How sweet it is.
Prominent St. Augustine pastry chef and entrepreneur Nils Rowland is bringing his battle-tested baking skills to the national stage in a Food Network holiday showdown.
Rowland stars in Sweet Empire: Winter Wars, a high-stakes baking competition that pits him against 13 other crust commandos, all vying for a $50,000 grand prize.
The season kicked off Nov. 9, and true to his Florida roots, Rowland made a memorable entrance with his first creation: a pound cake sculpted into the shape of an alligator’s head. Infused with citrus both in the cake and the icing, it was a nod to the Sunshine State’s signature fruit.
“Obviously, you might be able to guess I’m from Florida,” he quipped as he unveiled his creation.
Rowland takes pride in serving as a culinary face for his hometown on the national stage.
“I represent my family and the area and everybody here,” he told The Citizen. “I take that seriously—I want to make everybody proud.”
This isn’t Rowland’s first time in the heat of the TV oven. He’s also appeared on Cake Wars Xmas, Halloween Wars, Holiday Wars, and Big Time Bake.
He and his wife, Bailey Rowland, opened local mainstay Crème de la Cocoa back in 2016. Nestled on San Marco Avenue, the bakery has been earning accolades for its exquisite array of confections for almost a decade.
Visitors can indulge in cakes, chocolates, ice cream, and more, while the bakery also caters large events—from weddings to corporate gatherings—bringing expertly crafted desserts to every table.
The vision for Crème de la Cocoa, Rowland says in a company video, started simply: “We were just trying out recipes, the two of us, figuring things out as we went.”
His commanding kitchen presence traces back to his childhood, from grilling family dinners to baking lemon meringue pies alongside his father.
Today, he treats baking as a true craft, insisting that his items exit the oven with care and precision.
“At Crème de la Cocoa, we care about the process and how it’s made,” Rowland said. “The flavor, the texture, the presentation—every detail matters to us.”
Rowland returns to the Food Network at 9 p.m. on Nov. 23, with the following episode airing on HBO the next day.
