Critically-acclaimed pastry chef Paola Velez shares the interesting story of her opera scholarship and the moment she knew she wanted to dive into baking full-time. Paola talks about her many accolades over the years and shares her biggest fear when it comes to success. She shares the story behind creating the world’s largest bake sale and why social justice initiatives, like Bakers Against Racism, are so vital to her. Paola shares the process of developing her first cookbook and how it encompasses her Dominican heritage and Latin American influences. She describes what it means to be a Millenial Chef Aunty and why she is excited about this generation of chefs and bakers in the industry. Paola reveals the flavor combinations she is experimenting with and what it was like to work with Zooey Deschanel on her show, “What am I Eating?”. Find episode transcripts here: https://food-network-obsessed.simplecast.com/episodes/paola-velez-bakes-up-dominican-sweets-social-justiceFollow Food Network on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foodnetworkFollow Jaymee Sire on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaymeesireFollow Paola Velez on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smallorchids/Follow Paola Velez on Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@smallorchidsLearn More About Bakers Against Racism: https://www.bakersagainstracism.com/