Bob Brougham is no stranger to the sweet smell of success.

His intricately designed cakes have won him a slew of first place and best in show finishes at the Sandwich Fair and he has received numerous awards since 1988.

Now Brougham, who owns The Cakery, Inc., a bakery in North Aurora, is set to appear on The Learning Channel's new show "The Ultimate Cake Off" at 9 p.m. Monday.

On the TLC show Brougham will compete against two other master cake makers for the chance to win $10,000 and have their cake on display at a major event.

For the show, Brougham was allowed to choose three assistants to help him design and execute his cake creation. He chose his son Jared, 19; Michelle Boyd, of Good Gracious Cakes in Batavia; and Diane Aherns of Piece-A-Cake Bakery in East Dundee. Brougham was required to bring his own supplies to California for the show's filming the last week of June. Those supplies filled seven extra suitcases and included a blow torch that was confiscated by the airline and needed to be replaced at the last minute.

Team Brougham had nine hours to create a cake tailored to fit the specifications of a mystery client. The cake had to be a least five feet tall, have some moving component and require the use of at least two power tools for its construction. Two secret challenges were also thrown into the mix: Participants had to submit slices of their cake for a tasting and were told at the last minute to add a component to their cake, all while the clock was still running.

To get on the show Brougham had to submit a 15-minute video of himself in his shop. In the video Brougham filmed himself creating and then smashing a three- dimensional cupcake. After Brougham was selected, he and his team of "extreme cake decorators" met everyday to practice different elements of cake design.

Brougham says his interest in cooking began at a young age as a result of growing up in a poor family with five younger brothers and sisters to feed. Eventually Brougham got a degree in culinary arts at Joliet Junior College and began working at a restaurant. Not liking the long, late-night hours, Brougham decided to switch his focus to baking.

"Now my hours are worse than what a chef has," Brougham says. "I work so many hours but I love it. Last night I worked (at the shop) until 3 a.m. and I'm back here at 8:30 a.m."

Despite the time-consuming nature of his work, Brougham estimates it takes anywhere from three to four hours just to decorate a cake. And he's proud that he is able to provide for his family and send his kids to college "all on cake."

Brougham isn't allowed to divulge specific details about the cake he made for "The Ultimate Cake Off," only saying that the end product weighed about 409 pounds. Creating a colossal cake was hard, but for Brougham, keeping mum on the show details is the most difficult.

"Not talking about the show is the hardest thing. I love to gossip, I love to chitchat. It's hard to not talk about this thing I've done especially because my customers are like family to me," he said.

The Cakery, on the corner of Oak Street and Randall Road, has been open18 years, filling orders for everything from a Halloween-themed corpse cake to a Krispy Kreme wedding cake.