This takes the cake

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This article was published 11/02/2022 (1677 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

They’ve released a bestselling cookbook, launched a homegoods and apparel line, opened three storefronts and cornered the Winnipeg macaron market. Television seems like an obvious next step for the enterprising owners of Jenna Rae Cakes.

Twin sisters Jenna Hutchinson and Ashley Kosowan will make their small-screen debut next month as judges on Wall of Bakers, a sweet new Food Network Canada cooking competition. This isn’t the first time the bakery owners have been asked to appear on a cooking show, but it is the first time they’ve been offered judging positions.

“We’ve been invited to be contestants in the past, but it never really felt like the right fit,” Kosowan says via a Zoom video call. “We’re going into our eighth year of business, we’ve learned a ton and we are in more mentorship roles within our company now and no longer in the kitchens every day… so I think a judging role is just much more of a natural fit for where we are now.”

Wall of Bakers shares its premise with the Food Network’s Wall of Chefs show. Amateur bakers from across Canada face off in three rounds of competition while being scrutinized by a “wall” of a dozen of the country’s top pastry chefs. Kosowan and Hutchinson appear together in three episodes of the first season, which airs March 28 at 10 p.m.

As judges with no formal culinary training, the sisters had a lot of empathy for the competitors and focused on giving positive feedback.

“We are both self-taught,” Kosowan says. “So we can relate a lot to home bakers and the struggles that you go through when you’re learning and growing.”

Working alongside culinary celebrities such as chefs Anna Olson, Ricardo Larrivée and Christine Cushing was equal parts intimidating and inspiring.

“There was one point where I was judging and I was sitting next to Lynn Crawford and I was like, ‘What am I doing here?’ She’s Food Network royalty… it just felt so surreal,” Hutchinson says of the Pitchin’ In and Iron Chef Canada star. “I learned so much just by hearing their critiques.”

While it was an easy decision to leave Jenna Rae Cakes in the hands of their capable staff for a few days of filming, Hutchinson had another, very new, responsibility to consider.

“I was very on the fence debating whether I should go or not because my daughter was only three weeks old at the time,” she says. Her mother-in-law came along to handle childcare during filming while Hutchinson took over in the evenings and pumped breast milk between takes. “It was exhausting, but definitely, definitely worth it and I’m so glad that I did it.”

Jenna Rae Cakes has gained a dedicated following locally and the sisters are excited for the opportunity to represent the brand on a national platform. Their fans are excited too; a social media post about the show garnered more than 10,000 likes and hundreds of comments from followers.

“We posted about it on Instagram a couple of days ago and it was so overwhelming,” Kosowan says. “You just truly feel like you have a community rallying around you and supporting you.”

Her favourite part of the experience was connecting with the other judges and seeing how a cooking competition comes together behind the scenes. Kosowan was expecting movie magic, but says what you see on television is pretty similar to what happens on set.

“It’s incredible — there’s, like, no lag time and they’re really (baking) on the fly,” she says. “It’s so nerve-racking to watch them and it’s exciting because you’re watching a Food Network show play out right in front of you.”

Though they’re nervous to watch, the twins are hoping to have a viewing party with staff when the show comes out. In the meantime, they’ll continue pinching themselves.

“If you would have told me 10 years ago while I was making cakes in my apartment, that we’d be on a Food Network show, I’d think you’re nuts,” Hutchinson says. “It was definitely an amazing experience and we’re still in awe that we got the opportunity.”

eva.wasney@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @evawasney