Homemade Doughnuts

Kamal Grant is the owner of Atlanta's Sublime Doughnuts. Open since 2008, Sublime Doughnuts has been recognized by the industry publication, Bake Magazine, as "America's Best Bakery" and has been featured as an Atlanta gem in the New York Times. It is honored for having the best doughnuts by foodies the world over, including Food & Wine editor Dana Cowin, who effusively declared, "There is no better breakfast in the world than sweets-savant Kamal Grant's Fresh Strawberry N Cream doughnut. Unless, of course, you want one of his 27 other flavors."Grant credits his love of doughnuts, which he refers to as "the sweet thug of the pasty world," to a visit from a Dunkin' Doughnuts executive to his high school food service class. When the executive shared that his favorite aspect of his job was visiting the test kitchen to try out new flavors, Grant's interest was piqued. After high school, Grant enlisted with the Navy, where he began to pursue his dream of becoming a world-class baker. Grant served as a Baker -- E4 -- 3rd Class Petty Officer on the USS John Young, where he quickly gained the praise of his shipmates for his delicious cinnamon rolls. After his enlistment, Grant attended the Culinary Institute of America, where he focused on high-end desserts, plate presentations, classical techniques, and the flavors and textures of award-winning chefs. After the Culinary Institute of America, Grant continued to hone his skills at the American Institute of Baking. In 2008, Grant was working as a production manager for Flower Foods when he drove past a recently closed doughnut shop in Atlanta's West Side. Despite the challenging economy, Grant cashed out his 401k to sign the lease and open the store. As the store's lone employee, he worked from 2:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. six days a week to make the business that he'd spent most of his life working toward a success. Sublime Doughnuts initially served traditional doughnut flavors, but when Grant debuted a special Oreo doughnut and strawberries and cream doughnut, word quickly spread and the demand for his uniquely flavored, artisan doughnuts grew throughout the city. The shop even developed a cult following with Atlanta-based Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, whose nightly "bumps" (clever messages in between commercials) gave Sublime Doughnuts a national audience. In 2012, Grant opened a second location in Bangkok, Thailand.