(Seguin) — A pre-teen baking champion, with ties to Seguin, was recently recognized by the Seguin City Council.
Lila Smethurst recently won Food Network’s Kids Baking Championship. Smethurst lives in San Antonio, but her ties to Seguin run deep. That’s according to Seguin City Councilman Bill Keller, who led the charge to honor Smethurst.
“I know a lot of people had been watching Lila during the competition and following it and we are just as proud of her as if she were a part of Seguin, a member of our Seguin family and in my mind, she is a member of the Seguin family because the Hollaman Family goes back a long long way and the Smethurst Family, they’ve been our friends and been a part of Seguin and we wanted to recognize Lila and her accomplishments,” said Keller.
Mayor Donna Dodgen read a proclamation recognizing Smethurst for her incredible accomplishments at a very young age.
‘Whereas Lila Smethurst, a 12-year-old baking extraordinaire from San Antonio with deep family roots in Seguin proudly represented Texas on the Food’s Network Kids Baking Challenge Championship, a baking competition TV show and whereas, after winning four of the seasons 10 challenges, Lila took home the top prize in the final challenge with a science fair inspired polar theme volcano cake, clinching the Kids Baking Championship Season 12 crown along with $25,000 and a feature in Food Network’s magazine and whereas, Lila is not only a national baking champion but also a young entrepreneur who took her hobby to the next level by starting Lila’s Butterbomb Bakery, a custom online cake ordering business at age 9 and whereas inspired by her mom’s cancer journey, Lila is raising money for cancer research through her baking and charitable initiative with proceeds given to the foundation for cancer research,” said Smethhurst.
Lila thanked the Seguin City Council for the honor she received during last week’s meeting at Seguin City Hall.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I would do something worthy of this kind of recognition. I am so grateful that the Lord had this plan for my life, and I know that everything I need to succeed, he already has instilled in me. There is no doubt that being cast on Kids Baking Championship was a dream come true. But it wasn’t always a cakewalk, no pun intended, “laughs Smethurst. “While it was exciting, there were also moments of stress and anxiety as I went through the 10 episodes. During hard times, it was a great comfort to know that I was not alone. I know I am lucky to have a strong faith and I know the Holy Spirit was with me for the good times and the hard times.”’
Lila says the Kids Baking Championship was an amazing experience, and she earned more than just the prize money. She says she made some really close friends during the show. She says she’s also thankful for all of the love and support that she has been shown from people here in Seguin.
“During the airing of Kids Baking Championship, I know that so many people in Seguin were cheering me on and the way that you have showed me love and support has been incredible. Kids Baking Championship has been my favorite show since I was four years old and then to compete and win was very surreal. Along with my baking skills being better after being on the show, I also walked away with lifelong friendships. The other baking contestants and their families on Season 12 of KBC were exceptional. They were all kind, talented, funny and hardworking and we bonded like a little family. It’s been an unexpected takeaway that I did not count on being so close with all the kids and their families,” said Smethurst.
If you missed this latest season of the Kids Baking Championship on the Food Network, it is available for streaming on a number of platforms, including YouTubeTV, Hulu and Max.