Local baker to be featured on new Food Network culinary show

Brooke De Jong, a part-time pastry chef at KBC, began baking when she had her first child, and that hobby soon turned into a passion and profession. Self-taught and restaurant-trained, she honed her skills as a pastry chef while living in Atlanta. Eventually, Jong moved to Slocomb, where she and her husband joined his family business as dairy farmers. Baking took a backseat in her life for a while, but Jong is back and ready to live out her pastry dreams in Paris, which viewers will see on screen.

“I actually would watch Food Network constantly and make stuff in the kitchen,” said De Jong. “People are going to learn a lot from this show. They’re going to learn a lot because the show is about going to the major pastry chefs in Paris and the major makers in Paris to see all of the professionals do what they do and how they do it so well.”

The eight-episode series premieres on Monday, May 6, at 8 p.m. on Food Network, and follows 10 American bakers’ travel to Paris for Food Network’s ultimate pastry competition Next Baking Master: Paris.

This competition gives the determined and highly skilled American bakers exclusive access to the most iconic pastry shops, as well as mentoring from renowned French baking experts.

Competing for bragging rights is a thrill, but a winner will receive a full suite of France’s top-of-the-line professional kitchen appliances and baking equipment valued at $25,000.

De Jong competes with DeAndra Bailey from Baltimore, Maryland, Jeremy Intille from Minneapolis, Minnesota, Lindsay Miller from Los Angeles, California, Keely Moore from Atlanta, Georgia, Paige Nickless from Brooklyn, New York, Joe Settepani from Morganville, New Jersey, Cedrick Simpson from Atlanta, Georgia, Robert Toland from Willingboro, New Jersey, and Jennalyn Walbolt from Union, New Jersey.

This show was shot on location in Paris and hosted by acclaimed pastry chef Stephanie Boswell and French-born chef and restaurateur Ludo Lefebvre. This series will have competitors proving their tenacity in the pillars of great baking and pastry — technique, artistry, flavor, innovation, and inspiration. The lowest performing baker will be sent home weekly until only one is named Next Baking Master.

Fans are encouraged to bring Paris’s sweet flavors to their home kitchen by watching the digital companion series hosted by Stephanie Boswell, in which she shares easy, can-do recipes for elegant French desserts.

“This Paris experience is a once-in-a-lifetime dream for the chefs,” said Boswell.

In the 90-minute premiere, the bakers arrive in Paris for their first challenge: make a dessert that represents their culinary point of view while demonstrating their knowledge of French techniques.

One episode will showcase a trip to famed Jade Genin Chocolate with a lesson from Jade herself, a quintessential French soufflé challenge, and a trip to Ladurée, the most iconic patisserie in the world.

If you are a lover of all things Paris you can keep up on Food Network’s social pages for an exclusive tour of the Paris penthouse where the bakers will be staying.

For more information use the hashtag #NextBakingMaster and visit FoodNetwork.com/NextBakingMaster for more.