Next Great Baker

Next Great Baker (also known as Cake Boss: Next Great Baker) is an American television series that airs on TLC, hosted by Buddy Valastro, the star of his own reality series, Cake Boss. The show features contestants participating in challenges that test their edible art baking and decorating skills. Each week, a contestant will be eliminated; the last contestant standing will win a grand prize package that varies by season. Other prizes for winning a challenge or the week's competition are also offered during the series.[2]

Next Great Baker
Also known as	Cake Boss: Next Great Baker
Presented by	Buddy Valastro
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	41 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	42 minutes
Release
Original network	TLC
Original release	December 6, 2010 – August 19, 2014[1]
Chronology
Related shows	Cake Boss Kitchen Boss Ultimate Cake Off
External links
Website

Gameplay

Each round has three stages:

1. Baker's challenge: Each contestant has to meet a challenge set by Buddy the Cake Boss, such as making a pastry, baking a cake or, as in the first-season finale, filling buckets of grease. The winner of this challenge receives a special bonus, revealed after the challenge.
2. Elimination challenge: Each contestant has a set amount of time over two days — usually three hours on the first day and the remaining time on the second — to make a cake to specifications set by Buddy.
3. Final elimination: Buddy and the judges (the judge from the Baker's challenge and a client) decide which three cakes are the best and which two cakes that are the worst. After the decisions are made, the contestants (who were waiting in the bakers' lounge) enter the judging room. Contestants determined "safe" are then dismissed. Then, the three contestants with the best cakes are announced, with the one with the best cake in the challenge singled out. The remaining contestants have the worst cakes in the challenge; one of these will be told to leave the competition, transported away by Danny (an employee of Carlo's Bakery and Buddy's close friend) inside a box truck marked "Not the Next Great Baker".

Episodes

Season		Episodes	Originally aired
			First aired	Last aired
	1	8	December 6, 2010	January 24, 2011
	2	11	November 28, 2011	January 30, 2012
	3	12	November 26, 2012	February 11, 2013
	4	10	June 24, 2014	August 19, 2014

Season 1

The first season of Next Great Baker was taped inside a special kitchen studio set up at the Hudson County Community College Culinary Arts Institute in Jersey City, New Jersey, and was televised from December 6, 2010 to January 24, 2011 on TLC. Dana Herbert, the last contestant standing out of a field of ten contestants, won $50,000 cash, a Chevrolet Cruze and an apprenticeship at Carlo's Bake Shop in Hoboken, New Jersey. Following his win, Dana was featured in some episodes of Cake Boss, but he had had his own bakery before his appearance on the show.

Season 2

The second season of Next Great Baker was set at the new Carlo's Bakery facility at Lackawanna Center in Jersey City, and was televised from November 28, 2011 to January 30, 2012 on TLC. Marissa Lopez, the last contestant standing out of a field of 13 contestants, won $100,000 cash and a four-page spread in Brides magazine,[3] along with an opportunity to work beside Buddy in the bakery.[4] As of 2020, she is the manager of Carlo's Bakery Ridgewood, New Jersey.[5]

Season 3

Season 3 premiered on Monday, November 26, 2012.[6] 13 contestant battle it out for $100,000 dollars and a spread in redbook magazine and to work with Buddy. The winner was Ashley Holt. She is now owned her own bakery called Sugar Monster. She previously working at Buddy's bakery and appears on Buddy's other show, Cake Boss from Season 5. She announced her withdrawal from the bakery on Season 6. (Ep. 28: Up, Up and Away)

Season 4

Season 4 premiered on Tuesday, June 24, 2014.[7] This season, contestants competed in pairs.[8] Ten pairs total vied for a $100,000 grand prize and an opportunity to work for Buddy Valastro at the new Carlo's Bakery at Las Vegas's The Venetian. Chocolatier Jacques Torres and Magnolia Bakery chief Bobbie Lloyd were permanent judges for season four alongside Buddy.[9] Co-workers Al Watson and Lia Weber were the winners.[10]

Versions

Country/Region	Name	Network(s)	Winners
Arab World	Arab Baker حلواني العرب	Dubai TV MBC 1 SBC TV	Season 1, 2004: Yousef Amer Season 2, 2008: Chef Kadry Season 3, 2019: Michel Assaf Season 4,2020: Ahmed Selim
Brazil	Batalha dos Confeiteiros Battle of the Bakers	RecordTV Discovery Home & Health	Season 1, 2015: Rick Zavala Season 2, 2018: Iara Cavalcanti
	Batalha dos Cozinheiros Battle of the Cooks		Season 1, 2016: André Neto & Adelino Bilhalva
Latin America (Except Brazil)	El desafío de Buddy: Latinoamérica Buddy's Challenge: Latin America	Discovery Home & Health	Season 1, 2014: Catalina Moroni Season 2, 2015: Daniela Galarza Season 3, 2016: Current season
United States	Next Great Baker	TLC	Season 1, 2010: Dana Herbert Season 2, 2011: Marissa Lopez Season 3, 2012: Ashley Holt Season 4, 2014: Al Watson & Lia Weber

References

1. "NEXT GREAT BAKER, THE (TLC)". Retrieved 25 October 2016.
2. Stanhope, Kate (June 24, 2010). "Cake Boss Gets Competitive with New Spinoff Series". TVGuide.com. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
3. Elgart, Corina (November 29, 2011). "Lots of Perks and a Bit of Baking". TLC. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
4. "It's Go Time!". Next Great Baker. Season 2. Episode 1. November 28, 2011. 06:31 minutes in. TLC. The winner is gonna get to work with me, to learn what it's like to be at Carlo's Bakery, and I'm gonna teach you all my tricks.
5. "Seeing Double". Cake Boss. Season 6. Episode 6. June 10, 2013. TLC.
6. "Season Three of TLC's 'Next Great Baker' to Premiere Monday, November 26". TV By the Numbers. Archived from the original on November 9, 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
7. "'Next Great Baker' Season Four to Premiere Tuesday, June 24 on TLC". TV By the Numbers. April 30, 2014. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
8. Nededog, Jethro (April 30, 2014). "TLC's 'Next Great Baker' Returns for Season 4 in June With a Few Twists (Exclusive)". The Wrap. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
9. Acken, Lori (June 20, 2014). "We talk Next Great Baker Season 4 with new judge Jacques Torres". ChannelGuideMagBlog.com. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
10. "Vegas Showstoppers". Cake Boss: Next Great Baker: Episode Info. MSN TV. Archived from the original on August 13, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2014.