He has been a part of the festival for almost a decade, but this year will be his fourth season as a vendor — selling baked goods through a dessert window at New World Knoll. It’s located at the very top of the hill between the beer and baked potatoes.
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
From street cast team to the official baker
Stuckey recalled visiting the Ohio Renaissance Festival for the first time since high school. He was planning on meeting a coworker at the festival, but ended up getting there early.
“Her definition of open to close and my definition from open to close were completely different,” Stuckey said.
Due to lack of cell phone service, he couldn’t go and explore, so he sat near the gate waiting on his friend.
“One of their street cast members comes up and pretty much entertains me for the entire hour that I’m waiting for the friend,” Stuckey said.
Long story short, he became friends with the street cast member and she encouraged him to try out for the next season. The problem was that he just got a new job and couldn’t risk asking for the weekends off.
The street cast member ended up getting him a season pass to the Ohio Renaissance Festival for his birthday the next year.
“I was there every Sunday, some Saturdays, in full garb... (and) accent,” Stuckey said. “I had my garb approved by their costuming director before I was even on staff.”
This led to him being on cast for four years before Covid.
“It’s a family community out there and they accepted me instantly,” Stuckey said. “It helped that I fed them. I was the baker, so I would bring baked goods in the morning.”
Prior to Covid, Stuckey started baking and decorating cakes for weddings at the festival. This led to him becoming the cookie vendor during the festival’s first Yuletide Village, and now, “I am technically the official baker of the Ohio Renaissance Festival.”
“I am happy to have this partnership,” Stuckey said. “There is a lot that I would honestly not have if it wasn’t for them. This storefront would not be a reality if I did not have the contract from the Ohio Renaissance Festival.”
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
What to expect
Festivalgoers can expect a menu featuring brownies, cake parfaits, cookies and pastries. They always offer gluten-free and vegan options.
Each week, Baker Benji’s will have limited edition baked goods that reflect the Ohio Renaissance Festival’s theme.
For example, the bakery will have cosmic brownies for Time Travelers Weekend (Sept. 27-28) or red velvet brownies for Romance Weekend (Oct. 18-19), among other themed treats.
Staples on the menu include the fudge brownie, chocolate cake parfait, vanilla cake parfait and apple turnover.
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
For opening weekend, customers can expect a lemon blueberry turnover, orange creamsicle cake parfait and a cookies and cream brownie.
As the fall season nears, the bakery will offer pumpkin spice cookie sandwiches and oatmeal cream pies.
All treats at the Ohio Renaissance Festival are bigger in size and this is reflected in the price. For example, the bakery can get 48 regular brownies out of a full sheet tray. For the festival, they only get 35.
In addition to the dessert window, Stuckey continues to bake and decorate cakes for weddings at the festival.
It’s a balancing act
To prepare for an Ohio Renaissance Festival weekend, Baker Benji’s begins baking cakes on Monday.
“Of the 49 slots that actually can have a wedding and reception, I would say 80% of them have a wedding cake,” Stuckey said. “Right now, I want to say I have 35 for the nine weekends. It usually averages about four to five a weekend.”
After the cake is baked, he freezes, assembles and decorates the layers. His cake is a moisture cake. When they freeze it, the cake locks in moisture and then comes back to life in the refrigerator.
Baker Benji’s makes anything from classic white wedding cakes with florals to four-tier castle cakes with two dragons interloping and making a heart.
“What most people don’t understand is since the festival is Saturday/Sunday, we can’t come in here on Saturday morning, load up and get down to festival in time,” Stuckey said. “On Friday, we go grab a U-Haul, load it up full of baked goods and then take it down to the festival.”
For the baked goods, Baker Benji’s tries to prep ahead of time. For example, they pre-shape the turnovers, freeze them and bake them Friday right before they leave for the festival.
The most they typically bake for a festival weekend is around 750 items.
“It is definitely one of those things that it is a balancing act,” Stuckey said. “We are properly staffed for the year coming. Last season, this time, I had maybe five people on staff including myself and two of those were part-time.”
This year, he has seven people at the storefront including two part-timers, and two people for the festival.
The storefront will soon enter its “busy season”
In addition to the festival items, Baker Benji’s continues to operate its storefront at 700 Troy St. in Old North Dayton.
They typically make at least 50 dozen treats a day. Top sellers include donuts, baklava, cream horns and iced butter cookies.
They also have several wholesale accounts such as The Food Pit, Kung Fu BBQ, Press Coffee Bar and Iggy Ragu’s.
Stuckey said they are up 30% in sales compared to last summer. He guessed that they are almost up 40% this year compared to last.
“We definitely start adding more during the fall just because our foot traffic almost doubles,” Stuckey said. “We’re already busier than last year and it’s not even our busy season, so we don’t know exactly what the fall and winter are going to hold for us.”
When asked why he continues to do the Ohio Renaissance Festival, Stuckey said, “The community and support is what I love and why I do it.”
His long-term goal is to increase his square footage at the Ohio Renaissance Festival, but right now he’s waiting for the perfect opportunity.
“I wish to continue. I wish to grow,” Stuckey said. “I don’t want to just be a dessert window out there. I would love to have an actual freestanding building — something that’s even possibly like baking while selling."
Meet the baker
Stuckey is originally from Leesburg. His father was a chef in the miliary, which helped fuel his passion for food.
“I loved art and food growing up, and I really tried to figure out how to combine those two,” Stuckey said.
He recalled growing up in the “heyday” of Food Network where his love of buttercream was found thanks to Duff Goldman.
“My baking actually started with just cake decorating,” Stuckey said. “I pretty much only baked cake to decorate cake.”
After he graduated high school, his family moved to Springfield. Stuckey would return home on college breaks to make cakes for family and friends.
Stuckey is a graduate of Sullivan University in Louisville, Ky., where he received his associate’s degree in baking and pastry arts.
He furthered his education by working as a decorator at The Cakery in Dayton for almost five years.
In November 2018, he went full-time with Baker Benji’s as a cottage bakery. He moved to the former location of Evan’s Bakery in April 2023.
MORE DETAILS
For those planning to visit Baker Benji’s at the festival, the bakery does accept cash and card. Stuckey encourages festivalgoers to always bring cash just in case.
There is a chance they will sell out at the festival, customers should stop by the dessert window early in the day.
For more information or to see the latest Ohio Renaissance Festival menu, visit the bakery’s Facebook (@BakerBenjis) or Instagram (@bakerbenji) pages.
HOW TO GO
What: Ohio Renaissance Festival
When: 10:30 a.m.-7 p.m. weekends Aug. 30 through Oct. 26
Where: 10542 E. OH 73, Waynesville
More info:renfestival.com
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