It’s not just desperate housewives whisking up a storm in the kitchen these days – the new season of Chelsea New Zealand‘s Hottest Home Baker sees contestants from all walks of life thrown into the mix. Esme Dawson, an Investigations Team Leader at IRD, uses her baking to motivate her staff. “My team works on their stomachs. Scones are awesome for bribery,” she says.
Civil engineer Ben Baxter is one of only two men left in the competition. He likes the construction aspect of baking, although he gets grief about his cooking skills from the boys at his work. Tattooed beauty Rose Nisbet, from Rangiora, is a tough competitor. “I’m a very strong woman and I’ve never relied on anyone else to get anything,” she says. Rose says she used to “begrudgingly” bake and only started enjoying it three years ago while taking care of her children, Violet Daize (3) and Pixie Blu (2). “I want to be a good role model for my kids. You can be a free spirit and go to great heights.”
Colin Mathura-Jeffree
We’re now into the third series of Hottest Home Baker, and the show is more popular than ever. Every one of the 20 contestants deserved to be on the show. While lots of people see the ads and think about entering the competition, these people put in the effort in to apply because they thought they were good enough.
Since the first series, I’ve realised bakers use baking as a way of showcasing who they really are. That’s why, while they are over the moon if the recipe goes well, they get so upset if something doesn’t go right. If my baking goes wrong, I’ll laugh and move on – it takes these guys about three days to get over it. Sometimes I feel like I’m the show’s counsellor!
Reality TV is like a running race with hurdles – and you have to get over each hurdle if you want to win the race. Contestants are faced with two choices – do I play it safe, or do I just go for it? In this first episode, the judges asked everyone to really go for it and it was easy to see early on which ones went for a safe option and regretted their actions. Bex made brownies, but when she went home she said she had much more to offer.
Contestants who don’t do well say that. The truth is, you’re on TV. You have to do well now or not at all. If it’s not good enough, you won’t get the chance to prove yourself later. I’m fascinated by the twins, Jazmine and Morgan. They are one person, divided into two – together they make a great baker, separated they are like half a recipe.
We’ve only had one episode and already we’re seeing drama and some seriously competitive people! I’m looking forward to some wonderful baking – and some complete disasters too.
**Contestant’s corner: chocolate mud cake
***Esme Dawson
*
One of Hottest Home Baker contestant Esme Dawson’s first memories was making a chocolate mud cake with her gran, who she credits for igniting her passion for baking.
The 36-year-old Wainuiomata resident says her gran passed on her excellent baking skills to her and wherever she goes she can’t help but be drawn to the kitchen.
1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar
1 cup milk
1 cup boiling water
250gm dark chocolate
1 tsp coffee
½ cup oil
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups flour
½ cup cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
Mix lemon juice/vinegar with milk and put aside.
Pour boiling water over the chocolate and coffee. Leave for 5 minutes to melt. Stir until smooth.
In a large bowl, combine oil, sugar, vanilla and whisk well. Beat in eggs, soured milk and the cooled chocolate mixture.
Add wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth.
- Bake in two 20cm tins for 20 to 25 minutes at 180ºC.
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