Cherry Hill Woman Appears On Netflix Cooking Competition

CHERRY HILL, NJ — A Rowan College at Burlington County teacher from Cherry Hill can be found on Netflix this holiday season. Diane Fehder, who teaches in the college’s Culinary Arts program and has become a regular reality TV chef, will appear on Netflix’s Christmas edition of Sugar Rush, the college announced.

On Sugar Rush, professional bakers face-off in a timed competition for a $10,000 grand prize. Fehder has competed twice before on the Food Network — on Halloween Wars and Sugar Dome, which she won in 2013.

“One main thing I love is the people I meet on the show,” Fehder said. “It seems like a really big industry, but it’s actually rather small and connected, and supportive. I’ve developed some really nice relationships over the years with people all over the world.”

Those casting for Sugar Dome saw pictures of Fehder’s cakes online when she was the executive pastry chef at a local wedding venue, according to the college. They recruited her. Six years later, Fehder was eager to participate in the Christmas-themed edition of Sugar Rush, which is streaming now.

Fehder earned a grand diplome in pastry at the French Culinary Institute (now the International Culinary Center) in New York City. For the last decade, she was a professional pastry chef, but she recently made the transition to teacher at Rowan College at Burlington County. She also teaches at local adult and family community classes, which she said adds a new passion to her love of baking.

“I feel like you need to be able to be good at your craft in order to teach — pastry arts in my case — but I learned that in order to teach, you need a whole other skill set. For instance writing lesson plans, good communication skills, recipe creation and time management.” Fehder said. “I have really been enjoying teaching, my students have been amazing, and I look forward to the next semester.”