Carly Farrell
AMERICUS — Rachel Stevens has the “funnest job” at Americus’ Winn-Dixie.
Stevens is a cake decorator, and she loves it because her company lets her be as creative with her decorating as she’d like.
“I come up with all kinds of stuff,” Stevens said. “Usually, they sell like crazy, too! It’s really cool.”
She said people also enjoy air brushing.
To Stevens, though, it’s not about the decorating so much as her customers.
“I just love to see people’s reactions,” Stevens said. “Especially the kids who come in and really like their birthday cakes. That’s what I like — to see their faces light up and glow. Their reactions are better than the doing.”
Stevens has worked as a cake decorator with Winn-Dixie for seven and a half years, and said she’s now beginning to experiment with fondant.
“I’ve been watching ‘Cake Boss,’ and I’ve been experimenting with fondant at home,” Stevens said.
Before she began working for Winn-Dixie, Stevens said she was a cake decorator with Wal-Mart. But she didn’t enjoy working in Wal-Mart’s bakery as much because the company had set standards for cake design, so Stevens couldn’t come up with her own.
The 32-year-old began her career with Dairy Queen as a teenager, and while she was employed there, she learned the basics of decorating cakes.
Stevens grew up in Sumter County, and graduated from Americus-Sumter County High School.
Stevens not only decorates cakes, but also decorates cupcakes and display items in Winn-Dixie’s cases.
When she has time, she also helps her colleagues keep the bakery stocked.
It typically takes her 15 to 20 minutes to ice and decorate a cake.
“A couple of Saturdays ago, we had 20 orders, so we were crazy busy!” Stevens said.
