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Local teacher will appear on The Great Canadian Baking Show

September 26, 2024   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

A local teacher will test her baking skills against other expert bakers on the television show, The Great Canadian Baking Show.

Pamela Kramer, a co-op education teacher at Banting Memorial High School in Alliston, is well known as the teacher who bakes, and her students and fellow faculty rave over her treats.

The TV show is based on the British format with each episode featuring the bakers competing in three challenges – the Signature Bake, the Technical Bake, and the Show Stopper. Once their dishes have been tasted and critiqued, the judges decide who will be the weeks Star Baker, and who will be sent home.

In the final episode, the remaining three bakers will face of for the coveted cake plate and the title of Canada’s Best Amateur Baker.

Pamela has been baking for “eight or nine years.”

“I started baking after I finished grad school,” Pamela explained. “I wanted to do something I enjoyed. I saw a bakery in Toronto that had classes and a friend and I decided to give it a try.”

After she tried baking, Pamela was hooked and began experimenting with different things in the kitchen.

Her friends realized she had a real talent for it and encouraged her to try out for the show.

“The first time I applied, I made it to the first audition,” Pamela explained. “I applied multiple times over the years.”

Applying to be on the show is just the first step. There is a whole series of tests, auditions, interviews, and even health requirements to be on the show.

An applicant has to prove they have the ability to compete.

The show starts with ten bakers who are given challenges. One person is removed from each show.

“Being a good baker is only part of it,” Pamela said. “A lot of it is mental. You realize you’re not the only good baker anymore.”

Pamela realized that as good as she was, she had nine other competitors who were there to challenge her.

The episodes she is on were actually filmed in May and June. Contestants are under strict rules to not divulge the results of any episode – to anyone. Producers need to make sure the show goes to air with a surprise ending on each show and the big reveal at the end, of who the winner is.

Pamela said that shooting the episodes were quite stressful. At times she would have multiple cameras on her with producers asking her questions. They would stop tape and ask her to repeat an answer a different way so it would all work out in editing to put on the show.

At the same time, she said she enjoyed working with everyone on the show and thought they did a great job of making everyone feel at ease, and that they were very professional.

Even when a person was eliminated from the show, the judges made their decision in a nice way.

“It’s probably the most difficult thing I’ve ever done,” Pamela said. “And I would do it all over again.”

The first episode of The Great Canadian Baking Show, will air on CBC on Sunday, October 6, at 8:00 p.m.

Pamela Kramer, a co-op education teacher at Banting Memorial High School, will appear on the upcoming TV show, The Great Canadian Baking Show.  On the show, Pamela will compete with other bakers from across the country. Contibuted photo

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