Harlem Local Vendor Jane Deegan wins Chopped Desserts

On Monday's episode of Chopped Sweets on Food Network entitled Tough Cookies, four pastry artists were challenged to create an imaginative twist on popular cookie varieties. The competitors discovered a jar of something alarming in the first challenge, were given a lunchtime twist in the second challenge and in the final round, an unusually large ingredient occupied a lot of basket real estate. At the end of it all, local Harlem entrepreneur Janie Deegan was crowned the Chopped Sweets winner.

Janie is the founder of Janie's (formerly Janie Bakes), which since 2015 has been satisfying the cravings of cake, cookie, and pie lovers of NYC, even without a brick-and-motor retail space. Janie has long been involved with Harlem Part to Park and the Columbia-Harlem SBDC (SBDC), she is a graduate of the Harlem Local Vendor Program and recently was a finalist in the SBDC's Pitch Workshops Series & Competition.

Janie's cookies can be purchased throughout the city. Columbia Dining proudly features Janie's products at The Forum Cafe and Blue Java in Uris Hall.