From tragedy to TV: Hamilton baker’s new adventure on Food Network’s ‘Wall of Bakers’

From losing the family home in a devastating fire during the peak of COVID-19 to being on one of the most popular baking shows on national television.

Now, Hamilton baker Tarisa Gabe is competing for a $10,000 cash prize on Food Network's Wall of Bakers."

In 2020, Gabe's life turned upside down with multiple losses. On top of dealing with the pandemic, the 31-year-old baker's grandfather died and the family cat had a near fatal heatstroke. In the same year, the loss of a student and co-worker was soul crushing.

And, before the fire that destroyed Tarisa's and wife Emily's Wellington Street South home, Emily's grandmother died.

We made it out with our cats and the clothes on our back. Nobody got hurt in the fires, but we pretty much lost everything," said Gabe.

After getting married on Niagara-on-the-Lake in 2021, the opportunity to be on Wall of Bakers" was a light at the end of the tunnel. Gabe's talent and passion for baking secured a spot in the competition.

I applied on a whim, I thought it would be a fun adventure. I kept getting through the next round of applications and eventually it was just happening. I had to keep it all a secret but the whole experience was such a blast."

The show features four amateur bakers per round in the 10-episode season. Contestants get their pastries tasted and judged by some of Canada's best pastry chefs. A new winner is chosen at the end of each episode.

The first challenge of the competition consists of preparing the contestants' own popular recipes. In the second one, competitors create a dessert using only two ingredients that are staples in the home pantry of one of the judges on Wall of Bakers." In the final round, the two remaining contestants make a dessert inspired by another judge's signature recipe.

Gabe's baking journey began as child, making crispy squares and chocolate chip cookies. Throughout the pandemic, the hobby became more technical by using skills from watching cooking shows.

I had so much time at home, so I started branching out into more technical bakes. I would see stuff on TV and say, Oh, that, I could do that' and then I would try out a new technique. It's just a lot of fun," said Gabe.

The longtime Food Network fan said it was really cool to be able to check out the show's behind the scenes. According to Gabe, the most interesting part was how long it takes to prepare the kitchen before each challenge.

There are little breaks between each round where they are setting everything up. What happens instantaneously on the show in reality takes hours and hours," said Gabe.

The show's fast pace helped the baker develop new cooking skills while coming up with recipes which required surprise ingredients.

I learned I have the ability to think on my feet. The whole new environment and kitchen to get familiar with, there is a lot to learn and a lot to be aware of. It was fun to test myself that way."

Gabe was proud to represent the LGBTQ community on the show and inspire people watching the competition at home. Every time I see someone who is visibly queer or gender fluid on screen I get so excited and wonder what their pronouns are. To be able to be on screen and hopefully be that for other people is really exciting."

Besides spending hours in the kitchen creating new pastries, Gabe works as an intervener for deafblind people at the Halton District School Board.

I work with some of the most unique kids that have both vision and hearing loss. That means that their communication needs are also quite unique. I help develop what communication systems they're going to learn and how other educators can support them."

Gabe's dream to be on a cooking show for so many years and finally accomplishing it resulted in some good advice for the ones who have the same wish. If there is something that you want to do, you should just go for it."

After the show, Gabe would like to start a baking business at a farmers market and continue to work as an intervener for deafblind people.

Gabe will appear on the May 30 episode at 10 p.m. on The Food Network.

Beatriz Baleeiro is a reporter at The Spectator. bbaleeiro@torstar.ca