Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 40, Number 6, 1 June 2023 — Baking Sweet Dreams [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Baking Sweet Dreams

Cori Ehukai Nakamoio, owner of Cori's Cake Dreoms, speciolizes in exquisitely designed cakes - although her three bakeries offer on extensive array of sweet delights.- (ourtesy Photos

By Nathan Hokama Con Ehukai Nakamoto is living every entrepreneur's dream. Shefollowed her passionfor eake decorating and successfully turned her hobby into a flourishing business aptly named Cori's Cake Dreams. With the support of OHA Mālama Loans, today she has three Cake Dreams Bakeshop sites. Like her impressive eake designs, Nakamoto's aspirations show her boundless, creative energy and optimismfor thefuture. Nakamoto s sweet taste of success didn't happen overnight. For more than a decade, she dedicated herself to perfecting her craft, creating and selling her exquisitely designed luxury cakes for weddings, showers, birthdays, and other special occasions on weekends - while working full time as an orthodontic care coordinator. The McKinley High School graduate who grew up in Kalihi first heeame smitten by the joy of eake decorating when she took a eake decorating class with her mom. That was a pivotal experience. She sold her first eake in 2010, nearly 13 years ago, and soon was taking as many as four to five orders a week. Her weekends were spent producing cakes from start to finish — baking, decorating and delivering — all on her own. And she enjoyed every sweet moment. Nakamoto's professional validation eame when she and

Nixon Dabalos, another Hawai'i baker, were selected by Netflix producers to be one of the four contestant-teams on the popular show, Sugar Rush: Extra Sweet in 2020. "When we got to the studio it was awesome," Nakamoto said. "It was like a Disneyland for adults in the eake business. We just gave it our best shot and hoped to make it past Round 1." The baking team representing Hawai'i actually did better, winning all three rounds and impressing the judges with their innovative creations. They were required to make desserts made with childhood sweet and savory junk food snacks.

The Hawai'i duo outshined the other contestants with their cheese-filled eupeake encrusted with cheeseball crumbs; their Hawai'i-inspired rainbow Ho-Ho made with chantilly and mango jam drizzled with Milk Dud glaze; and a boombox and gumball maehine expertly designed to burst with candy when the eake was cut. They made all of Hawai'i proud winning the grand prize of $10,000. Nakamoto said she is still reaping the benefits of the notoriety of winning on a nationally aeclaimed show, but she has remained grounded and humble and is working as hard as ever. "Even though others tell me, 'You're there,' I don't feel like I'm quite there yet," said Nakamoto, who continually strives to get better. In May 2022, Nakamoto successfully acquired two bakery locations, one at Fort Shafter and the other at Tripler Medical Center, and six employees, whieh she subsequently doubled to a staff of a dozen to greatly expand her vision and operations. It was exactly what she had been praying for to take her business to the next level. She recently celebrated the grand opening of her third bakery at Schofield in Wahiawa. The bakeries offer every imaginable delight: cassava flan, Ube Brazo De Mercedes, blueberry cheesecake tarts, hanana bread, Fruity Pebbles macarons, and even the cheeseball eupeake that won the hearts of the Netflix Sugar Rush judges. With the bakery acquisitions, Nakamoto made the difficult decision to give up her orthodontic position after 20 years. "I loved working there," she said, noting that her sisters, Darcie and Bree, and her friends from church have been her main source of encouragement as she ventured into her business on a full-time basis. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) Mālama Loan program has been instrumental in supporting Nakamoto's dream. OHA helped Nakamoto to finance the purchase of a new fr eezer, build a new website for her bakeries, develop marketing materials, and provide employee uniforms and startup capital to cover the first month of payroll. Aikūe Kalima, manager of OHA's Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund program, said the program provides more than lend money. "We contract a vendor to provide technical assistance to every approved start-up loan applicant to ensure their success. It's like having a personal eoaeh or mentor assigned to you to review your business plan to not only ensure you ean repay the loan, but also to enjoy long-term business success." Nakamoto does not consider herself a role model but is proud to represent Native Hawaiians. She offered some practical words of wisdom for others: "When times get rough, most businesses scale back, but that is the time to push through." ■ Visit cakedreamsbakeshop.com.

(L-R) OHA Loon Processor RoberI Crowell, Nakomolo, and Howoi'i News Now Host Koinoo Carlson share o lough while filming o video segment.