“It's easy to get so caught up in building a career that you forget to have fun,” says the local baker, who is a contestant in the Summer Baking Championships.
Local business owner makes it big as contestant on Food Network reality show Summer Baking Championship.
Stephanie Tucci, owner of By Chefanie, was selected as one of 10 bakers to compete for the title of Summer Baking Champion and a $25,000 prize.
The 36-year-old has been running a successful business for almost 10 years but says she never expected to use her skills internationally.
Tucci said she was shocked when she received a message via Instagram from someone connected to the show's second season.
“I didn't respond right away because I thought it was fake,” she said.
After realizing the messages were genuine, Tucci began contacting producers and began the interview process.
The news that he'd been selected to star in the show, which filmed in Los Angeles in February, came as a bit of a shock to Tucci, who admits he's done so.
“I just understood it, but when I read the email, it completely took me out of my mind,” she says. “It's easy to get so caught up in building a career that you forget to have fun.”
So when the opportunity to appear on the show came up, Tucci said she knew she couldn't pass it up.
In 2009, she was considering attending culinary school.
“I didn't appear on it until 2013, but I was obsessed with the Food Network and always dreamed that one day I'd be on it. And now it's happening? At that point, I was like, whatever happens, if I get home first or make it to the end, at least I'll be able to say I've made it.”
“For me it felt like everything was coming back together.”
Tucci said filming the show was an overall positive experience, adding that as soon as she and her co-stars met, they quickly felt like “one big happy family,” even though they were all competing to win.
“The energy was amazing. The enthusiasm from everyone was amazing. What I liked about this group was that we were competitive but also cheering each other on,” she said. “At the end of the day, we're all professionals and it's hard to make mistakes on TV. We all wanted to help each other out.”
Tucci said the tasks participants faced were difficult because they were given items they wouldn't normally make.
“I can see that they designed these challenges to force us to think outside the box, to feel unsure and to really push ourselves,” she said. “For someone like me who is always wanting to grow and learn new things, those moments were hard, but I'm grateful for these opportunities.”
Everyone on the show, including Tucci, has faced challenges at one time or another, but she said she's proud of what they've accomplished on the show.
“It helped me realize what I'm good at and what I'm not good at,” she says. “I feel like it pushed me outside of my normal routine.”
“A big thing I'm known for is developing really unique flavor profiles,” Tucci added, “I'm not someone that comes for a regular vanilla cake. I'm someone that comes for a really cool flavor experience. And I feel like I've really been able to share that there.”
Tucci has so far survived the cuts and can be seen in next week's third episode.
Summer Baking Championship Season 2 airs every Monday at 9pm on Food Network Canada and streams live and on-demand on STACKTV.
