Baking her way to national fame at age 11
Young baker not outgrowing love of baking
GLASGOW
How many preteens are recognized by their city, county and a major bank as well as having a day proclaimed for them?
Kentucky boasts at least one—Haylin Adams of Glasgow, whose parents are consumer-members of Farmers RECC.
Haylin was recognized by The Peoples Bank, the city of Glasgow and Barren County after she placed fourth in the ninth season of Food Network’s Kids Baking Championship show, when she was just 11.
Her love of baking started early. “Her maternal grandmother, Margie Thompson, let her granddaughter do whatever she wanted in the kitchen,” recalls Haylin’s mother, Amanda. At age 9, Haylin asked to bake her own birthday cake.
As she progressed as a baker, the now 13-year-old loved to experiment with recipes and decorations.
“Since I was little, I watched the baking shows and messed around in the kitchen,” Haylin says. “I love to be creative and put my own twist on whatever I am baking. “
She also honed her skills in a 4-H culinary class. Barren County 4-H Extension Agent Paula Tarry encouraged Haylin to apply for the Kids Baking Championship.
Applicants were given multiple baking challenges via email (due to COVID-19 restrictions), and the finished products were presented via Zoom. These preliminaries narrowed the field to just 12 bakers, including Haylin.
Prior to the show’s start in January 2021, the 12 finalists were quarantined on a beach area outside Los Angeles—the travel was Haylin’s first flight.
“It was a great experience being on the show,” she says, “and it was pretty cool to meet Duff and Valerie (Duff Goldman and Valerie Bertinelli, the co-hosts) and get to make all those friends.”
On her special day of recognition, July 23, 2021, Haylin opted to bake her own treats rather than have the celebratory food catered. She baked a lemon cake with lemon filling, snickerdoodle cookies, and chocolate cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting.
Now in eighth grade, Haylin has expanded her interests to soccer and volleyball and is leaning toward a career in the medical field.
What would she say to other young people about their dreams?
“Work hard. Be yourself, don’t be afraid to put yourself out there, and have fun.”
