For Pastry Chef Shayla “Chez Shay” Daniels, Life Is Bittersweet

Shayla Daniels knows all about the sweet life. The Tampa resident is pastry chef and owner of Shay Chez’s Sweets, and she nearly always has something in the oven, from specialty cakes to French-style macarons. She even showed off her baking skills on season 8 of the Food Network’s Holiday Baking Championship. But for Shayla, life hasn’t always been sugar and spice. In this conversation, she also recounts the health challenges that inspired her to move from Wisconsin to Florida, the personal tragedy that struck several years later and how her love for baking helped her through dark times.Related episodes: Get a Taste of Ukraine at Oksa Cakes Bakery & Bistro in Flagler Beach Valentine’s Day Chocolate Advice from Norman Love From Florida to France: Food Writer Jamie Schler on Cooking with Oranges, French Hotel Life and More