Cardona (Credit: Food Network)
Charleston pastry chef Ashley Cardona, 30, is competing on the new Food Network show Harry Potter Wizards of Baking, airing Thursday, November 14 at 8 p.m. EST.
Hosted by Harry Potter movie stars James and Oliver Phelps (who played brothers Fred and George Weasley), the show features nine culinary pairs competing to earn the praises of culinary judges Carla Hall and Jozef Youssef. The show was filmed on the distinctive Harry Potter movie sets at Warner Bros. Leavesden Studios.
Originally from Thomasville, North Carolina, Cardona moved to Charleston with her husband and two children in February 2022 and began working at Circa 1886 (she currently serves as the Executive Pastry Chef), where she specializes in modern Southern desserts.
“We loved traveling to Charleston and were looking for a place to settle down and raise our kids,” she tells Holy City Sinner. “And as a pastry chef, Charleston is a great foodie city.”
Cardona grew up spending summers with her grandmother baking, watching Food Network, and recreating recipes together.
“We would bring them to life in the kitchen. It was super magical to me,” says Cardona.
Adams and Cardona (Credit: Food Network)
After falling in love with art as a kid, she knew she wanted to be an artist when she grew up. She attended Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte, where she earned degrees in pastry arts and hospitality management. She continued her education abroad, mastering French pastry while attending the École Nationale Supérieure de Pâtisserie in Yssingeaux, France.
“Now I create edible art with butter, sugar, flour, and chocolate,” she says.
After casting agents found her on Instagram, Cardona is now set to appear alongside her baking partner Kimberley Sweets Adams on Harry Potter Wizards of Baking—her first TV show.
“I was definitely a bookworm as a kid,” says Cardona, who adds that she convinced her mom to take her to the midnight release at Barnes and Noble for one of the releases. “I was a huge fan of the Harry Potter books as a kid, and of course the movies. It’s very nostalgic for me.”
She will bring her love for Harry Potter to create incredible bakes for the show.
“I wanted to bring iconic moments that spoke to me from books and movies to life,” she says. “It was fast and furious, but I think we brought the magic.”
Harry Potter Wizards of Baking premieres on Thursday, November 14 at 8 p.m. EST on Food Network.
Adams and Cardona (Credit: Food Network)
