Mary Washington alumna Jenn Reyes ’99 shares a laugh with ‘The Great American Baking Show’ judge Prue Leith. A dentist in New York, Reyes has a sweet tooth and a penchant for baking that won her a spot on the show, now streaming on Roku.
When life after college took dining hall meals and her mother’s home cooking off the table, Jenn Reyes said, a pound of necessity and a pinch of desire led to a love of baking. “I could learn how to roast a chicken, but I’d rather know how to make a cake,” said Reyes, a New York City dentist who graduated from Mary Washington in 1999. “I’ve always had a sweet tooth.”
Not the most expected trait in her line of work, but mixed with her interests and skills – including majors in psychology and Italian – it was a recipe for something delicious. Now Reyes is showcasing her culinary creations as a contestant on The Great American Baking Show, streaming on Roku. And like her Georgia On My Mind sweet buns – stuffed with peach jam and roasted pecans, and topped with bourbon caramel sauce – deemed “delicious” by the judges, her path proves that anything’s possible when it starts with a solid foundation.
Growing up in the Peach State, Reyes dabbled in the kitchen, baking beignets from a Disney World cookbook with her twin sister. She was in high school when their father’s job took him to Washington, D.C., and Reyes’ college search turned to Virginia and to Mary Washington. “You can actually know everyone in your class, and the professors can get to know you,” she said of UMW, where she performed in the orchestra, worked for the James Farmer Multicultural Center and studied abroad. Read more.