Ready, set, bake.
Theresa Hrivnak and Joseph Halloran, owners of Indulgence Cupcakery on Haddy Lane behind the Hadrosaurus statue in downtown Haddonfield recently received airtime on the Food Network’s weekly show, “Cupcake Wars.”
On Sunday, Aug. 5, the duo and the local community crowded around televisions at P.J. Whelihan’s Pub and Restaurant in neighboring Westmont to watch the competition and lend their support.
The show was filmed in Los Angeles in February, and the cupcake masters were not allowed to share that they had invited onto the show until July.
They did not speak to the possibility of being on the show, but customers asked. And asked. And asked.
When Hrivnak sent in her application on a Tuesday, the program called the same night requesting a video submission within three days’ time.
“We got all of our friends together and put the video together,” she said. “Within a week and a half, we had about 4,000 hits on our video on YouTube.”
Soon thereafter, they received their show invite.
“Luck was in our corner,” she expressed. “It was a really fast process for us.”
The business, which has had a storefront for two years this month, has seen a spike in traffic since the show aired.
Hrivnak and Halloran made it to the third round and ended the show as runners up.
“It’s been crazy,” said Hrivnak of the business boost. “I can’t believe it.”
“It feels like we did win,” she added, between all of the feedback and foot traffic.
“It’s been wonderful.”
Their time spent in California was extremely stressful, the pair explained.
“As soon as we landed, work began,” said Halloran. “It was still fun.”
Any free time they had was spent sleeping, he said.
Since the filming, they were anxious to see how the show would be edited.
“I don’t remember half of the things that we did,” Halloran admitted.
For the first round, they were given 30 minutes to bake.
“I don’t remember 28 of those minutes,” he laughed. “It was a blur.”
Hrivnak added that it was the fastest 30 minutes of her life.
“It flies by,” she said.
Halloran was known to spout one-liners throughout the taping.
During the show, they said, during an embattled period, he turned to Hrivnak and simply said, “Not my fault.”
“On his Facebook page, everyone is quoting, ‘Not my fault,’” she said.
The goal of the show was to create unique cupcakes in a creative presentation with provided ingredients for the chance to win $10,000.
“I would never put half those ingredients together to sell here,” she said, citing that many people generally do not have adventurous palettes.
While the pair didn’t win the competition, they were also spared from harsh comments from the judges.
“There was legitimately not a bad comment for us at all,” explained Hrivnak, past a remark about the flavor not popping enough.
While sharing their story, customers shuffled in and out of the shop snatching up miniature cupcakes, many commenting that they should have won the competition.
An edited version of the show is to be posted on the shop’s website soon.
Learn more about Indulgence Cupcakery by visiting www.indulgencecupcakery.com, call (856) 354–0400 or email sweets@indulgencecupcakery.com. Visit their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Indulgence-Cupcakery/136991322107.
The shop is open Tuesdays to Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. while supplies last.
“Cupcake Wars” airs on the Food Network on Sundays at 8 p.m.
For more information on the show and top recipes, visit http://www.foodnetwork.com/cupcake-wars/index.html.
