Most people would consider leaving behind a career in fashion design for baking a pretty drastic change. But for former "Project Runway" contestant Katy Gerdes, it was a long time coming.
"I started baking around 10 years old, so I've always had a passion for it," she says, adding that she worked baking jobs throughout high school and college. "It's been in my life for much longer than fashion design ever was."
Gerdes, a pastry chef at Angel Food Bakery & Coffee Bar in downtown Minneapolis (86 S. 9th St.), says she actually "kind of stumbled" into fashion design during college. After spending a few years on the local fashion circuit, showing collections at shows like Voltage and working as a design coordinator at Target, she became the first Minnesotan to appear as a contestant on Bravo's "Project Runway" in 2007.
Not long after appearing on the show, she found herself at a crossroads.
"The constant stress from having to come up with the newest, coolest idea was just not for me," she says. "Plus, being an independent, small designer is extremely difficult. People are so used to cheap and fast fashion that trying to keep up and support yourself is a daunting task."
So Gerdes -- who is also a certified snowboarding instructor -- went back to her roots, taking a job at Cupcake bakery before becoming pastry chef at Hell's Kitchen, which is co-owned by her mother, Cynthia Gerdes.
"It definitely helps to be in a family of chefs and restaurant owners," she says. "It takes a certain kind of person to succeed, and they understand the ups and downs. On the other hand, it was hard to come into a family business and prove myself and prove that I didn't just get the job because of my parents."
As Hell's Kitchen's bakery needs began outgrowing its kitchen, she took her current job at Angel Food, where her daily responsibilities include everything from frosting cakes to ordering supplies, handling staffing, prepping for large catering orders and implementing new products.
