Meet Taylor

My name is Taylor Riddell, and I am 20 years old. I was born and raised in a small town called Pocahontas, MS. I graduated from the Baking and Pastry Arts program at MGCCC. I have been surrounded by everything related to food and sweets my whole life. My dad owns his own catering business called Squirrel Holler BBQ, while my mom's side of the family is from Greece and opened two restaurants in Jackson, Mississippi - Dennery's and the Rotisserie. Additionally, my grandmothers love to cook, and I have learned almost everything I know from them.

Despite all the cooking around me, I have been interested in baking since I was old enough to help my grandmother in the kitchen. We always spent our time coming up with something new to make and decorate, and in 2017, she was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma cancer, which meant her baking days were coming to an end. One day, she looked at me and said, "I have passed the golden spatula down to you." I knew I wanted to continue baking to keep her legacy, and in May 2018, I had my first official customer. The following month, we named my business "TayTay's Sweets." My baby cousin always called me TayTay, so it was only fitting that my company was named that.

I am now in my sixth year of baking and have baked for numerous birthdays and weddings. This journey has been filled with love, fun, and many eggs, and I can't wait to see how the rest of my journey unfolds. Thanks for tagging along!

Fun
Fact

My great-great-grandfather, Alex Dennery, invented the “Kumbak sauce”.