Ever wondered what happens when therapy moves from the couch to the kitchen? We sit down with licensed clinical social worker and culinary therapist Mercedes Tiggs, founder of Eight16 Culinary Therapy, to explore how mindful cooking can transform anxiety, build confidence, and knit communities back together. Rooted in the legacy of her grandmother’s Sunday dinners and a foster care upbringing, Mercedes walks us through a sensory-forward approach that blends breathwork, essential oils, food safety, and teamwork into a healing ritual—then closes each class with a shared table and reflection.

Mercedes opens up about her shift from criminal justice to social work, the moment faith sparked the idea of “culinary therapy,” and how the pandemic turned a vision into action through virtual kitchen circles. She explains why food carries hidden stories—finish-your-plate rules, waste anxiety, cultural expectations—and how naming those scripts can free us to eat with intention. You’ll hear a powerful breakthrough from a student who moved from an apple peeler to confidently using chef’s knives, proof that safety, skill-building, and community can rewrite fear.

We also look ahead. Mercedes and her team secured a farm-to-school grant to bring culinary therapy into elementary, middle, and high schools as an alternative to detention—turning behavior challenges into opportunities for regulation and pride. She shares a bold vision for a community kitchen and, long term, a therapeutic farm that supports re-entry with housing, certifications, and farm-to-table training. Along the way, we swap comfort foods (shrimp and grits fans, unite), talk travel and technique, and celebrate the mantra at the heart of her work: meals that heal.

If you’re curious about trauma-informed care, school mental health, or creative wellness, this story offers tools you can use tonight—light a candle, breathe with your chop, taste slowly, and eat together. Subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review to help more people find our healing community.

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A dream of psychology turned into a love affair with sculpted sugar. We sit with Barbadian cake artist Gayrielle Harper to unpack how a gap-year culinary course sparked a 3D cake career that thrives on trust, humor, and the courage to price what craft really costs. From handbags and cars to interactive elements that surprise guests, Gayrielle shares why challenge fuels her creativity and how simpler buttercream orders act as strategic breathers between high-stakes builds.

We talk about the unglamorous but crucial parts of the job: importing supplies to a small island, swallowing customs fees, and doing the math so your business doesn’t. Her approach is disarmingly practical—charge for reality, communicate clearly, and let reliability earn you loyalty. She tells stories of white-knuckle deliveries, the relief when a cake lands safely, and the pure joy when a client lights up. That feedback loop keeps the work meaningful, even when the pressure spikes.

Social media plays a starring role. Gayrielle’s reels mix humor and behind-the-scenes shots to make buyers feel at home. Many clients book her because they enjoy her personality as much as her portfolio. The message to young bakers is sharp and kind: beware of borrowed fear. Start small, expect mistakes, keep improving, and protect your vision with honest systems. Whether you’re a cake artist, a creative entrepreneur, or someone craving a spark of courage, this story offers clear takeaways on pricing, resilience, and finding balance without losing your edge.

If this conversation inspires you, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review. Your support helps more makers find the skills and confidence to build the careers they imagine.

Remember to subscribe wherever you get your podcast. Share the episodes and let's chat in the comments.

Support the Cake Therapy Foundation:
1. Cake Therapy - Cake Therapy (thecaketherapyfoundation.org)
2. Buy Me A Coffee : The Cake Therapy Foundation (buymeacoffee.com)
3. Buy The Book: Cake Therapy: How Baking Changed My Life https://a.co/d/76dZ5T0

4. Buy The Book: Lessons I Never Learned from My Father: Things We Missed Out On and How They Still Impact Me https://a.co/d/9wLOguc

Follow Sugarspoon Desserts on all social media platforms @sugarspoondesserts

Healing doesn’t have to shout to be powerful. Sometimes it looks like a steady whisk, a kitchen scale, and the quiet joy of a macaron rising just right. We sit down with Joy Marsh—social scientist, strategist, and the heart behind Minneapolis’s Blissful Cakery—to talk about the craft of staying whole while doing hard things. Joy has led transformational change inside city government, healthcare, and nonprofits, and she opens up about what liberation means in practice: precise language, shared accountability, and centering Black and Indigenous women, trans and non-binary people so everyone can experience safety, peace, and joy.

We trace the arc from burnout and news fatigue to boundaries and ritual. Joy explains how baking became her counterbalance to systems work—not as escape, but as a mindful practice where inputs and outcomes finally align. Measure, fold, rest, pipe. That embodied focus calms her ADHD brain and creates room for pattern-finding and creative strategy. You’ll hear candid reflections on entrepreneurship as an introvert, the courage to narrow your lane, and the humility it takes to learn from younger generations who refuse to make peace with harm.

Along the way, we celebrate macarons as both art and metaphor: playful color, surprising flavors, and the discipline to try again when the shells crack. Joy shares what’s next for Blissful Cakery, from monthly pop-ups to holiday gifting and a vision to teach baking as a regulation tool for organizers and caregivers carrying heavy stories. We close with a mindful moment that grounds the conversation in something simple and true—cooking connects us to ourselves, and the care we practice in the kitchen is the care we can carry back into community.

If this story stirred something in you, tap follow, share it with a friend, and leave a review. Your words help more people find a slice of joy and the tools to keep going.

Remember to subscribe wherever you get your podcast. Share the episodes and let's chat in the comments.

Support the Cake Therapy Foundation:
1. Cake Therapy - Cake Therapy (thecaketherapyfoundation.org)
2. Buy Me A Coffee : The Cake Therapy Foundation (buymeacoffee.com)
3. Buy The Book: Cake Therapy: How Baking Changed My Life https://a.co/d/76dZ5T0

4. Buy The Book: Lessons I Never Learned from My Father: Things We Missed Out On and How They Still Impact Me https://a.co/d/9wLOguc

Follow Sugarspoon Desserts on all social media platforms @sugarspoondesserts