Winningest Baker Returns to State Fair

Robbinsdale, MN - When Marjorie Johnson was 8 years old, she baked her first cake and her mother raved about how it tasted to her friends. Since then, Johnson’s been hooked not only on baking, but baking perfection.

As the winningest baker (1000 blue ribbons, more than 2000 total ribbons) at the Minnesota State Fair prepares her return after a year’s absence, she’s developing one of her most fierce cases of blue ribbon mentality in all of her 33 years of entering pies, cookies and breads into the fair’s competitions.

“I think about it all year. What should I make? And I try all kinds of recipes looking for that extra, extra special recipe.” Johnson told myfox9.com less than a week before Thursday’s start to the fair.

She took last year off because she was so busy promoting her cookbook, “The Road to Blue Ribbon Baking with Marjorie”. Along with speaking engagements, and autograph sessions (her October, 2007 Mall of America signing drew a crowd of 400 autograph seekers) she managed to keep up her correspondent duties on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. One of her assignments included covering the Las Vegas Bike Fest where she handed out cookies she baked on a motorcycle to the skull-wearing leather-vested bikers.
One of them even used the 4-foot, 8 inch grandma as a barbell. As for another television season of correspondent duties on Leno’s new prime time gig, we’ll have to wait and see. “The producers told me they were going in another direction for this new show,” said Johnson. “I’m hoping that they will ask me back after the show’s been on for awhile.”

The only other year she missed being at the state fair was 1980 when he daughter got married. Johnson baked for the wedding.

This year, she is set on creating about 28 different types of goodies for the judges. The day we interviewed her, Johnson was typing up the recipe for gluten-free blueberry muffins she created for competition. And as in other years, almost everything in her life comes to a standstill in August, even her son’s birthday, which is on the 16th. “I don’t even bake a cake for him but we always celebrate in September.” Johnson said.

Johnson plans on baking two different things a day, keeping her in the kitchen for hours a day until she feels she has perfected the items. “Sometimes you’ll be baking something and it might not brown evenly in the oven, then I just put it aside and remake it.” She said. “Lee (husband) and I usually eat the leftovers.”

If baking is the first love for this Robbinsdale resident, then blue ribbon perfection can’t be far behind.
 

Get baking recipes from Marjorie's website:   http://www.blueribbonbaking.com/