Dr. Winnette McIntosh Ambrose is an engineer-turned-entrepreneur and two-time Food Network Champion. Winnette is the creative director and owner of The Sweet Lobby, Capitol Hill’s artisanal bakery, specializing in French-inspired pastries for wholesale and retail. Winnette emigrated from her native Trinidad and Tobago to attend MIT. After graduating with bachelor’s degrees in Chemical Engineering and French Language and Literature, Winnette went on to a career in the cardiovascular device industry and holds the patent for the first FDA-approved device for carotid stenting. Following her time in industry, Winnette earned her PhD in Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University and then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health. As a biomedical engineer, Winnette combined stem cells and biomaterials to rebuild the layers of the retina and cornea, with the ultimate goal of restoring vision in patients with damaged or diseased ocular tissue. Winnette opened The Sweet Lobby in June of 2011, during the last year of her postdoctoral fellowship. Within months of opening, Winnette’s baking talents gained international attention when she won Food Network’s Cupcake Wars. In the seven years since its inception, Winnette and her team have grown The Sweet Lobby from neighborhood treasure to national brand and in 2015 opened Souk, DC’s globally- inspired market, bakery and café. In addition to retail, Souk and The Sweet Lobby serve wholesale clientele throughout the USA, including some of the nation’s premier food retailers, luxury brands and coffee shops. Signature products include French macarons, croissants, kouign amann, canelés, madeleines and gourmet cupcakes. In January of 2018, Winnette won Food Network’s Chopped, becoming the first person in the history of the network to win both Cupcake Wars and Chopped.
Winnette is a sought-after public speaker and is passionate about the role of STEM education in creating successful entrepreneurs.