East Lansing resident named ‘Waffle Boss’ in national hotel competition

There aren’t many people able to claim the title of “Waffle Boss.”

There were four.

That was before East Lansing resident Kaylee Voight was named the newest Waffle Boss and first Guest Waffle Boss by global hotel chain Hampton by Hilton.

Voight entered the hotel chain’s first-ever public waffle contest last year with a peach cobbler waffle recipe that ended up winning.

It was perfect timing, she said. She was baking up a storm after having gone peach picking with friends when she saw an advertisement for the competition.

“I was taste testing a bunch of different vintage peach cobbler recipes,” she said. 

She doesn’t have formal training in culinary arts, but she grew up baking with her mom and carries that tradition forward. Hooked on the idea of a peach cobbler waffle, she combined a handful of baking tricks to bring her vision to life.

The end product — a buttermilk waffle topped with peaches, oat streusel and whipped cream — is being served in almost 2,500 participating hotels across the United States and Canada.

Peach cobbler is typically topped with a biscuit-like mixture, according to Voight. Streusel, a crumb topping, is more common for muffins.

“But you can put it on waffles, and it works beautifully for a peach cobbler waffle,” she said.

Voight, who lives with her fiancé, didn’t need to recruit any taste testers. 

“I knew for a fact that anything I make was going to be devoured by him,” she said.

The final recipe was stamped with his seal of approval. 

“He was like, ‘Yeah, this is going to be the August staple,’” Voight said.

About two months later, Voight was finishing up at her run club when she noticed a missed call from an unknown caller and a vague message.

“It was very mysterious,” she said.

Sweaty and breathless, she called back. It was a Hilton representative, granting her the title of Waffle Boss for her recipe.

“I was at a loss,” she said. “It was like that feeling when your blood runs cold just out of surprise.”

She said the realization that she had won took a while to set in. One of the prizes was a five-night stay at any of the hotel chain’s worldwide destinations. She was sitting in a hotel room in Venice, Italy, with her fiancé when the weight of it all hit her. 

“This is all because of waffles,” she said.

Thanks to her newfound title, Voight said she was designated as the primary waffle maker for her family’s brunches. 

She plans to use the second part of the prize, a million Hilton travel points, to support her passion for experiencing new places. 

“We’re going to Greece in about a month for my birthday,” she said. 

Given the chance to submit another recipe, Voight would stick with the flavors of Michigan. 

“Maybe pumpkin snickerdoodle,” she said. “Caramel apple could be good, too.”