Meet Cake Queen Sylvia Weinstock: ‘Nailed It!’s Secret Weapon

Sylvia Weinstock is not the host of Nailed It!, but she just about stole the show from co-hosts Nicole Byer and Jacques Torres in the show’s very first episode.

Nailed It! is a beautifully brutal reality competition show that asks three (terrible) bakers to try their hand at recreating truly difficult bakes. While each episode features the hilarious Nicole Byer and famous chocolatier Jacques Torres, there’s always the guest judge. And the best guest judge was arguably the first guest judge, noted wedding cake boss Sylvia Weinstock.

Sylvia wowed us with her expert know-how, amazing personality, and absurd wit. (No, really, what was she doing stealing that sauce pan?) But Sylvia Weinstock is more than a reality breakout star; she’s a legend in wedding cakes. Weinstock, who will be 88 this year, got her start baking rather late in life. She didn’t really start until she was 50! According to her website, she baked for fun in her country home and became an apprentice to George Keller by chance. Soon her lavish bakes caught the attention of the rich and famous. Today, she counts Oprah Winfrey, Martha Stewart, and the Clintons as clients.

Weinstock also considers herself to be a teacher. Even though her own designs are super complicated and meticulously constructed, she’s happy to teach her craft to aspiring bakers. Case in point: check out this in-depth tutorial on how to make those glorious sugar flowers. Note that her major piece of advice is to wait up to a week for the rose petals to set.

Season 1 of Nailed It! is now streaming on Netflix. Hopefully Sylvia will be back if there’s a Season 2.

Stream Nailed It! on Netflix