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38 maconmagazine.com | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2024 I f you watch the Food Network or enjoy baking shows, you may recognize the name Cory Jones. The Unadilla, Georgia, resident behind Sweet Evelyn's bakery first was a contestant on "Christmas Cookie Challenge" in 2022, but was eliminated pretty quickly. But he came back hot on "Holiday Wars" in 2023; his team won the competition. Of his first experience, Jones said, "It went terrible!" He and another contestant were in the lobby discussing their creations for the upcoming episode and, "We both put bacon in our cookie. But she fried hers, and I used pre-cooked bacon. She won that episode!" Jones said. However, he insisted he never would have won the second competition without the experience from the first. He learned new decorating techniques and expanded his network of contacts considerably, he confided. So, by the time he moved on to "Holiday Wars," Jones was ready for a win. "Holiday Wars" is a team baking championship-style show where teams are composed of a cookier, a cake artist, and a sugar artist. A sugar artist specializes in pouring liquid sugar, pulling sugar, or casting in molds. About his teammates, Jones said, "We were randomly assigned. We did get to meet via Zoom before we went to Utah—we filmed in Park City—and get to know each other to do some planning, but never had I laid my eyes on these people physically until we arrived in Utah." He continued, "One thing that the judges continue to comment on is how well our team worked together. I just don't know what it was—we all integrated our expertise seamlessly every single week. How they put us together and made that happen, I will never know, but I would not have wanted any other team; I mean, it was perfect!" The team won $25,000 and notoriety, and Jones hopes the win will lead to more Food Network appearances. "I always tell everybody that one day you're going to see me judge that show and not actually compete on it, and I do feel like that is a realistic goal that I can eventually get to." He's also seen more traffic in his storefront, Sweet C o r y J o n e s o f S w e e t E v e l y n' s i n P e r r y BY KRISTEN SOLES MCCRACKIN L O C A L B U Z Z C e n t r a l G e o r g i a 's c o o k i e a m b a s s a d o r Evelyn's, located at 910 Carroll Street in Perry, where he's sold thousands of hand-decorated drop cookies since he opened back in the summer. In fact, it's not unusual for Sweet Evelyn's to sell out of cookies on any given day. At this high-end bakery, where a single cookie typically costs $3.50, you can find a variety of clientele picking up seasonal specialties or customized orders. Sweet Evelyn's has quite the family connection for Jones. The bakery is named for his grandmother, Evelyn. He explained, "Evelyn was my nana who passed away several, several years ago. And I always knew that if I opened a baking business that it would be named after her. She had a real sweet tooth." Jones' mom also is involved in the business. Since ABOVE Cory was first featured on the Food Network's Christmas Cookie Challenge in 2022. Photo courtesy of Cory Jones.