Gina Skelton – Pastry Chef/Owner, Sugar Momma Cakery
Gina Skelton’s culinary industry journey started long before she ever stepped foot into a professional kitchen. As a young girl, she enjoyed picking wild raspberries and apples in her backyard and baking tasty treats for her family.
Chef Gina’s love for all things food made culinary school an easy choice and in 2002 she attended Le Cordon Bleu Scottsdale Culinary Institute. After graduation, she moved to Tucson and began working at Hilton El Conquistador in the Garde Manger department, then moving through various kitchens in the hotel ending up as a lead line cook in the fine dining restaurant.
She spent time at various Tucson restaurants including Café Terra Cotta and The Gallery Golf Club. In 2005, Chef Gina began her first sous chef position at Bellissimo at Casino Del Sol, quickly working her way up and became Chef de Cuisine. In 2010, Bellissimo closed and she took the opportunity to further her career by focusing on the fine art of baking and pastries and took the position of pastry chef for the James Beard Award winning Chef Janos Wilder, where she oversaw baking and pastry production for three restaurants – JBar, Downtown Kitchen + Cocktails and the award-winning Janos.
Prior to joining launching Sugar Momma Cakery in January 2021, she was the Executive Pastry Chef at First We Eat Catering & Confections and the executive pastry chef at Casino Del Sol, running the pastry department responsible for baked goods for its 10 event spaces and restaurants.
She views every day in the kitchen as a gift and an opportunity to learn and grow as a pastry chef.
