CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Self-described “cake weirdo” Andrew Fuller of Des Moines, who won the first season of “Is It Cake?” on Netflix, will serve as the grand marshal of the Oktemberfest parade on Saturday morning. Fuller has personal ties to the Marshalltown area through his in-laws.

Andrew Fuller took the culinary world by storm when he competed in and eventually won the first season of the Netflix baking show “Is It Cake?” Now the Des Moines chef, known for his colorful hair and beard and outsized personality, will be making his way to Marshalltown this weekend to serve as the grand marshal of the annual Oktemberfest parade on Main Street Saturday morning.

What some readers may not know is that Fuller actually has local ties: his husband Cole grew up north of Marshalltown and graduated from BCLUW High School, and his mother-in-law Kandy Fisher, father-in-law Mike Fisher, brother-in-law Blaine Fisher and sister-in-law Allison Fisher all still reside in the area.

“Over the past 15 years, I have found myself in Marshalltown and in its surrounding small towns and just think it’s a charming little city! I always look forward to popping in, and the people have been so welcoming,” Fuller said.

With his typical sense of humor, Fuller reflected on his youth and his journey to crafting one-of-a-kind sweets and cakes that can’t be found anywhere else — specifically, the creations that helped him win on the aforementioned reality show.

“I have always been a creative weirdo with anything I could get my hands on. In addition, as a strange little kid with his head in the clouds, I learned to bake with my great grandmother. I realized fairly early on that people love to praise and compliment art, but not everyone can prioritize purchasing your art. (But) if you make that art edible, you are in business,” he said. “So, the pandemic happened and I found myself recreating random items around the house (an overripe banana, a Clorox wipes container) as cakes, and little did I know that the gears of fate were turning. Netflix reached out to me about this silly idea nobody really thought would work, I said yes, and it changed my life!”

Today, he runs a bakery in Des Moines called Sugar Freakshow and even got the honor of creating cakes that look like hot dogs for the Netflix special “Unfinished Beef” featuring competitive eating champions Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi. While Fuller is always busy and is no stranger to the limelight, he feels extremely honored to be chosen as the grand marshal of the Oktemberfest parade.

I’d love to say be careful where you set down your hat because it might just be cake with me around, but due to the fact that I’m hardly in Iowa lately, I can’t really pull one over on people,” he said. “But I AM going to be doing a meet and greet after the parade, so any fans who want to come by and say hello or snap a photo, this is your chance! Is it an honor? I’m sure my face was beet red when I was asked to accept the honor. This is not a thing many people get to say they’ve done! My brother-in-law, Blaine Fisher, who is pretty well known in the area and was the grand marshal for Black Dirt Days, is going to have to give me some pointers! I also knew my husband’s family would really love it.”

To keep up on Fuller’s whereabouts, upcoming events and latest mind-blowing creations, follow his @sugarfreakshow on Instagram and other social media platforms.

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Contact Robert Maharry

at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.