CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WAND) - Contestants from around the nation are competing in The Food Network's Holiday Baking Championship, and one of those contestants is from Champaign!
Julianna Jung is the only contestant on the show who is not a professional baker, but that's not stopping her. She said she wants to prove that bakers like her can bake just as well as the rest of her competition.
Jung started documenting her journey as a free-time baker five years ago.
"A casting director reached out to me on my Instagram and it went really fast from there. Before I knew it, I was on a plane to California," Jung said.
They filmed the show during the pandemic, so she said they were extra careful with filming.
"Everything was so organized, there was some stress ... I mean it is a competition," Jung said. "It was an experience of a lifetime. They just had everything under control and they made sure we were having fun while having to film.”
Jung said anyone who watches the competition can expect to see an overload of Holiday baked goods.
"They’ll see a lot of great baked goods, of course, it's a baking championship. People can get lots of ideas for holiday baking," she said.
The contestants are competing for $25,000 and the title of Holiday Baking Champion. The show airs every Monday on the Food Network.
