Regina woman to participate in Great Canadian Baking Show competition

A table game dealer representing the Queen City will appear with amateur bakers from around Canada on the small screen tonight, competing to win the Great Canadian Baking Show.

Jodi Robson, 33, originally from the Okanese First Nation, roughly 80 kilometres from Regina, calls herself a scientist in the kitchen. Her baking skills were learned directly from her kokum, or grandmother.

"I loved spending time with my kokum and we got to fairly often," Robson told CBC Radio. "It was just so peaceful."

Robson said her grandmother was a chef for the Lebret Indian Residential School and she would test her recipes on her grandchildren. While she loves cooking, Robson said she enjoys the creative opportunities that baking creates. 

She said she and her husband often watch competitive baking shows and he would encourage her to audition. 

One night, after a late shift, Robson stumbled across an ad for the Great Canadian Baking Show on social media and figured she would apply to see what would happen. The CBC-TV show is based on the Great British Baking Show and sees bakers compete over multiple episodes until one is crowned the ultimate winner.

Robson got a phone call less than 10 hours after she sent her application, asking her to travel to Winnipeg and formally audition for a spot.

Getting to Winnipeg however, would prove challenging. Robson said her family's car broke down just three days before the audition, so a new car was purchased to make the drive. 

"That's how things go," Robson said. "I baked an upside-down apple cake and drove all the way to Winnipeg with this thing on my lap." 

Robson said she was apprehensive at first, because she walked into the audition and saw the elaborately decorated baked goods her fellow hopeful contestants had created. But she was confident her cake would taste good. 

She was pulled aside for a secondary interview and returned home, where she anxiously awaited another phone call. 

"It felt like forever," Robson said. "[When the call came], I almost blacked out for a second. I remember screaming, and then the dog barking because I scared him." 

Robson said her husband told her he knew she would make it on the show.

Competition changed approach to baking

Baking is a way Robson deals with stress. It creates a moment of personal calm, she says.

"I try to keep it that way, but I will admit that there are points in the process now where I'm like, 'Oh no, how much time do I have left?' just because it's permanently etched in my mind, I'm racing a clock," Robson said. 

Robson said the experience was unbelievable and dream-like.

She's unsure what footage will be used in the show, but she said she's going to host watching parties for episodes with her friends and family.

Since people have found out that Robson will be participating on the show, the baking requests have poured in. 

She said she's not sure yet if she wants to turn her baking into a business, because she's worried the stress of it might take the passion away from what she does.