The Great Grog Bake Off - The Grog Shop
2785 Euclid Heights Blvd
Cleveland Heights, OH 44106

Event details

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The Great Grog Bake Off
with Doug Katz, Ramon Rivas, Sarah Vulpio
Tue, Nov 11 Show: 8:00 pm (Doors: 7:00 pm)
$8.73 Buy Tickets
Based on The Great British Bake Off, the ultimate baking battle where passionate amateur bakers compete over the course of 10 episodes, the Grog Shop will host a one-night competition and delicious bake-tasting event inspired by the classic Channel 4 program. 

As an audience member, you'll be sharing in the sweet spoils of the competition by sampling the competing bakes and voting on them live. Your entry fee will go to the winning baker as part of the grand prize pot! Our hosts and judges will entertain you and the contestants with their goofy antics and critiques.

THE CHALLENGE 
For their "Signature Bake" contestants will make a signature fruit cake. This is not your Grandmother's fruit cake! These cakes will combine style, flair, and delicious flavors made from all types of different fruit used as fillings, baked into the cake, or flavoring decadent icing. They'll have only one chance to impress the judges and take home the crown and our grand prize! But wait, they'll also have the opportunity to win over the audience, who will also be voting for their favorites. So stack that invite list for your chance to win the Popular Vote and get your tickets now to the only event at Grog Shop where you can TASTE the competition.

To participate, fill out a baker entry form here: https://forms.gle/ygFRkSoSDA7a1cuY6   

THE JUDGES 

Doug Katz
For the past 25 years, Chef Douglas Katz has focused on creating fulfilling, transportive experiences for Clevelanders to enjoy. As chef/owner of Zhug, Amba and Kiln, his driving purpose is to spread joy through meaningful experiences and shared passion. Chef Katz is also chef/partner of Provenance at the Cleveland Museum of Art, as well as former chef/owner of fire food and drink — which operated in Shaker Square for more than 20 years.

Courtney Bonning is the co-owner of Terrapin Bakery in Tremont. Beginning in the pastry department of the The Ritz-Carlton in 2004, she made her mark with the beloved Bonbon Pastry and Cafe before selling it in 2016. She has appeared on Cupcake Wars and competed for the title of "Sweet Genius" on The Food Network.
 
WITH YOUR HOSTS... 

Ramon Rivas is a laid-back, largely unemotional stand up comedian, actor, independent artist & eminent Latino from Cleveland, OH. Ramon resonates a low-fi swag with the finest taste in jokes, juices & dope experiences one can have while immaculately navigating in, out & around financial & emotional poverty as an ambiguously brown man in America. He can also be seen on Netflix' cannabis show Cooking On High as a celebrity judge on 2 episodes.

Sarah Vulpio is a comedian and tour guide on the Funny Bus Cleveland. She is also a children's book author and a huge fan of GBBO. 
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Courtney Bonning

Courtney Bonning is co-owner of Terrapin Bakery in Tremont. Everything made at Terrapin Bakery is from scratch. We specialize in classic pastries, with all of the goodness of real butter, sugar, and eggs. We offer custom-made and bulk pastries. Our retail bakery offers delicious donuts, fresh cookies, scones, breakfast breads, and individual desserts and cakes. Selections rotate through the seasons and are made in fresh small batches. 

Doug Katz

For the past 25 years, Chef Douglas Katz has focused on creating fulfilling, transportive experiences for Clevelanders to enjoy. As chef/owner of Zhug, Amba and Kiln, his driving purpose is to spread joy through meaningful experiences and shared passion. Chef Katz is also chef/partner of Provenance at the Cleveland Museum of Art, as well as former chef/owner of fire food and drink — which operated in Shaker Square for more than 20 years.

Chef Katz is passionate about using fresh, high-quality ingredients with integrity. Throughout his career, he has been celebrated for his unwavering support of local farmers and food artisans. He advocates nationally and internationally for sustainable, healthful and local food systems, and frequently consults with media and civic leaders on local food initiatives. Chef Katz is an advisor/consultant for SoCo Tahini, Smart Soda, Nestlé Professional Solutions, and the Cleveland Clinic via Morrison Healthcare. He also serves as a chef ambassador for the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafoodwatch program, which promotes environmentally responsible fishing and fish farming. He served on the board of Countryside Farmer’s Market in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and has held leadership positions with Destination Cleveland, Shaker Nature Center, and Cleveland Independents, an organization of 90 locally owned restaurants that nurtures and promotes local independent restaurants. Learn more about his partnerships & collaborations here.

Key Recognitions:

Chef Katz graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and also earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Denver School of Hotel and Restaurant Management. Prior to opening fire food and drink, he served as executive chef of Moxie the restaurant (Cleveland, OH) and worked at acclaimed restaurants including The Little Nell (Aspen, CO) and Wildwood Restaurant (Portland, OR).

In his free time, Chef Katz enjoys traveling and exploring the world and other cultures through food — and then sharing those experiences in his restaurants. He is passionate about exploring and promoting Cleveland. He also loves mentorship, doing good, and relaxing at home with his family and much-loved dog, Arlo.

Ramon Rivas

Ramon Rivas is a laid-back, largely unemotional stand up comedian, actor, independent artist & eminent Latino from Cleveland, OH. Ramon resonates a low-fi swag with the finest taste in jokes, juices & dope experiences one can have while immaculately navigating in, out & around financial & emotional poverty as an ambiguously brown man in America.

Initially making a name for himself by building up the Cleveland comedy scene through Accidental Comedy productions while traveling around the country to cities he couldn't afford to live in like Chicago, New York, Los Angeles & more, Ramon eventually started garnering respect around the country for his comedic chops & sandwich acumen, being recognized by Comedy Central as a Comic to Watch in 2015 and by most bodega bois across the country.

Rivas made his television debut in 2016, when he was one of 17 artists selected to record The Half Hour with Comedy Central. An outlier from the middle of the country, living with divorced parents without a manager or an agent getting that sort of opportunity gave the streets hope. He flew his parents, sister and her 3 kids down to New Orleans for the taping. it was the first time the kids had ever been on a plane.

Ramon's stand up was also featured on season 2 of The Guest List on NBC Seeso (RIP) and his episode of HBO's Entre Nos the series is available for streaming on HBO On Demand, HBOGo & HBONow.

Rivas also has a burgeoning career sounding like he just woke up from a nap on TV shows, with appearances as a contestant on @midnight twice, as a cannabis shaman on numerous segments on Viceland & began acting seriously on S4E3 of Broad City and followed that up with an appearance on S2E7 of HBO's Crashing. He can also be seen on Netflix' cannabis show Cooking On High as a celebrity judge on 2 episodes.