Introducing The Wall Of Bakers: Meet The Home Cooks

Taking the Wall of Chefs to even greater heights, the new spin-off Wall of Bakers challenges contestants to take on a different panel of tough judges drawn from the culinary world. Host Noah Cappe and some of Canada’s best-known professional chefs watch as home bakers strive to create some of their best confections and bring home the dough: a cash prize of $10,000.

1/10

Cookies for the Win

From a molten lava cake in the first round to a holiday spectacular in the finals, competitors crank out cookies galore for the judges.

Chef Lynn Crawford’s sweet gift includes Meyer lemons and honey, which all four cooks use in their own special way. Restaurant front of house worker Curtis Leung brings his Chinese heritage (but not his guzheng-playing prowess) to the competition, while bread-loving event producer Trevor Howes retools his travels for the table. Alexia Hawkins has lots of practice (she’s baked every day for her family in the past two years), and opera singer Melina Schein hopes to go out on a high note.

2/10

Bake It ‘til You Make It

The bakers take on chef Andrew Han’s pantry, which includes bananas and black sesame paste, and chef Anna Olson’s reinvention of a classic causes one competitor to promptly forget a key ingredient. Pandemic support assistant Justice Chea brings her love of making others happy to her baking, while cybersecurity analyst Alex Watson draws from his hometown of Kingston, Jamaica, to make rustic desserts. City planner Adam Budowski applies a methodical approach to elaborate bakes, and serial entrepreneur Andrea Mueller has worked with jewellery, art and creating baking tutorials.

3/10

Layer it On Me

From savoury goodness in the crowd-pleaser round to the sweetness of chef Patrice Demers’ maple sugar, the contestants have their work cut out for them. Iqaluit, Nunavut-based supervisor of medical travels Nicole Giles finds it important to have access to Nunavut-influenced foods and sweets, while drama studio director and owner Alana Perri takes a homestyle Italian approach to cakes and cookies. Bartender Kailash Nehru is a fan of zero-waste cooking and sugar alternatives, while butcher Elyse Chatterton uses her connection to the U.K. and her life on a dairy farm to create her pastries.

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Carnival Thrills

Thrills and chills abound when cupcake experimentation and fried foods evoke a festive feeling in the contestants. Chef Lenore Johnson brings black currant jam to the party, and chef Ricardo Larrivée inspires a trip under the big top. Sales leader James Drake’s competitive nature and quirky personality bring a different energy to the competition, while accounts payable administrator Ludovic Piejos blends cultural influences from Paris, Martinique and Canada to his baking. Air traffic controller Tara Smith Kratzmann has been known to fly to her native Newfoundland during berry season to source fruit, and undergrad student Danica Khithani faces a competitive arena at home when her culinary abilities are judged by her brothers, including her twin.

5/10

Sweet Sandwiches

From chef Steve Hodge’s peanut butter conundrum to a bakery-worthy sandwich dessert in the final round, the cooks think outside the bread in this episode. College professor Robyn Verley fuses her Jamaican culture, as well as French, German, and Italian influences, in her cooking, while retiree Jan Bjarnason brings 50 years of baking experience to the competition. Krista Forshner uses her imagination and storytelling abilities to craft narratives in edible form, incorporating fan fiction and epic fantasies, while restaurant general manager Tyson Brocklesby brings flavours from the world to his elevated dishes.

6/10

Leverage the Beverage

This episode takes the viewer from beehive cakes to beverages, with a few tangy twists thanks to chef Jo Notkin’s pantry items of dark chocolate and tahini. The contestants bring a similarly diverse set of experiences: Rebecca Trainor raises money for grassroot minority-focused charities with a colourful personality, Michael Lutzmann is the managing director at a wine club (and previous non-baker), Justin Gabinet wears his food teaching and baking passions on his sleeve (he has food related tattoos) and Jessica Germaine brings her organizational skills from human resources to the competition.

7/10

Savour the Flavour

It’s back to the traditional for the bakers as chef Christine Cushing brings apple butter to the party, while bakers face off with classic flavour combinations. Teacher David Mac prefers elegant simplicity in his desserts, while CEO and Founder of Stretch Creative and Navy veteran Chris Reid brings military precision to his baking. Sara Najiullah’s marketing work and Pakistani background inspire her creations, and elementary program coordinator Genevieve Lalande brings French flair to her confectionaries.

8/10

Any Way You Spice It

Chef Raveena Oberoi’s pantry lets the bakers play with a taste of childhood, as cereal and milk make an appearance in the pantry. Retired math teacher Bob Mero loves making croissants and delicate desserts, and social media manager Tina Huang is driven to succeed (she started her own marketing firm at the age of 18). Dentist Stephen Allred has a sweet tooth inspired by his Australian mother and his Chinese grandfather, while mathematics education student Mackenzie Tomlin shares her baking skills off to her 25K followers on TikTok.

9/10

Memory Lane

Fish sauce in brownies and ginger in the pantry create unusual flavour pairings, but the bakers turn to childhood memories for the final challenge. IT manager J.J. Kwon credits his patience to making homemade hand-cut noodles with his Korean mother, while Bana Stegu brings her Eritrean background to her baked goods. Senior manager of events Sheila Legault never uses a recipe, while student/server Hudson Campbell brings third-degree Taekwondo black belt discipline to the kitchen.

10/10

Mash It Up!

Collisions of flavours take over The Wall when chef Tara O’Brady’s S’mores pie inspires some delicious culinary mashups. Insights manager Aliyah Habibulla uses South Asian flavours in her diverse dishes, national accounts sales manager Terry Young loves bringing people together with food, nursing student Joseph Chang fuses Taiwanese Canadian flavours together and intervenor for deafblind persons Tarisa Deboer takes their Dutch heritage even further.

Introducing the Wall of Bakers: Meet the Home Bakers