(WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Martin Sorge, Sarah Chang and Nirali Chauhan will represent Chicago as they enter the iconic tent in England’s countryside for the sixth season of “The Great American Baking Show.”
WBBM sat down with Sorge and Chauhan ahead of Friday’s premiere.
Chauhan, who is currently in her second year of medical school at UIC, said her love of baking began at a young age.
“I found baking to just be very meditative and the perfect way to combine my creative interests with my scientific ones, baking's very much a science and an art,” Chauhan said.
Sorge explained that he’s always been an excellent cook, but really honed in on his baking skills about 10 years ago.
“I started with baking a loaf of bread, and then I kind of caught the bug and wanted to try everything under the sun,” Sorge said.
Sorge has been a fan of both the British and the American versions of the cooking competition television series for years. He told WBBM it’s surreal to now be a part of it.
“It felt like you were suddenly sucked into your TV,” he said. “The first time Paul [Hollywood] and Prue [Leith] come up to your bench and talk to you, you're like, ‘I've seen this a million times on TV and now I'm here,’” said Sorge.
Despite the stresses of the competition, both Sorge and Chauhan described the show as an extremely wholesome, feel-good experience. Without giving away any spoilers of the competition, the contestants shared some of their biggest takeaways.
“I kind of let go of perfection,” Chauhan said. “In the tent, things rarely go to plan, and it's nice to apply that to real life, to just let go and enjoy the process and whatever the outcome is, you accept it, and it's still delicious.”
“On the show you have to do a big showstopper challenge every episode,” said Sorge. “So we had to prepare these extravagant, huge things that you wouldn't normally make and some of them I said, ‘Oh, I can't do that. I'm not good enough to do that.’ But then you do it and you're like, ‘I can kind of do anything’.”
All three contestants from Chicago walked into the competition as strangers but say they came out as friends.
“On any given weekend, you can catch us at a game night or a Cubs game or trying some food that we love. It's so delightful to come out with true lasting friendships from the competition,” said Chauhan.
The trio plans to host a watch party this Friday as the world gets to watch their baking adventures unfold.
All six episodes of “The Great American Baking Show” will be available exclusively on the Roku Channel starting May 5.
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