Matthew Azuma: Life Is Sweeter with Cake

By KATHEE YAMAMOTO
SPECIAL TO THE RAFU

Matthew Azuma started baking his own birthday cakes when he was “just a kid.”
By the time he was 12 years old, he had already competed in the Food Network’s “Kids Baking Championship,” coming in as a finalist.

And that was just the first of several appearances on the Food Network’s cooking competition shows, including winning the “Kids Baking Championship: North Pole Edition” a year later.

Now 19, Azuma is a sophomore at Chapman University, continuing to follow his passion for baking, contributing stories as a food writer for his college magazine, and working with a cottage bakery in Costa Mesa.

Last year, his culinary artistry earned him a quarter-finalist spot in the online “Greatest Baker” competition, which raised funds for The Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation, supporting families facing childhood cancer.

Azuma’s aunt, Nancy Fujii, cheered him on and encouraged support for him, posting photos of her nephew’s creations on social media, including an elaborate layered, multi-tiered cake. “He made that wedding cake when he was 13 years old! He’s an amazing baker!”

Contestants were asked how they would use the top $20,000 prize. Azuma had responded that he would put it toward pastry school and also donate to the National Kidney Foundation, in remembrance of his dad.

Azuma lost his father, Yosh Azuma, five years ago, after a struggle with kidney failure and diabetes. “He was on the waiting list for a kidney transplant for a long time.”

“Towards the end of his life he was on dialysis. My dad was really resilient, but it was rough, having to wait and wait. It’s the reason why the National Kidney Foundation is so important to me and I’ve been doing fundraising for this organization since I was in high school.”

A physical therapist, Yosh was his son’s inspiration. “My dad would tinker in the garage or work on a project for the house, and he was always very creative.”

Observing his father, Azuma saw that “in order to be a creative person, you have to be someone who goes with the flow and can think on your feet.” He reflects that his dad “continues to inspire my philosophy on how I approach baking and any creative endeavor today.

“He loved food — he loved cooking. And he was very supportive. My first taste tester!

“I think that one of the ways that he supported me in baking was his willingness to try my food, even if what I had made wasn’t very great,“ Azuma laughs. “I remember, as an April Fools prank, I covered an onion with chocolate to make it look like a candy apple!

“He took a big bite out it! He was a good sport about it, and honestly looking back, I’m sure he probably knew that it was an onion, but he did it anyway to make my sister and I laugh. He was always willing to play along with whatever I was doing.”
His older sister Samantha is in the Bay Area and “on track to being an EMT and working towards med school. She is the most supportive sister I could ever ask for. She loves that I still bake. Yeah, we’re very close. I love her a lot.”

Changing Goals

Azuma is studying strategic and corporate communication and visual journalism, hoping to eventually attend the Institute of Culinary Education in New York – though he says his goals have evolved from earlier dreams of opening a bakery, to seeing wider opportunities in sharing his views on food and identity, also creating community through food.

“I realized that I had this passion for storytelling, writing and journalism. That’s when I declared my minor in visual journalism.” And through connections he’s made through the food and beverage publication Cherry Bombe, “I met all these amazing food writers and recipe developers, seeing that a lot of the pastry chefs that I look up to don’t own bakeries. They worked at bakeries and then became food writers, wrote cookbooks and created videos.”

Azuma then felt his goal shift from “being a bakery owner to a baker who’s a storyteller.”

“And there’s so much to be said about how important it is to lift up other people’s stories. I think that’s also my favorite part about journalism is that I get to celebrate stories that might not be (otherwise) covered or talked about. And giving people the recognition that they deserve is really impactful.”

Adjusting to College Life

These days, Azuma’s days and nights are filled with studies, rehearsals with the Chapman a capella group Soundcheck, and hosting gatherings at his apartment. But the transition to college life was initially not an easy one.

“I didn’t know anyone, it was like an empty slate. And going into this new environment, I honestly felt that baking is what brought a kind of community together for me at Chapman.”

Azuma explains, “One of the first weeks in college, I baked a tray of cookies. And I just went around passing them out — it kind of just became my thing. Then on my Instagram, I started a social media series where I would interview people on campus about basically any topic, asking students how school’s been, what it’s like navigating the transition from high school to college.”

He found the cookies to be a welcome and simple introduction to new people and a new setting. “I think college students love food, especially free food,” he laughed. So that was kind of my way of bringing people together through food.”

Creative from Childhood

Azuma’s mother, Marian, has long recognized her son’s creativity, his resourcefulness and his ability to “think outside the box.”

“I see my job as a parent, besides love and support, is to simply introduce him to various experiences,” she said. When he was younger, she encouraged her son to try piano, swimming, soccer and karate lessons. And she remembers “how miserable he was” with each of them.

“But when he was 6 or 7, a friend of mine got him a box of macarons from Bottega Louie (a French patisserie in downtown L.A.). The joy on his face was undeniable and I believed that sparked his curiosity and determination in learning how they are made and ultimately led to his passion for baking.”

When he was applying as a contestant for the Food Network’s “Kids Baking Championship,” Azuma recalls that his mother was “a little bit scared for me, because I got bullied a lot in middle school. So she was really worried, if I did go on the baking show, would that exacerbate a lot of the bullying that was going on?”

But he was not deterred by that concern. “Honestly, for me, I was already getting bullied so much that I thought, why would I let the people who are bullying me inhibit me from doing something that I love?”

When he was accepted for the show, it was his mom who accompanied him to New Orleans, where that season of the show was being taped, the first time for both of them in that city.

Looking back, Azuma remembers, “I got to experience a lot of good food I’d never tried before, authentic New Orleans cuisine is so unique. And I got to try beignets at Cafe Du Monde. It was one of the most amazing, fun experiences I got to have through this show.”

But there were also tears shed. A photo of an anguished young Matthew during the taping is posted on his Instagram. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I cried every single episode! I think I was a very emotional baker when I was on the show. It’s a very high-stress environment, especially for 12-year-old me managing this big task.

“You have to deal with a twist ‘cause in the middle of the round, they always say, ‘Incorporate this random ingredient.’ I think one of them was ‘Incorporate ginger into your cake.’ And it was like, okay, I already have this whole plan, and now I’m supposed to throw this in!

“I think what I learned from the show is how to adapt in a lot of situations and how to remain resilient when thrown a curve ball. But we had to manage all these different tasks in this very strict time frame while also talking to an interviewer, then talking to (hosts/judges) Duff Goldman and Valerie Bertinelli. I was always so nervous because I looked up to them so much. Then there’s also like five cameras on you, and you’re thinking ‘Is my hair okay?’” he laughs.

Azuma adds that he was not the only contestant overcome with the pressure. “A lot of kids were just sobbing because I think everyone on the show was really passionate about baking. And of course, when kids got eliminated, they could get emotional about it.”

Overall, he concludes, “It was super fun, but I remember just being so overstimulated and it being kind of a lot at times.”

Later, Azuma was the winner of the “Kids Baking Championship: North Pole Edition” in 2019, and he was a guest judge on the Thanksgiving episode of the Food Network’s “Holiday Baking Championship” last year.

“Part of My Identity”

In addition to viewing food as a way of creating community, Azuma says, “An important reason why I like to bake — it’s a part of my identity.”

Having both Japanese and Chinese heritage (on his mother’s side) “greatly affects my relationship with food.” Azuma fondly remembers his late paternal Japanese grandmother’s cooking – “She was the best chef ever!” — recalling her New Year’s dishes most vividly.

“My Chinese grandparents love to cook too. I’d come home from school and they’d always be making chashu … and my mom makes dumplings by hand.”

“Then at school, I’d eat pizza and burgers.” He took note of the cultural mix of eating experiences he’s had since childhood and it informs the mini-cookbook he’s working on.

Embracing his identity, Azuma says, “I’m very proud of being Asian American and of being openly gay. That’s a very important part of me as well. That can be a really difficult challenge sometimes. But I’m fortunate that my dad was, and my whole family is, really supportive. But it’s where a lot of the bullying came from, a lot of homophobia and racism where I grew up.”

In the cookbook, which he’ll put up on his social media by early next year, he’ll “explore food and identity through baking, tying in my own lived experiences, my cultural background. And I talk about my dad. It’ll focus on cake, specifically – a cake cookbook. And I explain the recipes through personal anecdotes, like one based on White Rabbit candy, a Chinese candy I grew up eating.”

Azuma cites one of his favorite quotes: “I think Julia Child said this … ‘A party without a cake is just a meeting.’ And I think that is so true.”

Memorable Cakes

“Some of my favorite memories are surrounded by cake.” He gives an example: “The three-tiered graduation cake that I made for my friends, each layer representing the colleges we’d be attending.” with customized representations of the schools, along with edible symbols of his and his friends’ majors.

“And of course, birthday parties — I think that’s honestly my favorite thing to bake because it’s not only like the centerpiece for celebration and good times, but it’s also something that’s meant to be shared. You know, you cut it up, you give it to everyone and they eat cake together. It’s just so magical to me.”

For his good friend Charli Fallon’s birthday, knowing she was a bird lover, he created a cake with a replica of an acorn woodpecker.

“I made the actual cake itself look like a log, and I wanted the log to be an oak, a native tree, because acorn woodpeckers are native to California. It was just a super fun project. And then seeing the look on her face when she saw it, because she didn’t know that I was making it. She was so excited!”

Fallon says of her friend, “Matt is one of the most genuine people I know and he shows up for his friends in a lot of different ways, but the food/baked goods he makes for us are particularly memorable.”

She calls that birthday cake “one of the best gifts I’ve ever gotten. I feel lucky to have someone in my life that really pays attention and demonstrates that they care, over and over again, through the hours that he pours into his creations.”

Azuma’s cake artistry comes from “a lot of trial and error. But basically, I learned
from YouTube, my go-to tutorial. And I started taking some classes at Claremont Chefs Academy, a local small culinary school for kids. But I wanted something more focused towards baking and pastry. So I took classes at a local cake supply store, where they had all this decorating equipment for bakers.

“What I really love about cake decorating is that you can really do so much. The cake serves as an empty canvas. At work, I’m making these neon green and neon pink, colorful cakes with layers of buttercream. And I think something that my roots have taught me, being Asian, is that many Asian people don’t really like sweet desserts. So I wouldn’t want to overload that cake with frosting, maybe use a thin layer of whipped cream, then top it with food safe edible flowers.”

But whether it’s custom decorations, special flavors or colors, Azuma’s overall philosophy is that “Baking is creating experiences for people … cultivating community. Another thing that I love is that I don’t think anyone’s ever gonna be sad when they get a slice of cake!”

Baking also became therapeutic for Azuma.

“I always remember, this was during COVID, when baking really helped me after I lost my dad. I’m very much a night owl. And there’s something so nice about feeling really active when everyone else is asleep.

“Baking also taught me how to be adaptable. And I think that I take a lot of the lessons of baking to apply to my everyday problem-solving. I wrote a college essay about it, how baking has taught me to find the substitutes in life. Like if I don’t have an ingredient, I’ll find another way to make it work. And that’s my outlook on life — if a few things fall short or if I’m missing something, I will find another way out to … always make it through.”

On the recent anniversary of his dad’s passing, Azuma and his mom — “my best friend” — continued their tradition of going to In-N-Out Burger in his honor.

“I have so many good memories with him that surround food. And he really loved In-N-Out. During the time when he was going through tests for his kidney, he was on a rigid diet, so he couldn’t do all the foodie things that he used to do. So that was our special treat when he did really well with a lab result, we would go out to In-N-Out after his appointment. And that was probably one of my favorite memories of him.”

For her part, Marian Azuma imagines how Yosh would feel if he could see his son now.

“I can hear him saying, ‘Never a doubt in my mind that Matt would be great at anything he sets his mind to, and that includes baking or just being a compassionate, loving human being. I am beyond proud.’”

To see more of Matthew Azuma’s cakes and other creations, go to his Instagram page: @mattazumabakes

To donate to the National Kidney Foundation, visit: https://www.kidney.org/