A Pocatello bakery owner will soon receive his $100,000 award for winning a new Netflix food competition show called “Blue Ribbon Baking Championship.”
Confections Bakery owner Nathan Chandler competed against nine other contestants from across the nation showcasing his feats of culinary craftsmanship and baking bravado in the high-stakes limelight of reality television.
After being hand-selected during the audition process, Chandler was flown out to the Canadian town of Milton, where he visited the set of the show and met the other competitors. Every contestant participated in a culinary boot camp where they were instructed how to use the provided equipment and become acclimated to their cooking tool sets.
Chandler revealed that he and the other aspirants had no idea who the judges would be and were surprised when they walked upon the set that day.
“They just had us walk into the barn and Jason Biggs was standing there,” Chandler said about the famous actor from the “American Pie” film series. “That was kind of a big deal because he’s very famous and we all knew who he was. I have always been an avid TV watcher of Food Network and things like that, so I knew who Sandra Lee was when she walked in. That was also a little bit of a shock to see her there. I had heard of Bill Yosses through the pastry world and Bryan Ford is a huge deal on YouTube and things like that, he’s a very decorated baker.”
Even before audiences were aware that Chandler would go on to win “Blue Ribbon Baking Championship,” he was already making waves in clips that showed Sandra Lee dewy eyed about a delectable cheesecake Chandler had created.
“Everybody’s messaged me about the crying cheesecake,” Chandler said. “But the reality of that situation when I made that cheesecake I thought that it was under baked. I thought it was under baked and the crust was burnt, I thought the crust had gotten done before the middle had set, so when they went to cut it, I had already gotten kind of emotional, because I had kind of already told myself, in my mind, this is the day I’m going home.”
The cheesecake would actually earn Chandler his first blue ribbon on the show and certainly cemented him in the mind of Sandra Lee.
While there weren’t many times when Chandler felt exceptionally confident in his ability to win it all, he was proud of a few shining moments during his journey through the competition.
“There was one of the fast fair rounds, which is the round one of the day, where I made a bacon cannoli,” Chandler said. “I’m fairly proud of that, just because I thought it was a clever idea. They wanted you to incorporate bacon into a dessert. I wanted it to be the actual dessert. So, I wrapped it around a cannoli shell tube and I baked that until it held the shell and then I piped it with a cream and the judges were very complimentary.”
Chandlers’ food forte is centered around cakes and he utilized that expertise during the final round, likely cementing him as the winner.
“The very last round went extremely well and I feel very fortunate in everything I did,” Chandler said. “The macarons worked, and the cake — I am a cake maker as a job, so I knew the cake would come together. Every once in a while, things don’t cohesively work, but my fondant rolled out smooth and it just went perfect for me. Obviously, there were definitely flaws that day, having felt like this day went well, I think it almost gave me a little bit of a precursor that maybe it went too well.”
Chandler continued, “I think that’s where a little bit of the shock came, looking at the table, I knew that everything aesthetically was okay, but you never know with taste palettes if they were going to like it or not. That was a little intimidating. But looking up at the table, out of the three of us, I was very proud of what I had put up there that day.”
Chandler went up against two other decorated and talented finalists who both also had experience in previous reality shows but he set himself apart with his delicious desserts and championship level cake creating skills.
“I was shocked,” Chandler said. “I think people think that you pretend that you’re shocked, but I was pretty taken back when she handled (the ribbon) to me.”
Like any good chef, Chandler kept an open mind during the competition and was able to learn new skills that he could adapt to his baking back home. Despite his fear surrounding his pie making abilities, Chandler did well on the show and locals may be treated to a revamped Thanksgiving pie recipe later this year.
“I think just watching 10 people that are incredibly talented it’s easy to pick up things from them,” Chandler said. “I would have never thought to incorporate dark chocolate and blood orange. Things like that that are kind of different I would like to work into the bakery, almost in their honor a little bit, but also to have an opportunity to try new things.”
While winning $100,000 is nothing to scoff at, running a business in any capacity can be a huge monetary investment and Chandler is happy to use the money as a buffer for the time being and to keep Confections a small-town bakery.
Confections Bakery, located inside Flowers By L.D., 715 N. Main St. in Pocatello, is open Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon.
“As of right now, my sister and I are very comfortable with the size of the bakery we have and our customers,” Chandler said. “We have always wanted to keep it on the smaller side of things, just because once it gets to a really big chaotic level, it gets to be not as fun anymore.”
Chandler does plan on revamping the menu, moving away from standard fair desserts into exciting new inventions and recipes that are rare in the area.
“I always will be a cake guy, that’s always my thing,” Chandler said. “But I would like to introduce East Idaho to some of the fancier sides of pastries and (desserts like) kouign-amann, rather than a cupcake. I would like to restructure it moving forward and maybe get some training on fancier desserts. I just don’t think in our area we really have the opportunity to go to (different) places and try different desserts. I’d like the opportunity in the future to bring some newer stuff to town.”
While Chandler is excited to settle back into the business after returning from his wild journey, his fame and notoriety is already affecting his bakery in a positive way, selling out of its decadent desserts at a faster pace than expected.
“I went and opened the door this morning and there were several people that were waiting outside and that has never happened in the three-and-a-half years that we’ve been open,” Chandler said. “I am super grateful for everybody’s support. Since the trailer came out, I’ve received thousands of messages from people and I’m receiving messages from people across the country and all around the world that are telling me that they thought I did a great job on the show. It means a lot.
He added, “Idaho Falls included, but especially the city of Pocatello, has really supported us over the years and it’s meant a lot for sure.”
Most Popular
Comments / 0