Bakery Team
Pastry
Chef
Vi H. Tran
v_tran@sandlakecakes.com
Originally born in DaNang, South Central Coast of Vietnam, Vi, pronounced (Vee), migrated to the United States at the age of 19 with her family. A month after her arrival, she was hired as a baker at the Sheraton Hotel in Orlando, Florida. As she began working in this field, she quickly discovered her passion for desserts and dedicated herself to this newly discovered interest.
After this experience, she then took an opportunity to work for the Hyatt Grand Cypress Hotel & Resort in Orlando, Florida. This is where she perfected her skills that set her apart from the rest; the art of decorating with chocolate and sugar, creating intricate and unique desserts and her love for beautiful wedding cakes.
After the Hyatt Grand Cypress Hotel & Resort, she made her way to Westgate Resorts where she developed Sandlake Cakes. Her love for wedding cakes and unique desserts can easily be recognized with just one bite. She encourages her team to work with as much variety in ingredients, flavors, and texture combinations as possible. She desires to make every item unique and tasteful, and always strives to keep the guests interested in to what they are eating.
She has received many awards including winning Silver in 2004 & Bronze in 2007 at the ACF-CFC Super Challenge.
Vi looks forward to continuing her success and adventure with Sandlakes Cakes, a subsidiary of Westgate Resorts.
Vi resides in Ocoee, Florida with her two children, Emily, 13 years old and Neiman, 11 months.
Lead Baker
Sharon Newell
s_newell@sandlakecakes.com
Sharon grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which is where she discovered her love of the pastry arts. She went to college at Johnson & Wales University. While going to school, she worked as a part time pastry chef at a fine dining Italian restaurant, which laid the foundation for her career. She graduated in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Baking & Pastry Arts.
Sharon then moved to Orlando to begin her post-college career with the Orlando Marriott. After a short while, she then found a home at Westgate Resorts/Sandlake Cakes as a pastry chef while working her way to her current position as the lead baker.
She continues to grow within Westgate and loves to build and create cakes as works of art. She looks forward to working on a cake for your special day.