Mrs. D.C. International®

Ebony Alvarado - 2nd Runner-Up

1.Tell us a funny story about a date night out with your husband.
Our first date started over a little debate whether there was a Sprinkles cupcake in Georgetown, D.C. I was working in the area at the time, and I was POSITIVE that there was not since I walked up and down those streets daily. GPS can be wrong sometimes, right? Well, we meet at the location, and there stood the bright pink shop. We shared a laugh over how confidently wrong I was! We were just friends at the time, but Williams had the entire day planned out as a date. In this case, being wrong turned into a blessing.

2.What are the (2) most important things in your kitchen and why?
Our 20-quart commercial stand mixer and commercial refrigerator. We purchased this heavy-duty equipment last year to keep up with our baking business! Although we now work out of a commercial kitchen, I can’t bring myself to get rid of them. They take up a lot of space, but they remind me to never doubt a dream even if it seems small or impossible. I never thought that our tiny idea would grow so much in only 2 years!

3.What do people assume about you that isn’t true?
People assume that since I am a baker, I have a huge sweet tooth. The truth is, while I do love chocolate occasionally, I don’t prefer many sweet foods! Rarely will you see me adding sugar to my coffee.

4.Tell us a time you demonstrated leadership skills.
Last May, our cookie company was blessed with a large influx of orders, one of those orders requesting 1,000 hand decorated cookies for an event. We had only been in business for 3 months, so while I was still figuring out how to run a business with my husband, I was now also responsible for teaching 3 brand new pastry chefs on safe food handling, our company policies, and how to bake our cookies. All of which I was just learning myself! This was a great opportunity to practice the leadership skill of keeping a level head in times of stress. Now when our teams have questions or we come up against a problem, I can show up calm, collective, and communicate clearly to my team. I keep a “never let them see you sweat” mentality.

5.If you had no fear, what would you try?
I would record a country music album. However, I fear for the safety of your ears!