Most people assume Cortrell Winkfield came from a background in baking. He didn’t.

In fact, the founder of Velvera says he had no baking experience at all. The idea for his now-viral digital cake stand didn’t come from a test kitchen or culinary school. It came from a dream.

One night in 2023, exhausted from a difficult season of life, Cortell fell asleep and found himself in his grandmother’s living room. In the dream, he saw a cake stand sitting on her dining table—but this one had digital controls built into it. He remembers watching as she placed one of her signature pineapple upside-down cakes onto the stand. When he woke up, he couldn’t shake the image.

He thought of Habakkuk 2:2-3—“Write the vision and make it plain.” So he did. He wrote the idea down. And then he decided to build it.

Designing a Cake Stand That Doesn’t Look Like an Appliance

What Cortell created through Velvera isn’t just a warmer. It’s a digital cake stand designed to keep food warm while still looking beautiful on the table.

The challenge, he says, wasn’t just engineering heating technology. It was making sure it didn’t look like equipment. He didn’t want a clunky countertop appliance interrupting the flow of a dinner party. He wanted something that blended into the atmosphere—a centerpiece that quietly does its job.

The result is a wooden pedestal base with built-in digital temperature controls and a clear dome that keeps cakes, cookies, muffins, and pastries warm without drying them out. It feels intentional. Sculptural, even. The kind of piece that sits confidently on a brunch spread or holiday buffet.

Turning Serving Into an Experience

Velvera really shines in the moments hosts know all too well: when the food is ready, but the conversation is still flowing. Instead of running back to the kitchen to reheat dishes, the cake stand keeps desserts at the perfect temperature so hosts can stay present. It turns serving into part of the experience rather than a disruption.

“It’s about warmth, presentation, and bringing people together,” Cortell explains. And that philosophy extends beyond home kitchens. He envisions Velvera in restaurants, hotels, catered events, and anywhere food is meant to be enjoyed over time—not rushed.

It’s a subtle shift, but an important one. Hosting isn’t just about what’s served. It’s about how people feel around the table.

Learning Everything From Scratch

Cortell didn’t just dream up the idea and hand it off to a team. He started with sketches and had to teach himself everything from materials to heating components to patents and manufacturing.

Blending function with elegance became the core mission. He wanted people to look at it and say, “I need this,” not “What is that?”

That reaction came quickly. The digital cake stand began gaining traction online, with viewers drawn to the way it reimagines something so familiar.

More Than a Product

At its core, Velvera represents something bigger than a warmer. It reflects a belief that even the smallest details on the table matter.

A cake stand may seem simple, but in many homes—especially in Black homes—it’s symbolic. It’s where grandma’s pound cake sits. Where cookies cool after church. Where desserts mark birthdays, holidays, and milestones.

Velvera doesn’t replace that tradition. It elevates it.

And maybe that’s why the origin story feels fitting. A dream. A grandmother’s table. A vision written down and made real.

For Cortell, the goal is simple: for Velvera to become a staple wherever people gather around food and connection. A piece that keeps things warm—literally and figuratively—while letting the host stay right where they belong.

At the table.