(This article appeared in the Fall 2021 issue of Pastry Arts Magazine)
Robert Teddy, Owner
Company Mission
Hand-crafted donuts that are just a step to the left and incorporate the freshest, best-quality ingredients, made in Las Vegas, NV. The “wicked” universe is rockabilly Americana with an emphasis on the retro vibe of Vegas: the music, the glitz, the indulgence, Area 51 aliens, atomic testing, the fun and bizarre.
Signature Products
The Cereal Bowl Donut™ creation is by far the most fun “Willy Wonka” experience, where you can pour milk into the donut filled with cereal without the donut becoming soggy, eat the cereal and drink the milk, eat the donut, then eat the spoon! The My Favorite Martian™ is another delightful creation, slathered with a green matcha maple icing, filled with strawberry compote in the center, dappled with freeze-dried strawberry pieces and drizzled with white chocolate. For our recent one-year anniversary, we created several Hawaiian tropical donuts: Piña Colada (alcohol infused), Mai Tai (alcohol infused), Hawaiian POG, LiMango, Pineapple Fritter and Guava Cheesecake. And of course the Blue Suede Banana™ is always in demand, with its peanut butter & banana filling, chocolate icing, toasted banana slices and the classic Blue Suede swirl…a perfect nod to Elvis.
Production Tip
There are two ways to fill a donut shell: on the side and the top. The side fills the donut completely and can be done manually or by a filling machine. The top fill is called a bullseye, where the top circle is either pulled out or pushed in, allowing filling to be place in the center hole. This is a manual process. We use both approaches depending on the intended look and feel of the donut. However, the filling machine is used the most and is preferred since it can fill a donut more than three times as fast as manually filled.
Equipment ‘Must-Haves’
All of our donuts are made by hand from start to finish, though we do use a dough sheeter for consistency of donut thickness. At first some of our bakers were resistant, but eventually came around to the fact that it sped up their workflow and kept the donuts consistent. Now they can’t work without it. This also helps to further control costs.
Secret of Success
There are two things we see as an edge for Wicked Donuts. The first is the high level of creativity, where many of our customers seek out donuts that are different from the rest. There is a place for all levels of donuts, but constantly producing new flavors, designs and concepts does give the marketing advantage to any shop. The other is having a face for the brand. Chef Teddy uses his celebrity and Food Network appearances to help keep Wicked Donuts in the local news and online media without a lot of marketing expense. This is definitely a win.
Future Goals
Expansion is always on our minds, due to continual requests for greater accessibility in Las Vegas and around the country. Customers trust our product to continually move forward with fun and new surprises. And so we plan to keep everything moving forward like a rocket to the moon, and perhaps even Mars.
Visit www.wicked-donuts.com/ for more info
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