It appears parties are being cooked up across the country in preparation for the premiere of a competitive reality show that includes a Prince Edward Island woman.
Wendy McIsaac, originally from New Waterford, N.S., will be one of the 10 contestants on “The Great Canadian Baking Show” which premieres Sept. 19 at 8 p.m. on CBC., vying to be crowned, ‘Canada’s best baker.’
“My friends and family are excited, there’s actually three viewing parties for me in three provinces,” said Wendy, a senior analyst with the provincial government in Charlottetown.
“I’m not sure how I’m going to do this because I have friends here (in P.E.I.) who want to have a viewing party at a club and I have a whole wack of friends and family in Cape Breton who are planning a viewing party and want me to be there.”
Of course knowing her skills, party-goers in each province are also suggesting that she doesn’t come empty-handed.
“They are saying, ‘And you’re going to bring something, right?’ ”
An ongoing joke is the fact that Wendy makes all the cakes for everyone’s birthdays, even her own.
“So I’m answering, ‘Maybe this is the one time someone can make me a cake?’ ” she added laughing.
As well, Wendy lived in Sioux Lookout, Ont., for almost a decade and taught there.
“They are actually having a viewing party at a hotel there, and I’ve already committed to them that I will skype in.”
“It was amazing for so many reasons and one of the biggest was the friendships that I made with other bakers. You share such an intense experience together. A few, in particular, we will be friends for the rest of our lives. I also think the show has made me a better baker.”
Wendy McIsaac
Wendy — the youngest of seven children — credits her mother for her lifelong love of baking.
“I remember as a little kid my mother making bread every day, and she was never too busy to let me help.”
Often Wendy would be looking through the cook books and would say, “Oh I want to make this.”
“My mother would never discourage me,” she said.
“Looking back now with all those mouths to feed I know she didn’t have food to waste, but it never stopped her from letting me experiment.”
When the call came in February for applications for “The Great Canadian Baking Show” on CBC, many of Wendy’s friends encouraged her to apply so she did.
In March she received a call for an audition in Halifax, which included having to bring something she had baked. Wendy brought pork pies, in part, in remembrance of her mother.
“I always joke that I’ve made them so much I could be in a coma and still make them.”
There was also an on-the-spot baking challenge.
“You were given a recipe and had to make it and do something creative and make it your own. It was a fantastic day, I felt like a winner just being invited to go and audition.”
Several weeks later Wendy was at a work-related community meeting in P.E.I. – the hall was packed – when she noticed a call coming in from Toronto.
With just three minutes before the meeting was to start, Wendy excused herself and found a quiet corner.
“After thousands of applications and hundreds of auditions I was invited to come and be a contestant. I still remember having to muffle my own scream. There was a hall full of people and I couldn’t tell anyone.”
It was a long two hour meeting while this news bubbled inside her.
“It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I had to go for. It’s how I live my life, if an opportunity presents itself I’ve never been afraid to walk through a door.”
When asked how she prepared, Wendy said although she tried to mentally prepare there was nothing else she could do as, ‘A passionate baker bakes.”
“I always joke that, ‘I bake birthdays, Christmas, holidays or just because it’s Wednesday.’ That’s what bakers do, they bake. I bake at least one thing a week.”
The show was taped in May and June and premieres Sept. 19. Ten bakers from across the country are competing with one eliminated each week. The eight episodes are followed by the finale Nov. 7.
Wendy can’t reveal how she did but does describe the experience as “truly amazing”.
“It was amazing for so many reasons and one of the biggest was the friendships that I made with other bakers. You share such an intense experience together,” she said.
“A few, in particular, we will be friends for the rest of our lives. I also think the show has made me a better baker.”
Fast facts
- Wendy McIsaac, 54, was born and raised in New Waterford, N.S., and is the youngest of seven children.
- She taught in Northern Ontario and moved to Cornwall, P.E.I., in 2001 and works as a senior analyst in Charlottetown.
- Competing on Season 2 of “The Great Canadian Baking Show”, premiering Sept. 19 at 8 p.m. on CBC.
- There are eight episodes. Ten bakers from across the country are featured with one eliminated each week by judges —acclaimed pastry chefs Rochelle Adonis and Bruno Feldeisen — until it’s down to three for the finale on Nov. 7.
