A Sweet Reward May Come to Our Local Pastry Chef

The proof will be in the pudding come Monday night at 9 pm, when we find out who the winner will be on TLC’s Next Great Baker, hosted by Cake Boss, Buddy Valastro. 

Of course we are all rooting for our famous Syosset pastry chef, Corina Elgart of Taste, located on Split Rock road in the stand-alone diminutive building next to Dairy Barn. 

“People have been stopping in all day today wanting to meet me,  to sign autographs, or just wish me luck," Elgart said. "This experience has been amazing and I learned so much from my fellow contestants, Buddy and his staff.  Each person had a different skill set so I came away from this once-in-a-lifetime experience with more knowledge than I could have imagined."

Although promo clips from the show paint her as tough Long Island broad (let’s face it, it’s all about selective editing and keeping the ratings up), she is actually quite the opposite - she is sensitive, gregarious, funny and caring and keeps in touch with all her pastry pals.

“We reach out to each other at least two times a week and as episodes air, we are all texting back and forth,” Elgart said of her new found chef friends.

There is certainly an art to cake decorating and as it turns out art runs in her family. When you enter her shop a framed painting of a cake is to your left and samples of delightfully designed cakes are to your right.

“My mom is the painter and my dad is involved in music arts so all my life I have been surrounded by creativity,” Elgart said.

When you peruse her catalog of cakes, you can see how her talent translates to artistry, she can make anything from whimsical birthday cakes to elegant tiered wedding confections. 

“The hardest part after all that work is to see your lovely edible sculpture at the hands of a knife, yet once you cut into it, it becomes all about great taste, hence the name of my store, but the memories of the creation will last forever," Elgart said. 

The Old Brookville native started her career as a criminal investigator for defense attorneys in DC, but she always knew she would come back to Long Island to start a family.  After having her children, she attended the in Syosset in 2009.  Simultaneously, she was starting a grass-roots business making cakes out of her Huntington home for all her mommy friends.  Her success led her to open up a business in town. 

“After graduating from the pastry and baking school, I realized Syosset was a convenient and accessible location to open up my shop,” Elgart said.

Her sweet little shop has been open since last summer but had to close abruptly when she was selected to compete in the show.  Syosset residents were all wondering what was going on, hoping that another business wasn’t going under.  Thankfully, by the beginning of October a large sign was plastered on the side of her now thriving business announcing that she was to be on TV.

She didn’t sugar-coat her experience:  “It was a challenging and exhausting three weeks while the show was being filmed, but the most difficult aspect was being away from my husband and two children," Elgart said. "But that's all behind me now and I am looking ahead, focusing on what’s next."

Elgart did reveal that she will be traveling around the USA with some of the other cake baking contestants attending industry conventions and live cake demonstrations throughout the year.

Everything in Taste is made with the freshest, finest ingredients and all from scratch. Besides her custom and specialty cakes, she is making cupcakes and cake bites on lollipop sticks which have been flying off the shelves. 

If you want to show your support and watch the final episode with this Syosset Star, she is inviting all her friends, family, and fans to meet her at Rookies Sports Club in Huntington. Yes, the icing on the cake will be if she wins the $50,000 but the real prize was her unforgettable experience. 

Location: 16 Split Rock Road, Syosset

Phone: 516-802-2212

Websites:  http://www.cakesbytaste.com/  and  http://corinaelgart.com/