Isabella Cortés, cub writer
Fondant, sugar dough, buttercream, egg wash and fondant cutters are part of the everyday life of junior Jordan Hopp.  The “baking god” roams the halls and strives to improve his skills every day.
Hopp dedicates his free time to baking and decorating cakes. Hopp began baking when he was 14-years-old and developed his passion into a business.
“All my life my passion has been art, drawing, painting. When I started watching ‘Cake Boss’, I was interested by the idea of art through baking. It wasn’t until ninth grade that I began to believe that I could do this,” Hopp said.
Spending about seven to eight hours in the kitchen every week, Hopp bakes and decorates cakes for special occasions.
“There really aren’t shortcuts around cake decorating. You have to put in time and effort in order to get the best result,” Hopp said.
Hopp was influenced to begin baking by Buddy Valastro, an Italian-American celebrity chef and entrepreneur. He is the owner of Carlo’s Bakery and the face of Buddy V’s.
“Buddy Valastro is my inspiration. He is a cake decorator, and he is also on ‘Cake Boss’.  He’s inspired me because his bakery is family owned. He taught me that if you want to pursue your passion you have to be patient and focus on achieving your goals,” Hopp said.
Hopp is inspired by his grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, who motivates him to pursue his dreams. This dream involves opening a family-owned bakery.
“My grandmother has inspired me to become who I’m today; she taught me to always focus on pursuing my dreams. She says that anything I put my mind to is possible and that I just have to believe in myself,” Hopp said.
As the only artistic member in his family, Hopp chose to practice it. He now expresses his art not only on paper but on cakes.
“I can’t remember a time where I wasn’t holding a crayon or paintbrush in my hand.  Art allows me to completely forget about everything that I’m worried or stressed about and focus on something that I love to do. I love making cakes because my passion has always been art. I can apply those skills that I’ve acquired from my years practicing art to cake decorating,” Hopp said.
The word about his cakes has begun to spread, and students such as junior Lily Manavi indulge in his delicacies.
“He’s amazing. He’s going to go very far in life; he is the baking god,” Manavi said.
After spending hours baking and decorating, his favorite moment is when he delivers the cake.
“The most amazing moment of baking is when I finally get to give the cake to the person it’s for, and seeing their smile,” Hopp said. “I feel like I achieved something very special and that I’ve made that person very happy, and giving has always been an important part of my life.”