On April 30th the InAlliance, a local non-profit serving the developmentally disabled, is holding its 8th Annual Celebrity Chef Challenge.  The event is a no-holds-barred, Iron Chef-esque competition of the best known Sacramento area chefs and restaurants. 

While looking over the list of entrants there was a single standout competitor: Cakegrrl.  While the name might sound more like an online identity than a chef, Cakegrrl is no stranger to the Sacramento food scene.  When she visited Sacramento for a single day in 2003, it was love at first sight, and since moving here in 2004 Cakegrrl (also known as Kristy Devaney) has been a big hit both online and off.  A chronic blogger who posts recipes, restaurant reviews, and current events stories, Kristy has become a fixture in Sacramento’s virtual landscape and at local charity events.

What is so different and interesting about Kristy?  For starters, she’s not actually a Chef.  This celebrity of Sacramento cuisine is a 12 year veteran of the graphic design industry who took an interest in food writing several years ago, and the rest is history.

After moving to Sacramento Kristy found that blogging was a way to fit in her social circle; as she puts it, “If you hung out with people who fish, you’d probably take up fishing.”  Her writing was initially centered on the everyday events of her and her friends’ lives, the personal drama and introspection that fuels the blogosphere and builds followings.  After about a year of blogging Kristy took a look back over her writing and found a common theme interwoven among all of the drama and silliness of her writing: Food. 

The prodding of other prominent local food bloggers Elise Bauer of Simply Recipes and Garrett McCord of Vanilla Garlic encouraged Kristy to convert her blog into a food-centric site.  She removed any previous posts that where off topic or contained information she did not want to present to wider audience and refocused her efforts on food.  “I did not want a history of things I was not proud of… when I had an audience of ten that was one thing, but I did not want that out there for everybody.”  

One of Kristy’s most prominent employers in the Sacramento area was Senior Magazine.  While working on a variety of aspects for the publication she also began writing some food features.  Her consistent writing both in print and on her blog lead to invitations to local events and venues.  After her work with Senior Magazine came to an end, Kristy maintained her blogging and the invitations continued. 

Having turned a passion for food into a disciplined endeavor to participate in and contribute to the local restaurant scene, she earned the trust of local readers and restaurateurs who rely on her fair and even-handed reviews.  She parlayed this trust into greater participation with local non-profit events that benefit a broad range of causes. 

Kristy says that many people mistake her for a caterer or a cake baker.  While she does bake for special events on occasion, her core interest when it comes to food is promoting restaurants in the Sacramento area through her blog and participating in non-profit events and causes. 

Cakegrrl has a unique story, and her strange journey to Food Celebrity status continues: she will be the only non-professional chef participating in next week’s Celebrity Chef Challenge.  Though she may be a dark horse of sorts, she will not be unsupported.  Many of her regular readers will be forking over the $50 entrance fee to get a shot at watching her compete. 

So what will she be preparing?  The competitors will have 45 minutes to prepare 3 dishes with 5 unknown ingredients.  With a list of available pantry items and a handful of spice blends and signature ingredients the contestants are allowed to bring, the contest will no doubt result in some interesting creations.  At the time of our conversation she still had no idea what to expect.

You can find Cakegrrl on Friday night April the 30th at the California Automobile Museum with the rest of Sacramento’s elite competing in the InAlliance Celbrity Chef Challenge, or any other day of the week online at Cakegrrl.com.  

Have you read Cakegrrl?  Who has your ear when it comes to shopping and eating in Sacramento?  Are there bloggers that similarly get you excited about patronizing local small businesses?  Leave us your insights in the comments.  

Photos supplied by and used with permission of Cakegrrl.