NEWS

Davidson alumna Karis Stucker

Karis Stucker, Davidson College class of 2018, has been selected as one of nine bakers competing for the title of “Best Amateur Baker” on The Great American Baking Show which premieres Friday, May 5 on the Roku Channel.

Like The Great British Bake Off, The Great American Baking Show has contestants compete in a series of baking challenges while trying to live up to the celebrity judges’ high expectations. At the conclusion of each week, one of the amateur bakers is crowned star baker while another is eliminated. This process continues until one contestant is selected as the season’s winner. In each of the six episodes, the bakers are given three challenges based on that week’s theme: a signature bake, a technical challenge, and a show-stopper.

Karis was born in Philadelphia and lived in Pennsylvania until high school when her family moved to Atlanta. She selected Davidson College for its community feel. Karis grew up going to small schools, and the size of Davidson appealed to her. She also loved the town of Davidson. She especially enjoyed the Farmers Market as a student and in her last two years lived off campus on Old Meeting Way. Karis majored in Hispanic studies, and after graduation worked in college ministry and then taught high school Spanish. Karis started baking in 2019 and describes herself as a baker who is “self-taught and ever-learning”.  She now lives in Cornelius and works as a nanny and runs a Spanish tutoring business.

Karis is the youngest contestant on The Great American Baking Show and the one who has been baking for the shortest period of time.  She heard about the casting for the baking show from a friend on Instagram. Karis completed the applications and was selected as a finalist. There were several Zoom interviews followed by an in-person interview in California. Once all contestants were cast, they were flown to London where the series was filmed. According to Karis, the contestants were all friendly and it was not a “cut-throat” competition.  She said that the contestants supported each other. “It felt like we were one big team, and when someone went home there was genuine disappointment to lose a friend in the tent!”

Since all six episodes have been filmed, Karis and the other contestants know which baker will prevail.  But we will have to watch the series and hope that Karis is the winner!

You can follow Karis as she shares her love of baking through her blog (www.karisbakes.com) and Instagram account (karisscorner) with recipes, tips, tools, and techniques.