Congratulations to Emilie Hujet, the winner of the 2019 Robert W. Hiller Scholarship, a scholarship established through the Wisconsin Bakers Association (WBA). This year marks the fifteenth year the award has been given to a student studying in the area of baking/pastry arts.  The scholarship was presented to Hujet at the WBA’s annual awards night on March 11, 2019.

Hujet currently attends Fox Valley Technical College. In her essay for the scholarship, she wrote, “When I left the corporate world to pursue culinary school my ultimate goal was to become a Pastry Chef. I have worked in a pizza restaurant, fine dining, a tap house, and most recently a gastro pub and still find that baking makes me feel the most alive, inspired, and most connected to people." She added, "My future goals include a pastry food truck, and then ultimately a physical location featuring simple, yet developed flavors, beautifully detailed pastries, and a place where my future children can grow up. I want to be able to make people happy with my food, I want you to feel like you’re coming home when you have a dessert that I make, as if your mom or grandma made it, but with a modern twist."

Two WBA Members from the Education Committee interviewed the finalists for this year’s scholarship along with WBA's Executive Director, Jessica Hoover. Tony Nieto of Neato’s Bake Shoppe in Baraboo, WI and Ken Heil of Sweet Perfections Bake Shoppe in Waukesha, WI selected Hujet as this year’s winner and also presented her with the award.

The Robert W. Hiller Scholarship Fund was established on Nov. 5, 2000, to support and encourage people who have demonstrated a passion for a profession in the baking/pastry arts field. A $1,000 scholarship is awarded to the applicant who can best demonstrate this career commitment. The program intends to provide a financial resource for the education of students who will be the future of the baking industry.