Pressure of The Great Kiwi Bake Off can be overwhelming for some contestants. But former White Fern Katrina Keenan admits time on the cricket pitch prepared her well for the highs and lows of the competition.
“There was nothing in my experience on the show that rattled me,” the 51-year-old says. “I did have some challenges in my bakes, but you just have to move on. I was more focused on enjoying the opportunity.”
Katrina first put on the White Ferns uniform when she was 24, after years of trying and heartbreakingly missing out on a spot. It was the fulfilment of a dream she’d had since she was a young girl playing cricket in the backyard with dad Norm, 74.
And though there were many highs in her five years with the team, Katrina tells it was hard work. Not just for the players, but because there was no money in women’s cricket in the ’90s, everyone around them was constantly working to find funds to get them to their next tournament.
“We were just there to make our families proud and for our supporters – we couldn’t make an income from cricket,” Katrina explains.
“I think back to all the fundraising, the sponsorships, and the sacrifices that my parents made whenever we would go to an international tournament. Huge progress has been made. There are opportunities now not only for a career as a player but in all areas of the game. It’s very exciting to see.”
The highlight of her career was helping win the 2000 Women’s Cricket World Cup here in New Zealand. Beating odds-on favourites Australia was a defining moment for Katrina and her teammates, plus many White Ferns today say watching that match is the moment they realised they too could represent their country in the sport they loved.
The victorious White Fern gets a lift from her fans.
“It was amazing,” recalls Katrina. “To go out and play the final in New Zealand, in front of a massive crowd – we’d never experienced a crowd like it – was just incredible. We still have a group chat with all of the players where we follow the White Ferns now and catch up. That’s the special thing about sport – the lifelong friendships you make.”
Though she left the team in 2000 to start a family with husband Grant – they share daughters Emily, 18, and Macy, 16 – Katrina could never quite leave the game behind and is still heavily involved as a coach and in talent development, where she helps nurture the next generation of White Ferns.
Katrina with husband Grant and daughters Emily (left) and Macy.
It was after her beloved grandmother passed away that Katrina inherited her well-worn collection of cookbooks, and she tells preparing for Bake Off was the first time she’d really combed through them.
The type of person who likes to give things a go, signing up for Bake Off was an easy decision.
“Baking has always been a hobby, but there’s always been an idea in the back of my mind, ‘Could I do something further with it?'” tells the Christchurch native. “I thought the show could give me the confidence to take that next step, whether it was as simple as coming up with my own recipes or manufacturing something.”
While it was her dad who nurtured her love of cricket, it was time in the kitchen with her mum Jane, 74, and grandmother where Katrina’s passion for baking grew.
“My grandmother was a huge role model for me and a massive influence,” she says. “Many weekends were spent at her place. Everything she made was done with so much love. That was a really nice part about the Bake Off journey – getting out all of her old books and seeing her handwritten recipes.
“For the show, you have to come up with something unique and special, but the foundation of all my bakes were her recipes.”
While she loved almost everything about her time on the show – especially bonding with her fellow home cooks – Katrina admits she’d happily skip the judging part.
Having her sweet creations judged is the hardest part of the show.
“It makes you feel very vulnerable. That was the hardest part of the show – putting your heart and soul into something, but it might not be good enough.”
Watch Katrina in The Great Kiwi Bake Off Thursday, August 25 at 7.30pm on TVNZ 1.
