Q&A: Meet Emily Nejad, Resident Color Expert

FS: What is your role within the FANCY SPRINKLES^® Community?

EN: I’m the resident Color Expert! Color is my obsession— I love getting really nerdy about color theory, color mixing, and how to build really dynamic color palettes. 

FS: What is your origin story? How were you introduced to the Edible Arts?

EN: I was a singer in a pop band before I was a cake decorator, and as every struggling artist knows, that life is ROUGH. I started baking as a creative and therapeutic outlet, but things really shifted into gear when my family gifted me a stand mixer for Christmas.  I taught myself how to decorate through Youtube and a ton of experimenting, and then I started posting my cakes on Instagram. Six years later, I’ve made hundreds of cakes and taught thousands of students and although my dad is still holding out hope that I’ll become a pop star, I think cakes and I are a forever match.

FS: Who or what encouraged you to found your own creative business?

EN: When I started Bon Vivant Cakes, there was no one in my area making the kind of highly creative, fondant-free cakes that I was interested in creating. I saw an opportunity and I slid right in to fill that gap in the market. The support I received from my community in Chicago during that tender first year really sustained me (creatively and financially!) and the support I continue to receive from my people (both online and IRL in Chicago) makes me one lucky gal.

FS: What is your favorite part about being a Creative? 

EN: There is no better high than a project high!!!! You know that feeling you get when you’ve spent a few hours putting all your energy and love into something and at the end you have something beautiful (and edible!) to share with people? I’m addicted to that feeling.

FS: What do you do to get inspired when you’re feeling tapped out?

EN: I rest. I used to get really panicky when I had a dry spell, but now I know that it’s just part of the cycle. I give my brain and body time to rest and allow my attention to be drawn to whatever grabs my interest. The creative spark always returns.

FS: Being the Resident Color Export, we just have to know what’s your favorite color? 

EN: Asking me to choose my favorite color feels as impossible a task as naming my favorite Backstreet Boys song (kidding—it’s obviously The Call), but teal and pink get a lot of use in my kitchen.

FS: Okay, not every color can be a fav right?  What’s a color you never use in your cakes or creations? Why do you think that is?

EN: Ok- hear me out- the color I rarely use is actually PURPLE, despite it being one of my favorite colors of all time! Purple buttercream is notorious in the baking community for fading due to oxidation, so using it on a cake can be risky business (unless, of course, the vibe you’re going for is a sickly looking gray? Didn’t think so.) I had a real AHA moment when I realized that Abu Dhabi Purple was the most fade-resistant purple I’d ever worked with.

FS: How does FANCY SPRINKLES empower you to show your creative side? 

EN: It’s the range for me. Sometimes I feel like whoever is developing new products at FANCY SPRINKLES is inside my brain, because every month they’re coming out with new tools, new blends, fun seasonal decorating kits—it’s impossible to get into a creative rut with all these fun new tools and tutorials to try out.

FS: What is your favorite FANCY SPRINKLES product to use when creating in your kitchen for yourself? What about creating for others?

EN: 24 Karat Gold Leaf Sheet and Fool’s Gold Edible Glitter instantly elevate a dessert, so you’ll catch me adding them to basically everything I make.

FS: What’s your go-to Jelly Hues™ Food Coloring Gel hue?

EN: Can you make Malibu Pink  in a gallon-sized tube? Because I’m using it in EVERYTHING.

FS: Which FANCY SPRINKLES product is a regular in your infamous workshops? 

EN: FANCY EDIBLE GLITTER, BABY! I live for my student’s audible gasps when I blast their cakes with Edible Glitter at the end of the workshop. If it’s not covered in Edible Glitter and shinin’ like the sun, it’s not a Bon Vivant Cake.

FS: What’s your favorite FANCY SPRINKLES Sprinkle blend? 

EN: This is controversial—because if you had asked me this a month ago I would have said “PEACHY KWEEN” all the way (it’s been my fave for YEARS), but the little Tart-n-tinies in “Let Them Eat Cake” are my new ADDICTION. That little pop of citrus sour is SO satisfying on a slice of cake!

FS: What’s the most unexpected way you use Edible Glitter?

EN: I blasted the Christmas Ham with it. A Glam Ham? It’s a Christmas Miracle.

FS: What’s your favorite ice cream flavor? 

EN: DIY peanut butter. Vanilla ice cream with a big scoop of peanut butter swirled in.

FS: What’s your preferred pizza topping? 

EN: Giardiniera! For anyone unfamiliar with this Chicago Italian staple, giardiniera is a mix of pickled vegetables. I like mine extra spicy!

FS: What song do you listen to when you want to get PUMPED UP? 

EN: Put on Teenage Dream by Katy Perry, and I will go absolutely feral.

FS: What’s your go-to movie theater snack?

EN: Anything chewy and sour—I’m a true ‘90s kid

FS: What’s your favorite ‘90s/Early 2000s Rom-Com?

EN: The Sweetest Thing! I’ve seen it probably 30 times.

Til next time. Stay Fancy.