A legend in the baking

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This article was published 30/11/2022 (1278 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

An East Kildonan high school student is hoping to become North America’s greatest baker.

McKenna Dahmer, 17, is currently in the top 10 of an online baking competition called The Greatest Baker. Dahmer’s mother, Brenda, learned of the competition on social media and felt her daughter would be a good fit. The competition is done entirely online. Those interested in taking part purchase votes for $1 each, and all of the money raised supports children living with cancer and their families. The winning baker will be featured in Bake from Scratch magazine and take home $10,000.

“I’ve pretty much been in the kitchen since I was five years old,” Dahmer said. “I’ve always had a love for the kitchen, and it came pretty naturally. Once middle school came around, I went to Kildonan East Collegiate. I’ve been in their pastry arts program for the past four years, and I’ve absolutely loved every second of it.”

Prior to joining The Greatest Baker, Dahmer placed third in a Skills Manitoba contest for her baking. Now that she’s in her final year of high school, she’s already started looking at colleges where she can continue to nurture her love for the kitchen. She plans to pursue pastry arts before moving onto culinary school so she has extra leverage in the industry.

“I love being creative and have always been drawn to trying new things,” Dahmer said. “Seeing people’s reactions to what I make brings joy to me. It was something out of the ordinary for me.”

If Dahmer makes it into the final three of the competition, she’ll travel to a different city, most likely somewhere in the United States, where she can compete for the top prize.

“It’s been really surprising,” Dahmer said of making it so far in the competition. “Just to be able to show all the stuff I’ve done and how much progress I’ve made in the last four years is amazing.”

While Dahmer’s signature bake is a three-strand Tangzhong twist bread, specifically in Neapolitan flavour, her creations for the competition have been selected by voters. Family, friends and other community members can decide which competitor they think did best based on photos they post of their bakes.

“Once I’m done this, I’m practicting in my kitchen at school because Skills Manitoba is coming up again,” Dahmer said. “I grew up watching every baking show and cooking show imaginable, so that’s the next thing after Skills.”

For more information about The Greatest Baker and McKenna Dahmer, visit www.greatestbaker.com/2022/mckenna