In 2024, I was selected as an alternate contestant for The Great American Baking Show (TGABS), the American version of The Great British Bake Off. The show is filmed in the same iconic tent in the UK, surrounded by beautiful green gardens, and was judged by Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith through the season airing in May 2026. |
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Being chosen as an alternate came after seven attempts to get on the show. I first auditioned in 2015, just as I was getting serious about baking. My first tasting audition was rough, but every year I improved. With each attempt, my skills grew, my audition bakes got stronger, and I moved one step further in the process. Auditioning for the show — and preparing as if you’ll compete — is an enormous commitment emotionally, physically, financially, and mentally. But despite everything, it was one of the most meaningful experiences of my life. |
I spent most of my career working in translation and tech, but around age 35 I realized baking was my true passion. I’ve always been obsessive about the things I love, and baking quickly became the center of my life. I set out to become what I call a “professional home baker” — someone without formal culinary training who bakes at a professional level from home. |
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Over the years, casting agents from different baking competitions reached out to me because of my social media presence, but TGABS was always the dream. What I loved about the show was its spirit: the warmth, the camaraderie, and the fact that contestants compete for a cake stand, not prize money. It feels like a competition for people who genuinely love baking and want to push themselves creatively. Each year I auditioned, I experienced the same emotional cycle: excitement, stress, hope, and eventually disappointment. Still, every time applications reopened, I was ready to try again. In 2020, I felt especially confident about my audition, but the pandemic changed everything. Early in the pandemic, I lost my father to COVID, an event that deeply affected my life. When the show returned, I auditioned again and made it to the final stages multiple times, including in 2023, when I came very close but still wasn’t selected. |
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Then came 2024, when I was finally chosen — as an alternate. The show selects two alternates who travel to London and prepare exactly like contestants in case someone drops out before filming begins. Getting that call was both thrilling and heartbreaking. At the same time, I was going through one of the hardest periods of my life. I was overwhelmed, emotionally exhausted, and dealing with major uncertainty, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity I had worked toward for nearly a decade. |
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So I prepared for the show: six episodes, each with a signature bake and a showstopper. Before experiencing it myself, I thought I understood how demanding the competition was. I didn’t. Preparing for the show completely consumes your life. You spend every day developing recipes, testing ideas, refining flavors, practicing timing, and trying to create something both technically strong and creatively memorable. Parts of the process were incredibly rewarding. The show pushed my creativity further than I thought possible, and some of the bakes I developed remain among the work I’m most proud of. But emotionally, I was struggling. The stress in my personal life drained much of the joy from the experience. |
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I knew that even as an alternate, I was being evaluated. My performance felt like an extended audition for future seasons. Normally I’m organized and strategic, but this time I struggled to stay focused and energized. It was devastating to realize that after waiting almost ten years for this opportunity, my mind and body simply weren’t cooperating with me. I traveled to London with all my recipes and equipment and spent a week preparing for the first episode. Once filming began and all contestants were able to participate, the alternates were released. By then, I already knew in my heart that I wasn’t at my best. Some of my bakes weren’t good enough, and I felt disappointed in myself for not performing the way I knew I could. |
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Still, despite the heartbreak, the experience was unforgettable. The other bakers — both contestants and my fellow alternate — were incredibly talented and genuinely lovely people. The production team was kind, supportive, and wonderful to work with. More than anything, I’ll always cherish the people I met during that experience. |
In the end, I got to prepare like a contestant, step inside the famous tent, watch Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith filming in real life, and challenge myself creatively in ways I never had before. Even though things didn’t turn out the way I hoped, those memories will always mean a lot to me. |
I decided not to apply again in 2025. I needed to focus on rebuilding parts of my life and prioritizing my health. A big part of me is still sad that this dream didn’t fully happen, especially after fighting so hard for it. But the experience also taught me that competitions like this require emotional and physical strength, and sometimes timing matters as much as talent.
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For anyone thinking about applying to the show, my advice is simple: be ready to give it everything, and make sure you’re in the right place in your life to do it. It’s an incredible experience, but it asks a lot from you. And despite everything, if the opportunity came again at the right time, I’d still say yes in a heartbeat. You can catch the latest season of The Great American Baking Show on Roku now. |
