One of Netflix’s very own School of Chocolate contestants lives right here in Baton Rouge. Local pastry chef Tyricia Clark won the hearts of many when she competed to win $50,000 on the Netflix cooking reality show, School of Chocolate.
Clark is the owner of T Cakes, a pastry business that sells extravagant cakes, breads, gourmet chocolates and tasty baked goods like cinnamon rolls, king cakes, pies and cheesecakes. The 33-year-old has baked since she was in high school. She started her career bringing cupcakes to class, and now, the Baton Rouge native is known across the world for her creative, themed cakes and participation in School of Chocolate.
Since the TV series debuted in 2021, Clark’s social media following has skyrocketed to more than 20,000 followers.
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“The show was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Clark says. “I soaked up everything I learned. The friendships, the connections and the knowledge I gained were invaluable.”
The local pastry chef was pushed to new limits at the School of Chocolate academy. She was mentored by world-renowned French chocolatier Amaury Guichon to create gravity-defying chocolate showpieces and mind-bending pastries.
Some of her favorite creations from the competition included a chocolate heart with a gooey caramel middle; and a glossy chocolate spaceship atop a galaxy-inspired chocolate base. She was called the “shine queen,” because she was known for her skill in buffing chocolates to give them a polished shiny finish.
The show wasn’t Clark’s first rodeo with chocolate, though. She attended Louisiana Culinary Institute and was chosen for an apprenticeship program where she got to work with international chocolate master Jean-Francois Suteau at The Greenbrier, a historic resort in West Virginia.
On the final episode of School of Chocolate, Clark was released from the competition by another competing chef after contributing to the winning chocolate showpiece. Chef Guichon says on the show if he was able to reward someone for most improvement, it would be Clark.
Since wrapping up the series, Clark is back in the kitchen and sharing her creations with the Capital Region. She sells her pastries and chocolates online and at pop-ups around town like Local Pop-Up at Electric Depot.
This year, Clark plans to offer gourmet chocolate holiday specials. For Valentine’s Day, customers can order chocolate confections and bon bons. For Easter, Clark plans to sell upscale handcrafted chocolate eggs. Customers can also request custom chocolate orders online. Local pickup and nationwide shipping will be available.
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School of Chocolate fans will be able to show their love for Clark by ordering her upcoming T-shirts. She plans to release exclusive merchandise this year with some of her nicknames and popular quotes from the show, like “shine queen” and “I’m in therapy for that.”
Clark has also been helping develop the dough recipe at Lighthouse, an upcoming pizza joint and bar scheduled to open this spring in Scotlandville. “I’ve always loved food, but it was a hobby or passion that I would ignore,” Clark says. “I never imagined I’d have this career. But pastries always found their way back to me.” Find Tyricia Clark on Instagram at @eatsbytcakes
This article was originally published in the February 2022 issue of 225 magazine.