Spring Baking Championship: Meet the Bakers Competing on Season 5

Occupation: Husband/Father, pastry chef and instructor

This Midwestern dad can do more than fire up the barbecue, and he’s here to prove it. Not only does he boast more than 20 years of culinary experience, but he’s also no rookie when it comes to Food Network competition. He has, after all, served as one of Michael Symon’s sous-chefs on Iron Chef America. Add in three James Beard nominations, and Cory is definitely someone to watch. Especially if he whips up his favourite spring dish, biscuits in strawberry broth topped with mascarpone mousse and strawberry ice. Yum.

Occupation: Home baker and single mom

This momma has big dreams of opening her own storefront shop, and she plans on using her potential Spring Baking Championship winnings to do it. Jessica Colvin taught herself the tricks of the trade at night after her kids had gone to bed, and now she’s ready to prove that self-taught bakers know their way around the kitchen too. We know we wouldn’t say no to her favourite spring dish, a pavlova with peach custard and blackberries.

Occupation: Pastry cook/Jack Rose and owner/Bombshell Sweets

Cookies, cakes, malted milk hot fudge… Jordan Kanouse has an eye for pretty pastries and delectable desserts, and she’s ready to bring her competitive edge to the series. The pastry cook seems to have a knack for incorporating bold flavours into her cooking (Bourbon Sweet Potato Pie Eclair with White Chocolate Namelaka and Pecan Pie Streusel, anyone?) and we can’t wait to see which spring elements she’ll bake up on the show.

Occupation: Pastry chef/Bachour Miami

Born and raised in Mexico City, Karina Rivera is pumped to bring spring’s fresh flavours and beautiful colours into the competition (like her favourite, key lime tart with coconut ganache and strawberry foam, perhaps?) The pastry chef’s long-game is to open her own business, but for now she’s content to inspire through her creations and to continue concocting delicious desserts at the newly launched Bachour’s Restaurant and Bakery.

Occupation: Pastry chef/Rooftop Terrace Restaurant at the Kennedy Center

Born in Cleveland, OH, Kendra Stephens attended acclaimed culinary school l’Ecole Ritz Escoffier in Paris while travelling France to broaden her food education. She’s since worked for Wolfgang Puck Catering and Restaurant Associates at the Kennedy Centre, infusing her sweet concoctions with surprising savoury elements. Should she win the competition, her goal is to open a place to teach kids about baking. Now how sweet is that?

Occupation: Owner/Honeymoon Bakery

Sweet treats and fine eats may as well be Kevin Dillmon’s motto in the kitchen. The competitor is just as likely to whip up a pretty cake as he is a pâte à choux and chocolate. As a small-town baker Kevin thinks people may underestimate him in this competition, but if his favourite spring dish—an angel food cake with fresh strawberries and Chantilly cream—is any indication, it’s the elevated basics that might just win him this thing.

Occupation: Owner/Aux Petits Delices

“Enjoy the sweet life” is the motto of Marqessa Gesualdi’s French pastry shop, and it’s a saying she plans to incorporate into the competition. In terms of spring baking, that means transforming basics like a classic strawberry shortcake and then topping it with lemon poppy seed biscuits with strawberry sauce, elderflower syrup and whipped cream. Like we could ever say no to that.

Occupation: Pastry chef

When Ricardo Meniucci was just seven years old he discovered his passion for food while making pizza at his parents’ restaurant. Since then the self-described “Italian hippie” has been lending his talents to fine-dining establishments in places like Florence and Maui. For him, the first real taste of spring doesn’t come until those strawberries are ripe for the picking.

Occupation: Owner/Aux Petits Delices

“Enjoy the sweet life” is the motto of Marqessa Gesualdi’s French pastry shop, and it’s a saying she plans to incorporate into the competition. In terms of spring baking, that means transforming basics like a classic strawberry shortcake and then topping it with lemon poppy seed biscuits with strawberry sauce, elderflower syrup and whipped cream. Like we could ever say no to that.

Occupation: Cake artist/Fountainbleu Hotel and owner/Sweet Revolution

When celebrities need a handcrafted cake, they’ve been known to turn to Tracey Marionneaux. The pastry chef has whipped up custom creations for the likes of Kanye West, Steve Harvey and Kid Rock, but that’s just the beginning of what she can do. Although her cakes are show-stopping, Traci’s dessert of choice seems to be anything involving lemon curd. She cites a simple lemon tart with a sweet butter shell as her go-to spring plate, noting that she’d eat fresh lemon curd by the spoonful. Now what could be more spring-like than that?