven, do you know what I mean? You do, but all ovens operate differently, don't they? There's no consistent oven. Yeah, they need to sort that out. Yeah, exactly. I know there's gas and then there's electric. Different results will come from that.

And then the second thing is investing in good quality ingredients because it will make a huge difference. There's just no doubt about it. And then I'd say the third thing is if you're using a flour which contains gluten to just be super careful to never overmix

because that's the one thing that's going to lead to a really tough, not moist cake. Oh, gee. Now, Jordan, I know cakes, they're your life. They're your reason for being. But what would you say if I told you Ben, who I'm looking at over here, he's not a fan of cakes? Not your cakes, just cakes across the board.

No, it's not that I dislike. I just always feel obligated to have a cake. Oh, it's such and such's birthday. It's such and such made a cake. Do you want some? And I'm kind of like, if you can't say no in that situation. Yeah, I don't know what went wrong in his childhood, Jordan, but he doesn't enjoy cake.

It's very sad. Maybe I'll be able to change your mind one day. Yeah, that's a good point. He's like, when you have a morning tea and it's someone's birthday here in the office, he's like, oh. And it feels like the cake's being forced onto him and he doesn't want to. Yeah, it's not that I'm against that. There's some lovely cakes out there.

Sometimes I don't feel it, but you feel like you have to eat it. You can't say no. But yeah, Jordan, you're right. I need to get and have one of your cakes. Jordan, we'll team up and we'll turn them, okay? Yes, that's my goal.

That's my new goal in life. Yeah, great. Hey, congratulations on all your success. It's amazing that you're out there doing what you're doing and long may it continue. And good luck

for the great Kiwi Bake Off tonight. It starts on TVNZ1. Very exciting. Thank you so much. Hey, lovely to talk to you. Thanks for your time. Yeah, you too. Thanks TVNZ1 very exciting thank you so much hey lovely to talk to you thanks for your time yeah you too

thanks so much talk to you soon see you mate The Hits for more podcasts from The Hits Network check out iHeartRadio.co.nz