I've officially concluded our CookieCon 2019 chat series! And what a series it was! You can read all of its wonderful chat transcripts here, along with our earlier transcript with CookieCon 2019 instructor Anne Yorks of Flour Box Bakery, here. (Aside: We didn't chat with Anne in 2019 only because we chatted with her in late 2018 when she was CookieCon 2018's keynote speaker, and that chat is still very fresh and pertinent. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to corral a couple of other 2019 speakers for chats, but rest assured that I tried my best!)
Now, for our new chat series, which I'm calling the "Cookie Competitor Series" for reasons I'm about to explain! Since my cookie art competition at Show Me Sweets is fast approaching, I thought it would be apropos to chat with some of my previous competition winners to better understand why they compete, how they prep for these events, and how winning (and sometimes losing) has affected their cookie lives. (PSA: You can still enter my cookie competition via the link above! Though casting for TV roles in the 3-D category has closed, we're accepting competition registrants in both the 2-D and 3-D categories until July 1. Thanks to several wonderful new sponsors, the total cash and product prize value for the 3-D category has grown to a whopping $9,000!)
Back to the matter at hand . . . Our first chat in this brand new series is on June 8 (10 am central) with the ultra-talented Stacy Frank, who won first place in my cookie competition when it was at the Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show (OSSAS) last year. Her 3-D piano tribute to Aretha Franklin really struck a chord with the judges (pun intended 
)! Stacy also recently placed second in the advanced adult category of the cookie competition at That Takes the Cake show in Austin. Her winning 3-D piece (a social statement about caring for Planet Earth) truly pushed the boundaries of what cookies can be, as you can see here:
How exciting, right?! Stacy's chat room is now open to receive questions in advance. Just click here and follow the prompts at the top of the page. But, before you leave questions, please do your homework by reading Stacy's bio and checking out her social media links below.
Stacy Frank spends her days working in tech as a web developer, but she’s always eager to try her hand at a new creative endeavor. On a whim one Thanksgiving, she decided it would be fun to decorate cookies for her guests, so armed with an incomplete set of icing tips from Craigslist, googled recipes, and determination, she attempted a set of turkeys. They were more wobble than gobble, but very well received, and that positive response encouraged her to try another batch . . . and then another.
When a friend told her about a local sugar art show, she hesitantly signed up and won both her category and best of division, thus beginning her love affair with competitive cookie decorating. That was in 2017 and, though she rarely bakes outside of competitions, Stacy now lives for that challenge and the preparation leading up to it.
With no formal training to keep her inside the box, she credits her success to a fine arts background and headstrong personality. Stacy is passionate about creating pieces that spark discussion around social issues, while simultaneously redefining the boundaries of what a cookie is and can be. Her favorite competition moment was being asked to move her set because she had “misplaced” it in the cookie section (spoiler: it was 100-percent cookie! 
).
To learn more about Stacy and her competitive cookie exploits, check out her website (which lists all the competitions she's entered) and her Instagram and Facebook pages.
Cookie and photo credits: Stacy Frank
Once again, Stacy's chat room is now open here. You can either leave questions in advance or join the live chat at the appointed time via this same pink link! "See" you there!