GREENSBORO, N.C. — Veneé Pawlowski has been baking all her life. In May of 2020 she quit her part-time job to pursue her dream of owning her own bakery.
Now she's one step closer to that dream after winning a nice chunk of cash.
Veneé Pawlowski is all smiles! She is one of the 20 winning finalists in the 'General Mills Neighborhood to Nation' recipe contest.
"But I really didn't think I was going to get chosen for that. It was, you know, let's see what happens," Pawlowski said.
Well, she won $5,000 and a chance at $5,000 more.
The five grand will go towards expanding her baking operation, and hopefully, she will be able to get a brick-and-mortar spot up and running in the near future.
What started as a side hustle for Veneé, has now become her full-time gig. Her friends loved her baked goods, specifically her cinnamon rolls, so much she started filling custom orders. And the rest was history.
"I was supposed to go full time for my part-time job at the Greensboro Country Club, and then COVID hit so that kind of changed everything and also being at home with my newborn so it was a lot." Pawlowski said.
But Veneé isn't done, she hopes to be General Mill's big winner.
"Today is the last day to vote. We could really use that push and that $5,000 goes to the Greensboro Urban Ministry if we win this grand prize. Go to our Facebook page or our Instagram and find the links through there to vote for our Bourbon Banoffee Pecan Roll." Pawlowski said.