Aimee DeCruyenaere, a fourth-year industrial design student at Carleton University, is one of 10 contestants on the new season of The Great Canadian Baking Show.
The show returned on Oct. 17 for season five and introduced 10 new home bakers eager to take their shot at winning the coveted cake plate and title of best baker.
DeCruyenaere has applied to be a contestant on the show twice before. She credits her successful application to the extra time she spent at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Quarantine gave me a ton of time to really focus my attention on baking because I had nothing better to do,” she said. “That’s really when I think I went from being middle of the pack to excelling in baking.”
DeCruyenaere also said improving her photography skills and ability to transfer her creativity from her mind to her baking helped her secure a spot.
“I got to this point where I knew the fundamentals of baking and how to manipulate the ingredients,” DeCruyenaere said. “That just opened all these doors for me in terms of how I could make it creative, how I could tell a story and how the concept in my head could come across.”
DeCruyenaere’s baker bio says she “brings whimsy and precision to her bakes.” This theme is evident with one look at DeCruyenaere’s Instagram, which includes pictures of bakes such as a Loch Ness monster tart and several desserts topped with cloud decorations.
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“I try to make [my baking] conceptual and also clean or elegant. I really like precision,” DeCruyenaere said.
DeCruyeneare said that as a child, her mom was the driving force behind cooking in their mixed Chinese and French-Canadian heritage household.
“I was always cooking along with her and I think that because of my mixed heritage, I got to experience a lot of unique flavors and see food from a broader perspective,” DeCruyenaere said.
She said her mom inspired a lot of confidence and independence into her cooking from a young age which, paired with her love of sweets, helped her become the baker she is today.
“[School] was all virtual, so I think that’s why I had so much time to make all these crazy things,” DeCruyenaere said.
At times, DeCruyenaere even took advantage of the crossover between her two passions by implementing resources from her schooling into her baking.
“Even during the show, I was getting templates for my big [bakes] 3D printed and laser cut at school,” she said. “It was just things that I learned from my degree and they happen to be useful in my baking.”
DeCruyenaere said her favourite thing to bake is cinnamon buns and she draws inspiration from chefs such as Martha Stewart and Anthony Bordain.
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At 23 years old, DeCruyenaere is the youngest baker in the tent this season, but she said this didn’t matter when it came to bonding with her competitors.
“I think everyone always says this but I didn’t believe it, like how close you become with the other bakers,” DeCruyenaere said. “It’s totally true and totally genuine.”
DeCruyenaere is not the first Carleton student to appear on the show. Jasmine Linton, a Carleton criminology alumna, appeared on season three as the youngest baker of her season as well. DeCruyenaere said watching Linton inspired her own pursuit of a spot on the show.
“I was like ‘Oh my gosh, wow. If a Carleton student can do it I can do it too,’” DeCruyenaere said.
Looking to the future, DeCruyenaere is hoping to combine her love of industrial design with her passion for baking by landing a job designing kitchenware for a brand like Cuisinart or KitchenAid.
She said her greatest takeaway from being on the show was to not let the stress of a situation overtake what would otherwise be a joyful experience. For other young home bakers, DeCruyenaere offered some words of advice.
“Something I want to share is that you don’t have to be intimidated to audition. I’m just a regular person,” DeCruyenaere said. “Once upon a time, all my baking was ugly and it tasted bad. You just practice and get on the show.”
Featured image by Steve Carty.
