Surrey Schools graduate turned celebrity baker hopes to inspire others

Jujhar Mann during the The Great Chocolate Showdown.
When Jujhar Mann was growing up in the 2000s, he didn’t see anybody who looked like him on food shows or in media. Channels like the Food Network rarely featured individuals with turbans and whenever he saw a pastry chef in movies or in magazines, they never looked like the people he grew up around.

As a rising star in the world of creative pastries, the former Surrey Schools student aims to change that.

Having appeared on various networks and media channels for his creative and elegant baking, Mann is fast-becoming one of the more recognizable pastry chefs in the region. He has been featured in outlets such as Dished, Global News, Elegant Wedding Magazine and competed in season two of the Food Network’s Great Chocolate Showdown.

Most recently, the Surrey-based chef competed on the third season of Is it Cake?, a Netflix reality series that challenges pastry chefs to create cake replicas of real life objects.

“It was such a great experience and I learned so much during my time on the show,” he said. “It was a little scary because I’m more used to doing simpler cakes, so it really challenged me to get out of that comfort zone.”

“We’re always so proud to see our former students go on to do amazing, inspiring things and pursue their dreams!” said Laurie Larsen, Chair of the Surrey Board of Education.

With so many accolades and media appearances, it may be surprising to hear that Mann is still somewhat new to the craft, having only begun baking after graduating from Kwantlen Park Secondary in 2018.

“I only really started baking six years ago and so I had a bit of imposter syndrome when I was on the show,” he said. “I had been interested in it for years, but didn’t start doing it creatively or regularly until after my first semester at university.”

Initially baking at home in his downtime away from business school at Simon Fraser University (SFU), Mann would post his creations on social media, garnering increasing interest with each post. Soon after, Mann began to receive requests.

“I did a few events like baby showers and weddings and from there started thinking about maybe doing it full time as a business,” he explained.

After finishing his studies at SFU, Mann decided to making a go of it and after traveling to Las Vegas and Paris for additional pastry training, was ready to commit to his dream full-time.

Now, six years into his career, with multiple media appearances under his belt and having opened a larger bakeshop in late 2022, Mann is looking to grow his business further and wants others to view his journey as proof there are always opportunities to break new ground. Taking inspiration from his South Asian heritage and blending it with his formal pastry training, Mann hopes others will be inspired to pursue the things they love while infusing a bit of themselves along the way.

“If there’s something you want to do, even just to try, you should do it,” he said. “Sometimes not everything works out, but if you have a passion and are willing to dedicate yourself to it, as cliché as it might sound, it’s worth seeing through and figuring out if this is something you might want to do for the rest of your life.

“If you don’t see yourself reflected in something, but it’s something you love, be that person.” 

To learn more about Jujhar Mann and his bakeshop, click here.

Jujhar Mann (third from right) along with the other Is It Cake? season 3 contestants.