CHARLOTTE — A Charlotte man is set to check off a bucket list item as he competes on a Food Network baking show for the third time in four years this month.
Jeremy Davis, who started Designed by Daddy Custom Cakery, his own home-baking business, six years ago is set to appear on the Nov. 13 episodes of “The Big Bake: Holiday,” Food Network’s Director for Public Relations Julie Chudow said in an email.
Davis will be part of a three-person team competing for $10,000 on the show, now in its fourth season. Show judges Ron Ben-Israel, Eddie Jackson and Danni Rose will select the winning team after each bakes a cake.
The episode was filmed in Toronto over the course of one day, Davis said. He’s not allowed to discuss the outcome until after it airs, but said his team, which includes bakers Seema Acharya and Matthew Marotto, all are former Food Network show contestants.
“The three of us had all been on Food Network shows before, competing against each other,” Davis said. “We decided to come together as a team and put our collective abilities together.”
A veteran Food Network contestant
Davis first appeared on the Food Network in 2020, beating four other bakers to win an episode of “Girl Scout Cookie Championship.” In March 2021 he competed on a second show, “Easter Basket Challenge.”
Davis, a father of three who works full time at Lansing Community College, said he enjoys being a veteran Food Network contestant.
“I’m used to being on [the shows],” he said. “I don’t typically get super nervous with the cameras and challenges and the timeframe. I’m pretty calm, cool and collected while on set.”
The prizes offered each time are nice, Davis said, but they aren’t why he wants to compete on the network’s shows.
“I would do more if I could,” he said. “They’re just so much fun to do. It’s always really just fun to push yourself, try something new and get to work in an unfamiliar space with tools I don’t usually get to use.”
Checking off a ‘bucket-list’ item
Davis announced the news about his latest Food Network appearance Wednesday on Facebook.
“A holiday show has been on my bucket list, so I was beyond excited when I was asked to join this team,” he said in the post. “Watch us compete against some amazing teams from all over the world.”
Meeting Ben-Israel, a well-known pastry chef and wedding cake creator, was a highlight of the experience, Davis said.
“As someone who does primarily wedding cakes, I was definitely in awe and kind of fanboying a little bit because he’s just been around for so long, and so many people have used his techniques,” he said.
The judges “were amazing to work with,” Davis said. “It’s always nerve-wracking, but just to kind of see them walking around and talking to us and asking what we were doing and why we chose to use XYZ, it was really, really nice.”
“The Big Bake: Holiday” episode is expected to air at 11 pm Nov. 13 on Food Network, Chudow said.
Contact Rachel Greco at [email protected]. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, @GrecoatLSJ .
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