Chefs Casey Shiller, Certified Executive Pastry Chef, and Dana Holland, executive chef of Jilly's Cupcake Bar & Cafe appeared in the third episode of the third season of Food Network's Cupcake Wars, which aired Tuesday, June 28. Teammates Shiller and Holland competed against three other teams in a nationally-televised baking battle for a $10,000 grand prize. Jilly's Cupcake Bar & Cafe is the first St. Louis-based business to appear on Cupcake Wars, as well as the first team in the show's history to represent a business from the state of Missouri - and now the first team from Missouri to win!
The episode was titled The Final Frontier, an outer space theme where bakers competed to have their tasty treats front and center at a VIP party honoring the first man in space. View additional information on the episode.
Chef Dana Holland
Chef Holland brings nearly 30 years of culinary experience to Cupcake Wars, most recently as executive chef at Jilly's Cupcake Bar & Cafe, a title he has held since 2007. Prior to his role at Jilly's, Holland spent six years as owner and chef of Babalu's & Babalu's Snack Shack, a full-service Pan Latin restaurant in St. Louis. Chef Holland co-founded Culinary Software Services, a software solutions provider for restaurant and foodservice operations in Boulder, Colorado, used by Whole Foods Markets and Marriott International Hotels. Most recently, Holland founded Sun Drenched Foods, a line of sauces and spices distributed locally in St. Louis. Chef Holland began his culinary path at the University of Missouri - Columbia, where he received a Bachelors of Science in Food Science & Nutrition. He also attended Johnson & Wales College in Providence, Rhode Island.
Pastry Chef Casey Shiller, CEPC
Casey Shiller, a Certified Executive Pastry Chef, is thrilled to be back in his hometown, as the Executive Pastry Chef and Coordinator of Baking and Pastry Arts for St. Louis Community College at Forest Park, where he teaches classes in baking, pastry, chocolates, and confectionary art. Shiller was named Teacher of the Year for St. Louis Community College Forest Park in 2010. Chef Shiller also received the Missouri Community College Association's Excellence in Teaching Award and the National Institute of Staff and Organizational Development's Excellence Award in 2011. In addition to teaching, Chef Shiller is also the Director of Pastry and Baking for Jilly's Cupcake Bar and Cafe. Shiller graduated with honors from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, with a Bachelors of Science in Baking and Pastry Arts.
Shiller's career has allowed him to experience many prestigious properties including the Trump Plaza Hotel-Casino, Trump Taj Mahal Hotel-Casino, and the Trump Worlds Fair Hotel-Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey; The Sagamore Resort near Lake George, New York; The Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island near Jacksonville, Florida; Ristorante Cantare, in Chicago, Illinois; the Westchester Country Club in Rye, New York, and the Boeing Leadership Center in St. Louis.
Shiller was named one of the "Top 10 Rising Star Pastry Chefs 2000," by Chocolates a la Carte and was featured in Pastry Art and Design and Food Arts magazines. Shiller has also earned several gold and silver medals for his chocolate sculptures and plated dessert displays at the New York Food Show. Shiller is a national judge for the Skills USA Commercial Baking Competition, and serves as an adjudicator for many local, state, and national culinary competitions.
In June, 2011, Chef Shiller will be featured on the nationally-broadcast Television Food Network program, Cupcake Wars. Shiller is a frequent guest on several St. Louis-based television programs including Show Me St. Louis, Great Day St. Louis, and starred on the primetime television program, Great Day Cooks. Shiller is also seen regularly on the NBC affiliate, KSDK; the CBS affiliate, KMOV; and the FOX affiliate, KTVI, as a guest chef on weekday news programming. Shiller is also a regular contributor on the radio program Food Talk with the Kelly Twins, on KTRS 550AM. Shiller has been featured in two textbooks on baking and pastry, On Baking 2nd Edition, and About Professional Baking. Shiller has been featured in magazines including Food Arts, Pastry Art & Design, National Culinary Review, and Sizzle. Shiller conceived and directed the live theatrical stage programming of the Adrienne Arsht Center's Celebrity Chef Series, in Miami, Florida, featuring prominent chefs such as Anthony Bourdain, Jacques Pepin, Emeril Lagasse, Alton Brown, Tom Collichio, Daisy Martinez, Ingrid Hoffman, and Eric Ripert.
Shiller is an active member of the American Culinary Federation, the US Pastry Alliance, the Hugh O'Brien Youth Leadership Foundation, and serves on the Executive Board of the Chefs de Cuisine Association of St. Louis. Shiller, and his wife Anne, enjoy travelling, attending theater, and are avid St. Louis Blues ice hockey fans.
