Delaware: From Television to Business Success with Celebrity Baker, Dana Herbert
This week on the Titans of Food Service podcast, Nick Portillo speaks with celebrity baker Dana Herbert. With a background in both savory and pastry arts, Dana has made a name for himself not only in Delaware but also nationally, thanks to his appearances on shows like TLC's Cake Boss. Nick and Dana discuss the importance of mentorship and the unique challenges of running a bakery while maintaining high creativity and quality standards. Dana also reflects on his experiences working with celebrities and emphasizes the significance of practice, resilience, and the joy of baking, revealing how these elements have contributed to his success in the competitive food service industry.
Quotes
- "So when you get these surprise ingredients, I think you really just have to fall back on your training and on the knowledge that you do have. When I was in school, I had this one teacher, and she said, if you can smell anything sweet in something, it can be used for a dessert." -Dana Herbert
- "Life can be circling around you the whole time, and you don't even see some of the possibilities and things and connections that are going to happen in your career." -Dana Herbert
TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) Intro
(01:08) Meet Chef Dana Herbert
(03:31) Dana's Culinary Journey and Inspirations
(05:59) The Story Behind Desserts by Dana
(06:28) Competing on TLC's Cake Boss
(10:44) The Challenges of Cake Design
(19:34) Lessons Learned from Mistakes in Baking
RESOURCES
CONTACT
Transcript
There are a million ways to make money in the food service industry.
Nick Portillo:You just have to find one.
Nick Portillo:On the Titans of Food Service podcast, I interview real life movers and shakers in the food game who cut through all the noise to get to the top.
Nick Portillo:My name is Nick Portillo, and welcome to the Titans of Food Service podcast.
Nick Portillo:Let's jump right into it.
Nick Portillo:Welcome back to another episode of Titans of Food Service.
Nick Portillo:I'm your host, Nick Portillo, and today I continue my across american 50 weeks tour where I interview one titan of food service from every single state in the country.
Nick Portillo:And on this week's episode, we're going to be highlighting the beautiful state of Delaware.
Nick Portillo:But before I jump in and introduce our guest, I want to remind everyone, please, if you're liking the channel, if you're enjoying it, if you could leave me a five star review.
Nick Portillo:Whether you're on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or wherever you get your podcast, that would mean a lot.
Nick Portillo:It helps more listeners discover these incredible stories from across the food service industry, and it would just mean a lot to me.
Nick Portillo:So thank you.
Nick Portillo:Without further ado, I'm excited to introduce today's guest.
Nick Portillo:Today's guest, he's a true master of the culinary and pastry arts, none other than chef Dana Herbert.
Nick Portillo:He's also known as Delaware's King of Cakes and the Sugar daddy.
Nick Portillo:Dana, the owner of Desserts by Dana in Bear, Delaware has made waves not just in his home state, but nationally as well, with his.
Nick Portillo:With his incredible wedding cakes, sugar sculptures, and custom desserts, plus many, many more.
Nick Portillo:Many of you may actually know Dana from his time on Cake boss, the next great Baker on TLC.
Nick Portillo:On that show, he took home the top prize in the finale.
Nick Portillo:He wowed everyone with his design skills and his impeccable taste.
Nick Portillo:And since that show, he has appeared on numerous national media outlets.
Nick Portillo:And we're going to talk about that in the episode as well.
Nick Portillo:But things from ABC's deals with Kat Kosley to being on Fox NBC, and he was even the grace, the COVID of Dessert professional magazine.
Nick Portillo:Truly remarkable.
Nick Portillo:But his skills go beyond sweets.
Nick Portillo:He's also, he's a trained chef in both culinary and pastry, making him a double threat in any kitchen.
Nick Portillo:His ability to blend sweet and savory flavors even earned him a spot on the James Beard celebrity chef tour, where his dessert was named one of the top ten all time desserts on the tour.
Nick Portillo:Whoa.
Nick Portillo:Highlighting a little bit about Delaware, his home state.
Nick Portillo:Delaware's food service industry.
Nick Portillo:While it's small in size, it punches above its weight the state is home to a thriving food culture that supports more than 50,000 employees and generates nearly $3 billion in annual sales.
Nick Portillo:From its rich agricultural roots to the influence of nearby metro areas like Philly and Washington, DC, Delaware has a diverse and growing food scene.
Nick Portillo:Whether it's the abundance of fresh, local seafood like blue crabs and oysters, or the growing farm to table movement, Delaware restaurants and chefs just like Dana bring creativity and passion to every dish.
Nick Portillo:Okay, without further ado, let's go ahead and welcome Dana.
Nick Portillo:And remember, if you're enjoying the show, if you can leave me a five star review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast, that would mean a lot.
Nick Portillo:Let's go ahead and welcome chef Dana.
Nick Portillo:Welcome to the Titans of Food Service podcast.
Nick Portillo:I appreciate you taking time to come and talk with me anytime.
Dana Herbert:Thank you for having me.
Nick Portillo:So tell me, how did you get into the baking business or the food business?
Dana Herbert:Oh, goodness.
Dana Herbert:I totally blame it on grandma.
Dana Herbert:I'm a guy that likes to eat, and she was a woman that loved to cook, so I really just developed this love for food.
Dana Herbert:You know, for me, it was the one place you would find everyone at the end of the day was around that dinner table.
Dana Herbert:So food and love just kind of came together for me, and I just fell in love with food.
Nick Portillo:Yeah.
Nick Portillo:You know, it's my.
Nick Portillo:My wife, she's actually, she.
Nick Portillo:She loves to bake as well.
Nick Portillo:And, like, when she was going through high school and whatnot, she really got into baking cakes.
Nick Portillo:She did things for, like, weddings and different events.
Nick Portillo:Like, her and her mom really got into it.
Nick Portillo:Now they do one day a year annual baking day, which she loves.
Nick Portillo:But you've taken it to a whole other level.
Nick Portillo:You've been on television.
Nick Portillo:You're well known in the space.
Nick Portillo:So I want to learn more about that.
Nick Portillo:So you learned with your grandma at a young age how to bake.
Nick Portillo:Did you go to after that?
Nick Portillo:Did you go to school?
Nick Portillo:I saw you went to Johnson and Wales.
Nick Portillo:Was that to pursue a degree in baking?
Dana Herbert:Yes.
Dana Herbert:After I graduated from the University of Delaware in hotel restaurant management, I went on to Johnson and Wales University.
Dana Herbert:I did a degree on the savory side, on the culinary side, and then I stayed and did another degree on the pastry side.
Nick Portillo:Gotcha.
Nick Portillo:Is Johnson, is that by you?
Nick Portillo:Is that near Delaware?
Dana Herbert:That's actually in Providence, Rhode island.
Dana Herbert:There is another campus in.
Dana Herbert:Where is it?
Dana Herbert:Charlotte, North Carolina.
Dana Herbert:And I believe another in vail, Colorado.
Nick Portillo:Gotcha.
Nick Portillo:Okay.
Nick Portillo:At the time where, you know, when you.
Nick Portillo:When you came out of school, were you working in hospitality, or did you start your own?
Nick Portillo:Where did you go from there?
Nick Portillo:After school?
Dana Herbert:So after school, I did both.
Dana Herbert:I went to work for Marriott.
Dana Herbert:And it's funny, I took a job on the savory side.
Dana Herbert:I started desserts by Dana's, like, this little side business, because I didn't want to lose my pastry skills since I was on the savory side.
Dana Herbert:So I was kind of doing both at the same time, and the bakery business just started growing.
Nick Portillo:So desserts by Dana.
Nick Portillo:I was reading a little bit about that.
Nick Portillo:Tell me more about desserts by Dana.
Dana Herbert:So desserts by Dana.
Dana Herbert:I call it a retail and wholesale bakery.
Dana Herbert:Of course, we service our clients that walk in every single day, cookies and brownies, tarts, cheesecakes, all types of desserts.
Dana Herbert:You know, the cake pops, macarons, etcetera.
Dana Herbert:But then we also service hotels, universities, country clubs, and so forth.
Dana Herbert:So that's where we get our wholesale side of the business.
Nick Portillo:Nice.
Nick Portillo:And how did you end up on TLC's cake boss?
Dana Herbert:Oh, goodness.
Dana Herbert:I think on that show, I did a couple before that, and I had a little hiatus, and I was like, why not let me just throw my hat in the ring?
Dana Herbert:And lo and behold, I got picked.
Dana Herbert:Yeah.
Nick Portillo:What shows did you, did you do before that?
Dana Herbert:Before that one, I did ultimate kickoff with TLC.
Nick Portillo:Okay.
Dana Herbert:And I did wedding cake wars with we tv.
Dana Herbert:We've been blessed since then.
Dana Herbert: tal shows, we might be around: Nick Portillo:So we got a good run, I would imagine.
Nick Portillo:You know, you've been on all these shows.
Nick Portillo: You said: Nick Portillo:Is there a direct, like, correlation or benefit when you go on that show and then people wanting to buy your desserts?
Dana Herbert:I believe so.
Dana Herbert:My feeling is that, you know, as a small business, especially in the beginning, it would be difficult to afford that type of exposure on national television.
Dana Herbert:So I always say it's always great when you can get some extra fire behind your knee.
Dana Herbert:And I think it really helps with the marketing and so forth.
Dana Herbert:Win or lose, as long as you have a decent showing, I think it'll help you draw additional clients.
Nick Portillo:I think I saw that you won.
Nick Portillo:What was it, one of the shows, the TLC cake boss?
Nick Portillo:Well, you were season one winner, correct?
Dana Herbert:Yes.
Nick Portillo:How did that work?
Nick Portillo:How many contestants were there?
Dana Herbert:Let me see.
Dana Herbert:I think there were.
Dana Herbert:I can almost remember it, like, yesterday.
Dana Herbert:I think there were.
Dana Herbert:Was it ten of us?
Dana Herbert:One.
Dana Herbert:Who's at the end of the table, Pammy?
Dana Herbert:There were twelve of us.
Dana Herbert:Uh huh.
Nick Portillo:And what were some of the different events that you had to or not events, but like cakes and things that you had to bake.
Dana Herbert:Sure.
Dana Herbert:Let's see, what was the first episode?
Dana Herbert:We had to do a celebration of some sort.
Dana Herbert:So my wife was Prego and I did a baby shower cake.
Dana Herbert:Lo and behold, I got the sex wrong because we ended up having a girl.
Dana Herbert:But the first one was a celebration.
Dana Herbert:The second one, I think we did the 75th anniversary of Monopoly.
Dana Herbert:Third one, I think was a holiday cake.
Dana Herbert:Fourth one was pyrotechnic related.
Dana Herbert:So it had rockets and all kinds of stuff coming out of it.
Dana Herbert:We did a cake for Buddy's son at the time, his birthday.
Dana Herbert:What else did we do?
Dana Herbert:Of course, we had to get into wedding cakes.
Dana Herbert:Have a cake competition without wedding cakes, of course.
Dana Herbert:And then we did some cakes for Chevrolet.
Dana Herbert:And I think the final one was a hoboken themed cake for the finale.
Dana Herbert:Okay, so he kept us busy.
Nick Portillo:I bet.
Nick Portillo:Now give me a peek behind the curtain.
Nick Portillo:So you're making all these different cakes.
Nick Portillo:Are you filming every episode essentially at one time?
Nick Portillo:Do you have to bake all these cakes within the same day?
Dana Herbert:No, we filmed probably.
Dana Herbert:What was it?
Dana Herbert:And this was fast to do a whole season.
Dana Herbert:I think we did it in 21.
Nick Portillo:Days and it was in Delaware.
Nick Portillo:Or did you have to go to New York or LA?
Nick Portillo:Like, was it somewhere else just outside of New York?
Dana Herbert:We were in Hoboken.
Nick Portillo:You were in Hoboken?
Nick Portillo:Okay.
Nick Portillo:Gotcha.
Dana Herbert:Yeah.
Dana Herbert:One of the culinary schools there was gracious enough to let us take over a wing of their school.
Dana Herbert:And that's where TLC filmed that show.
Nick Portillo:My wife and I, we always like watching, like, the themed shows, like whether it's like Halloween or the Christmas ones, you know, the different baking championships, the one hosted by Jesse Palmer.
Dana Herbert:Yeah.
Nick Portillo:And I'm always, you know, in watching that show, they always have like, different ingredients that you have to put in.
Nick Portillo:How do you know?
Nick Portillo:Like when, when you're presented with something, maybe it's like random different ingredients or to put together like a design, like the cake you have right behind you or a couple of them.
Nick Portillo:Like, if you were just like your.
Nick Portillo:Does your mind just like, think of those ideas just like off the top?
Nick Portillo:The reason I ask, I am like, not a creative person in the slightest.
Nick Portillo:I get to give myself credit maybe a little bit.
Nick Portillo:But to be able to think like that, that's just not how my brain works.
Dana Herbert:I mean, I'll be honest.
Dana Herbert:Sometimes the client's giving you exact orders.
Dana Herbert:Sometimes I just let the big guy, give it to me.
Dana Herbert:I'm not gonna lie.
Dana Herbert:Spiritually, I'm like, lord, what are we doing today?
Dana Herbert:I do that a lot with my magazine photo shoots when it's like, hey, Dana, I need a cake.
Dana Herbert:They show me a mood board, and they don't give me anything else, and they expect me to arrive with something that's photo worthy.
Dana Herbert:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Dana Herbert:In competition, I think you get used to being thrown to the wolves a little bit.
Dana Herbert:So when you get these surprise ingredients, I think you really just have to fall back on your training and on the knowledge that you do have.
Dana Herbert:You know, when I was in school, I had this one teacher, and she said, if you can smell anything sweet in something, it can be used for a dessert.
Dana Herbert:So from there, to me, it kind of just took all the fear away.
Dana Herbert:I just had to figure out how to use different ingredients, whether it be, you know, rosemary or whether it be sage or something like that, to be able to incorporate it into a dessert.
Nick Portillo:Yeah, that makes sense.
Nick Portillo:That makes sense.
Nick Portillo:What about, like, I'm looking at the cake right behind you, the white one with the flowers.
Nick Portillo:Like, how do you create, like, it's like, I can tell.
Nick Portillo:There's so much detail and design that goes into that.
Nick Portillo:You make that by hand?
Dana Herbert:We do, yeah, I guess.
Dana Herbert:How should I say it?
Dana Herbert:No, no.
Dana Herbert:Two flowers are the same, so that takes a little bit of pressure off there.
Dana Herbert:I think the reality is you have to make it look delicate like a flower, so it can't be too bulky, too dense.
Dana Herbert:From a petal perspective, they have to be something, and then it just sort of comes to life.
Nick Portillo:Yeah.
Nick Portillo:Wow.
Nick Portillo:That's so cool.
Nick Portillo:I just love, you know, in watching these shows, like, just the things that someone's mind and, you know, what someone can create, you know, there's some really out of the box ideas that people, and I know that there's pressure.
Nick Portillo:There's time involved.
Nick Portillo:Right.
Nick Portillo:You only have so much time to put it together.
Nick Portillo:You're competing at the same time.
Dana Herbert:There is always too little time.
Dana Herbert:I think sometimes on purpose.
Dana Herbert:Like, you know, that cake should take 8 hours.
Dana Herbert:They're going to give you about five, six, because I think part of it is how can you adjust and still achieve something amazing.
Nick Portillo:Yeah.
Nick Portillo:When you.
Nick Portillo:For all these shows, like, how.
Nick Portillo: ow did you get onto all these: Dana Herbert:You know, in the beginning, it was a lot of applying.
Nick Portillo:Okay.
Dana Herbert:You might see, like, casting calls.
Dana Herbert:Say, like, with the cake boss one.
Dana Herbert:I saw something on Facebook, and I just clicked it.
Dana Herbert:I was like, oh, cool.
Dana Herbert:They're doing, you know, a competition.
Dana Herbert:You know, I thought it was a one day, but it was a season.
Dana Herbert:That's a whole nother story.
Dana Herbert:But that's how, I guess you could say, you start to find out about some of these shows, and then after that, I'll be honest, a lot of times I just get phone calls, say, hey, I saw your work.
Dana Herbert:Are you interested?
Dana Herbert:Yes.
Dana Herbert:Because I've been blessed to work with some of the different networks.
Dana Herbert:A lot of times they'll just tell me, yeah, we got your info.
Dana Herbert:You don't need to send that intro packet in or anything like that.
Dana Herbert:We know who you are.
Nick Portillo:I was going to ask.
Nick Portillo:Yes, you have to submit an intro packet for some of these because they have to verify that you can actually bake.
Dana Herbert:Yes.
Dana Herbert:Yep.
Dana Herbert:They definitely have to verify that you can bake, that you can decorate.
Dana Herbert:So a lot of times they really want to see, like, pictures of your work, things that you can do.
Dana Herbert:So it kind of gives the producer an idea of what you're capable of.
Dana Herbert:So as they're creating challenges, it would be pointless to have someone on a show that couldn't do what the producer wanted to, you know, film.
Dana Herbert:So they're looking for people that are capable of doing different artistic work.
Nick Portillo:Yeah, I can imagine.
Nick Portillo:Yeah, you probably have to have a certain skill set or a certain level of skill in what they're looking for in order to be competitive within the show and make it interesting.
Dana Herbert:Exactly.
Dana Herbert:And on a show like that one with the kickboss, it was everybody had their own, like, kind of skill set, had their own lane.
Dana Herbert:So it's like when you put us all in the same space, it was just like, oh, wow, that techniques really cool, or, oh, wow, that is awesome.
Dana Herbert:And then, you know, you're learning at the same time while you're competing, which was pretty cool.
Nick Portillo:To elaborate more on that.
Nick Portillo:So there's not, when it comes to baking, there's not any one specific type of baker.
Nick Portillo:There's different.
Nick Portillo:You know, you may all be baking cakes, but the.
Nick Portillo:Each person has their own twist or their own spin on how they do it.
Dana Herbert:To a degree, baking is definitely a science.
Dana Herbert:So there are, like, core recipes that I think that every baker kind of has under their belt, but then you start tweaking and twisting it and adding different spices, and someone might add a pinch more baking powder than somebody else to get a little bit more leavening.
Dana Herbert:So there's a core, but then we start playing around, like, for example, I think on that show, and it was the only time that I think buddy had said he didn't like my cake, and I was like, what the heck?
Dana Herbert:So to give you an example of that, the one day that we had off in those 21 days, I just baked, like, it sounds crazy, but I just baked my behind off for 8 hours, and I took this one recipe, and I just tweaked it, and I said, okay, well, let me add a little bit of pudding to it.
Dana Herbert:Okay.
Dana Herbert:Let's see how that comes out.
Dana Herbert:Let me add a little sour cream.
Dana Herbert:Okay.
Dana Herbert:Let me add a little more oil.
Dana Herbert:And, I mean, I just played with this thing all day.
Dana Herbert:It sounds ludicrous, but it worked.
Nick Portillo:Yeah, I'm sure.
Nick Portillo:Yeah.
Nick Portillo:You're mastering your craft.
Nick Portillo:Right.
Nick Portillo:It's like, it's like, I know we talked off camera about the Yankees and the Mets.
Nick Portillo:You know, those baseball players, they play on the games, but they have to practice in between the games as well.
Nick Portillo:You know, you're always, you know, you're always getting better at whatever that may be, and especially if you have a passion and a love for it.
Nick Portillo:You know, I'm sure at times it does feel like a job, especially running desserts by Dana.
Nick Portillo:Right.
Nick Portillo:You're.
Nick Portillo:You're running an actual business.
Dana Herbert:Correct.
Nick Portillo:You're doing what you're passionate about, but you're at the same.
Nick Portillo:You're running a business, and you have to practice.
Nick Portillo:You have to get better at what you're doing all the time.
Dana Herbert:Yep.
Dana Herbert:Absolutely.
Nick Portillo:You know, coming off of these shows, like, have you ever worked for, like, celebrities?
Dana Herbert:Oh, sure.
Dana Herbert:We've done a bunch of different celebrities.
Dana Herbert:Who have we done?
Dana Herbert:Ice cube, Oprah, Mike Vick, Bart Scott from the jets.
Dana Herbert:Being in the Philly area, I get different Eagles players at the time, like Ocellio, Hansen, Samuels, Jimmy Rollins.
Dana Herbert:We've done Trump, we've done Biden.
Dana Herbert:I'm trying to think, who else?
Dana Herbert:Dick Vermeil.
Dana Herbert:So we get all kinds of people.
Dana Herbert:Sometimes we don't even know the star athlete that we're doing it for.
Dana Herbert:Sometimes we get certain planners that say, hey, we need a cake over the top for a birthday.
Dana Herbert:It's one of the Miami heats.
Dana Herbert:We just can't say who it is, but he has a house in so and so and so.
Dana Herbert:Obviously, when you go into the house and you see some pictures, you're like, oh, snap.
Dana Herbert:So things like that do pop up.
Nick Portillo:And do happen when you work with these, this type of clientele or I guess just anybody in general.
Nick Portillo:And let's say they don't live within, you know, driving distance from you.
Nick Portillo:Do you do you deliver it, like, across country.
Nick Portillo:How do you get the cakes or whatever the dessert may be to these people?
Dana Herbert:I fly.
Dana Herbert:Like, if I have to do something for a client like that, or, say, even a wedding, they might fly me to the keys and be like, okay, here's your room with the oven.
Dana Herbert:You know, you got the fridge in here.
Dana Herbert:Make it happen.
Dana Herbert:So they might get me a suite and just say, make it happen.
Dana Herbert:I can imagine when the housekeeper walks in or something and she sees all the shelves out of the refrigerator, like, what is going on?
Dana Herbert:But, you know, I'm creating magic in there.
Nick Portillo:I bet.
Nick Portillo:I would imagine there's got to be stress involved as well.
Nick Portillo:Let's say you take the example of, you mentioned a couple presidents or you mentioned Oprah.
Nick Portillo:I mean, these are huge name people.
Nick Portillo:There's got to be stress around it.
Nick Portillo:Making sure that it's to the level that you want it to be at a certain level so that you're proud of the work and you want the client to be happy.
Nick Portillo:Have you ever had any moments wherever, like, you were?
Nick Portillo:There was, like, a lot of things that went wrong or mistakes or, like, a funny story.
Dana Herbert:Oh, gosh.
Dana Herbert:I mean, people ask me, how did you get so good at baking and pastry and all this stuff?
Dana Herbert:You make a lot of mistakes.
Dana Herbert:I mean, that's just the honest truth.
Dana Herbert:We go to school, we learn a lot.
Dana Herbert:But the reality is, like you said, you have to practice, practice, practice.
Dana Herbert:And sometimes in practice, you know, you miss catching that ball and get hit right in the eye.
Dana Herbert:So things happen.
Dana Herbert:Remember one time, and this is one of.
Dana Herbert:One of my really good delivery drivers.
Dana Herbert:Like, he was good to the point where I could send him out.
Dana Herbert:He'd take a little bag of buttercream in case something happened.
Dana Herbert:And if something needed to happen, he would fix that little spot on the cake.
Dana Herbert:Like, I mean, he was great.
Dana Herbert:So I get a call one night, and I forget what award I was winning because I was on the way to an award thing, and he says, hey, can you come back by the bakery?
Dana Herbert:I think I need help fixing this cake.
Dana Herbert:And I'm like, well, can't you fix it?
Dana Herbert:Like, I can't imagine something that bad going wrong.
Dana Herbert:And he's like, no, I think I need you to help me fix it.
Dana Herbert:So I walk into the shop, and I don't know why, but on the right hand side, I just see, like, this mess.
Dana Herbert:Like, it's cake mess.
Dana Herbert:It's like, cake and icing and this and that.
Dana Herbert:And I'm like, what the heck is that?
Dana Herbert:And he was like, that's the cake.
Dana Herbert:I was like, no way, bro.
Dana Herbert:No way, bro.
Dana Herbert:Not the one that we spent 10 hours on.
Nick Portillo:Oh, no.
Dana Herbert:Yes.
Dana Herbert:And as I examined it closer, I could see the zebra print designs and the polka dots.
Dana Herbert:And I was like, jesus.
Dana Herbert:So luckily, everybody was still there and each of us took an individual tier and.
Dana Herbert:And recreated it quickly to get it back up.
Dana Herbert:Yeah.
Nick Portillo:Wow.
Dana Herbert:I mean, like, it was, it was a five tier cake.
Dana Herbert:It was a big one.
Dana Herbert:And I was just like, unbelievable.
Dana Herbert:However, the lesson learned was I need to create a system of how we build the cakes, the structure, and to make sure those cakes can't move when it's on the board and so forth.
Dana Herbert:So now we build the cakes totally different and we don't have those type of problems anymore.
Nick Portillo:That's good.
Nick Portillo:That definitely a valuable lesson learned, for sure.
Dana Herbert:My vendors say though, they're like, you're the only one that builds their cakes like this and uses that type of stainless steel center pole that's screwed into the wood board.
Dana Herbert:I'm like, yeah, because it only takes one accident, you know, thousand dollar mistake.
Dana Herbert:And you're like, I won't do that again.
Nick Portillo:Because some of these cakes, I would imagine they're not cheap.
Nick Portillo:People are probably spending a lot of money.
Nick Portillo:I mean, you mentioned a five layer cake in 10 hours.
Nick Portillo:Yeah.
Nick Portillo:You're going to charge a lot of money for something like that.
Dana Herbert:Correct, correct.
Nick Portillo:You know, so to have those systems and processes in place, and you've probably been doing it for long enough.
Nick Portillo:You've been around, you know, being on these shows, and I'm sure just being in the industry, being surrounded by others who are also professionals at baking, you know, learning from them.
Nick Portillo:There's so many, like, little probably tips and tricks that you picked up along the way that make, made you not just a better baker, but also your company, a better company as well, correct?
Dana Herbert:Absolutely.
Dana Herbert:Yeah.
Nick Portillo:Tell me about.
Nick Portillo:I see you're on television.
Nick Portillo:Is it called a DetV network?
Dana Herbert:Ah, detv, yes.
Dana Herbert:So I did, what was it?
Dana Herbert:Three seasons of the chef Dana show on Detv.
Dana Herbert:It airs locally here in the Delaware Philadelphia area.
Dana Herbert:You know, I think I was just blessed during COVID That's all I could say.
Dana Herbert:You know, I had a really great company come called Bath Kitchen and tile BKT.
Dana Herbert:They sponsored the whole kitchen.
Dana Herbert:It was gorgeous.
Dana Herbert:You know, they really, they really backed us up.
Dana Herbert:Appliances were donated by General Electric.
Dana Herbert:So I don't know, it was like a perfect storm just came together.
Nick Portillo:Did you do this during COVID Did.
Dana Herbert:That during COVID yes.
Nick Portillo:Not.
Nick Portillo:There couldn't have been a better time.
Nick Portillo:The in home baking craze was like, hit all time high.
Nick Portillo:I feel like during COVID I'm a food broker, and I represent different food manufacturers, and one of the ones that I represent is a yeast company, right?
Nick Portillo:Which I'm sure maybe you use yeast or at least know of yeast people.
Nick Portillo:I remember we would get orders for, like, normally, maybe like a pallet or two from us, from a food service customer in a month.
Nick Portillo:That's pre Covid.
Nick Portillo:During COVID we were getting like two.
Nick Portillo:That same customer, two truckloads.
Nick Portillo:And we're like, we can't sell you two truckloads of yeast.
Nick Portillo:You've been buying two pallets a month.
Nick Portillo:Because everybody came in, in home baker.
Nick Portillo:It was crazy.
Dana Herbert:Everybody.
Dana Herbert:I mean, yeast.
Dana Herbert:My wife is a food purchaser, works Gordon food services, and she would give me the heads up, like, hey, bro, you better go get this because it's about to be out.
Dana Herbert:And I'm like, what do you mean?
Dana Herbert:She's like, the pizza companies are sucking it up like water, man.
Dana Herbert:You better go get flour.
Dana Herbert:You better go get.
Dana Herbert:If you need yeast, just.
Dana Herbert:Just put some on your shelf because it's going to be gone.
Dana Herbert:And to your credit, like you said, here's people asking for truckloads of yeast versus a pallet or two, which was a normal consumption.
Dana Herbert:It was insane.
Nick Portillo:Yeah, I know.
Nick Portillo:It's just a different time, but good for you for doing that.
Nick Portillo:What about when you look at your career, of all the success that you've had, what is something that you still want to do that you've not yet achieved?
Dana Herbert:I mean, we're always growing.
Dana Herbert:I think, you know, I've been blessed to work with Aramark, and so we support some of the colleges in the area.
Dana Herbert:I would love to get into the stadium, love to get into Citizens Bank park with the Phillies, Lincoln financial with the Eagles, and so forth, or Wells Fargo with the Sixers and Flyers?
Dana Herbert:I would love to get into the sports side of the business.
Nick Portillo:I love that.
Nick Portillo:I actually went to a Sixers game last March.
Nick Portillo:I flew in for, like, a business conference, and the conference was Tuesday, Wednesday, and I flew in on Monday.
Nick Portillo: I think I landed like,: Nick Portillo:I'm like, okay, I'm going to live.
Nick Portillo:I'm going to do all the Philly things to do in like 5 hours.
Nick Portillo:So, I mean, I went to the Rocky Balboa statue.
Nick Portillo:I had a.
Nick Portillo:Oh, gosh, of course, a philly sub.
Nick Portillo:And then I went to a Sixers game.
Nick Portillo:I think I showed them, like, the third or fourth quarter.
Nick Portillo:And I like the Phillies, the Eagles, and the Sixers.
Nick Portillo:Those stadiums are all right there next to each other.
Dana Herbert:Yep.
Nick Portillo:And I was just there by myself, but I was like, I'm here.
Nick Portillo:I'm living the philly lifestyle.
Nick Portillo:I had 5 hours.
Dana Herbert:That's what's up.
Dana Herbert:Let's say experience a little philly while you can.
Nick Portillo:That's right.
Nick Portillo:That's right.
Nick Portillo:Well, chef Dane, I just want to say thank you so much for taking time to do this.
Nick Portillo:I really appreciate it.
Dana Herbert:And anytime.
Nick Portillo:Just thank you, and thank you for sharing as well.
Nick Portillo:I want to make, I want to go back and watch some of these shows, so I appreciate it.
Dana Herbert:Look, anytime, anytime.
Dana Herbert:I'll tell you one last funny thing about that cake boss show.
Dana Herbert:I competed locally in the Philadelphia area and have won some local competitions.
Dana Herbert:My wife pulled out a picture of when I won this one particular competition, and as I looked in the photo at the judges, buddy was one of the judges.
Dana Herbert:This is before he was ever on cake boss or anything like that.
Dana Herbert:So I just say that to say life can be circling around you the whole time, and you don't even see some of the possibilities and things and connections that are going to happen in your career.
Dana Herbert:But when I went and looked at that picture, I was like, wait a minute, babe.
Dana Herbert:Come here.
Dana Herbert:Look right here.
Dana Herbert:Who's that judge?
Dana Herbert:And she was like, no way.
Dana Herbert:And I was like, way back then, long before I ever, you know, got on any show or competed on anything, he had judged one of the, one of the competitions.
Nick Portillo:Amazing.
Nick Portillo:You never know, you know, that's why it's, you never know who's watching.
Nick Portillo:I, you hear that all the time, like, you know, building, there's some phrase like characters built when no one's watching, but they're all, there's always somebody watching.
Dana Herbert:Yeah, I remember Ron Ben Israel, another great cake artist.
Dana Herbert:When we, we lost, we lost wedding cake wars on we tv.
Dana Herbert:But he came over and he said, you know, you didn't win, but I'm telling you, somebody's gonna call you when they see this thing.
Dana Herbert:Because the cake that won was like this little cake.
Dana Herbert:And, I mean, we had been watching Food network, so, I mean, our cake was, like, monstrous.
Dana Herbert:It was huge.
Dana Herbert:And he was like, you didn't win, but don't worry.
Dana Herbert:He's like, somebody's gonna call you.
Dana Herbert:And then I got home, and there was an email in my inbox from TLC, totally different network.
Nick Portillo:Amazing.
Nick Portillo:How cool is that?
Dana Herbert:That was really cool.
Nick Portillo:How could people reach out to you.
Nick Portillo:What's the best way to connect with you?
Dana Herbert:There's multiple ways.
Dana Herbert:Instagram is huge for us right.
Dana Herbert:Nowesertsbydana, Facebook, esertsbydana, and of course, our website, dessertsbydana.com, are three easy places you can catch us.
Nick Portillo:Okay?
Nick Portillo:And for those listening, I my dad taught me when I was young how to spell desserts.
Nick Portillo:If you want to know how to spell desserts by Dan.
Nick Portillo:Because there's dessert and then there's desert.
Nick Portillo:Right?
Nick Portillo:He said desserts.
Nick Portillo:There's two s's because you want more of it.
Nick Portillo:So desserts.
Nick Portillo:There's two s's in desserts.
Dana Herbert:Yep.
Dana Herbert:D e S S e r t s.
Dana Herbert:What does it say?
Dana Herbert:Stress spelled backwards equals desserts.
Nick Portillo:Stress spelled back.
Nick Portillo:You're right.
Dana Herbert:Yeah.
Dana Herbert:Yeah.
Nick Portillo:How cool is that?
Nick Portillo:Well, thank you again.
Nick Portillo:Thanks, Jeff.
Nick Portillo:Dana, this has been great.
Dana Herbert:Thank you so much.
Dana Herbert:And you have a wonderful day.
Nick Portillo:You, too.
