A Pocatello resident with a penchant for baking will soon be featured on a Netflix cooking competition themed around iconic fair food.
Nathan Chandler, who owns and operates Confections Bakery located inside Flowers By L.D. in Pocatello, will be showcasing his baking talents starting this week on the new Netflix series “Blue Ribbon Baking Championship.”
This isn’t the first time that Chandler has competed under the spotlight, having earned a place on Food Network’s “Christmas Cookie Challenge” in 2019.
One of the prerequisites of the show required the competitors to have participated or won ribbons at local state fairs. Chandler had previously posted his own blue ribbon earned from the Eastern Idaho State Fair and got the attention of a casting production agency on Instagram.
After receiving sparse information at first, Chandler eventually agreed to a Zoom meeting call and became involved in the casting process. It took months, but eventually the cast was whittled down from thousands of entrants to 50 then 30, 20 and down to the final 10.
Once Chandler got confirmation he was in the final cast, he ensured everything was set with Confections Bakery while he was absent and was flown out to begin shooting.
“Blue Ribbon Baking Championship” will be hosted by actor Jason Biggs, best known for his role in American Pie and will be judged by Emmy-winning chef Sandra Lee. Bill Yosses, former pastry chef at the White House and award-winning artist and baker Bryan Ford will also be judging the contestants and their dishes.
With $100,000 on the line, the stakes could not be higher for everyone competing in the baking championship.
The show will challenge contestants to rethink iconic fair foods and utilize special ingredients. While the usual cakes, pies and pastries will obviously be included, the trailer hints at the inclusion of “anything else they can dream up.”
With the many twists and turns that food competitions entail, there could certainly be a wild variety of more outlandish and freaky fair food that American’s are accustomed to.
In keeping with the theme, the show was shot on location at a fair and includes all the usual fair style trappings.
“We literally filmed at a state fair setup,” Chandler said. “You’ll see in the back of the show there were Ferris wheels. There were people on rides, there were big cotton candy machines. All of that was real. None of that is CGI — we were actually at a fair. We baked inside of an old barn.”
The show follows the usual format, awarding first, second and third place finishes within each episode and the gradual elimination of contestants as they move forward and eventually crown a champion.
While Chandler is still under contract and must remain tight lipped about some of the specific details of his time on the show, the experience was assuredly memorable and intense.
“The nine other contestants that were there were incredible,” Chandler said. “It’s a very intimidating situation walking into. It was very clear that everybody that was there knew what they were doing. The one thing that I would say I enjoyed the most out of that situation is everyone was so nice, I don’t want to say it wasn’t a competition because there was $100,000 on the line. Everybody was there to compete, but everybody just was very helpful to one another. (We were) bouncing ideas off each other, which having been on TV before and watching other shows, I don’t really feel like that camaraderie is there very often. I feel like that (aspect) was supported by the show, the casting directors and production. It really was like a family while you were there.”
Chandler was attached with an active microphone and had multiple cameras assigned to him during each day of filming. Not only did he have to balance trying to perfect his culinary creations against some of the best bakers across the country, but he also had to manage the intensity that comes with filming a series where the cameras are constantly hovering around to capture the action.
“It doesn’t always go amazing but there were certainly parts of it that I am really proud of and really excited for people to see,” Chandler said. “I did have the opportunity, at least on this show, to showcase a lot of things that I do, versus when I was on the ‘Christmas Cookie Challenge,’ that was just a sugar cookie decorating show. Where I am a more of a pastry artist, as far as decorating and things like that, it was cool to be able to work with fondant and frosting and different types of medium pastries to be able to show off skill wise.”
Foodie fanatics and the friends and family of Chandler won’t have to wait long for “Blue Ribbon Baking Championship” when it debuts on Friday, Aug. 9, on Netflix.
Local News
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