Canadian baker Gina Kohler moved to Virginia Beach in 1999. She noticed the little house-style bakery building on Laskin Road with a Help Wanted sign and quickly applied. That was 24 years ago, and today she is still going strong as one of Sugar Plum’s longtime decorators. At 6 a.m., Gina shows up to start organizing which cakes need decorating for orders or the retail case. She makes lists for the other staff to help keep the bakery on task and prepared for any seasonal rushes that are part of the year-round operations. She laughed as she explained how she could decorate the bakery’s signature cake – The Mozart – in her sleep. What is her favorite cake? Chocolate cakes are Gina’s favorite and she longs for the seasonally offered Tuxedo cake. Part of her job also includes developing new ideas for new cakes – Gina’s Strawberry Patch (named after her of course), the Banana Split and the Tropical Paradise are a few of the cakes the Gina developed that have become customer favorites. When not at the bakery, Gina enjoys spending time with her husband Michael, daughter Mackenzie (who literally grew up at the bakery ) and her beagle Momo. As a sports fan, in her free time and hockey season, Gina roots for the Montreal Canadians, but she also enjoys down time just to relax. While the busy times of year are her favorite at the bakery, she will alter her schedule and arrive during the holidays between 4 – 5 a.m. This is when it’s quiet and she’ll play some Country music to start her day (Chris Stapleton is her favorite) before the hustle and bustle begins and other staff start arriving for their shifts. Gina loves her job and looks forward to many more years at Sugar Plum bakery and decorating Specialty cakes and custom orders!
