Plot Synopsis

In this culinary competition elimination series, a group of pastry chefs vie for the grand prize: the title of "Next Great Baker"; a cash prize ($50,000 in Season 1; $100,000 in Seasons 2-4); a chance to work side-by-side with Buddy Valastro at Carlo's Baker (Seasons 1-3) or Carlo's Bakery at The Venetian in Las Vegas (Season 4); and a feature in a magazine (not included in Seasons 1 & 4; "Brides" magazine in Season 2; "Redbook" magazine in Season 3). Along with various family members, Buddy pushes the contestants' baking and decorating skills to the limit through a series of increasingly difficult challenges that test their business sense and cake artistry. Each week someone is sent home until one chef is left standing. The ten Season 1 contestants were: Pamela Ahn (Washington, DC); Corina Elgart (Huntington, NY); Joe Glaser (Brooklyn, NY); Dana Herbert (Bear, DE); Kendra Jordan (Emporia, VA); Johanna Lyons (Hanson, MA); Jay Qualls (Nashville, TN); Megan Rountree (Keller, TX); Gregory Paul Soriano (Jersey City, NJ); and Brian Stevens (Austin, TX). The 13 contestants for Season 2 were: Ryan Cimorelli (Providence, RI); Wesley Durden (Fayetteville, NC); Chad Fitzgerald (Duncanville, TX); Jasmine Frank (Los Angeles, CA); Tony Frys (Forth Worth, TX); Heather Grubb (Knoxville, TN); Megan Hart (Pittsburgh, PA); Marissa Lopez (Pompton Lakes, NJ); Heather Macia (Las Vegas, NV); Carmello Oquendo (Worcester, MA); Nadine Reibeling (New York, NY); Minerva Vasquez (Miami, FL); and Sara Williams (Cedartown, GA). Season 3, which returned on Monday, November 26, 2012 at 9pm ET/PT featured these 13 contestants: Letty Alvarez (Miami, FL); James S. Brown (Lexington, KY); Paul Christopher Conti (Long Beach Island, NJ); Chad Durkin (Philadelphia, PA); Gretel-Ann Fischer (Colchester, VT); Peter Gray (East Longmeadow, MA); Ashley Lauren Holt (Louisville, KY); Jen Kwapinski (San Jose, CA); Chris Luna (Roseville, CA); Melissa Payne (Chesterfield, VA); Jess Reyling (Peoria, IL); and Emme Tyler (Los Angeles, CA); Garrett Wallace (Waverly, TN). Plus, the third season welcomed special guests to judges the challenges, including Mario Lopez & Courtney Mazza, Lou Ferrigno, Peter Billingsley, Holly Madison, and Joey Fatone, among others.
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Season 4, which returned on Tuesday, June 24, 2014 from 9-11pm ET/PT featured these contestants competing in teams of two: Roxanne Bodell and Kaiulani Delgado, aunt and niece team from Salt Lake City, UT; Julie Voudrie and Danielle Voudrie, a mother/daughter duo from Gray, TN; Fred Isla and Barry Ackerman, bakery buddies and former colleagues from Las Vegas, NV; David Duran and Elaine Duran, husband and wife from Kissimmee, FL; Don Donneruno and Meredith Gulfman, co-workers from Long Island, NY; Brandy Smith and Ginger Soave, a bakery student and teacher team from Virginia Beach, VA; Bethany Berend and Jennifer Livermore, best friends from Tomball, TX; Al Watson and Lia Weber, co-workers from St. Louis, MI; Manny Agigian and Al DiBartolo, friends and co-workers from Woolwich, NJ; and Jose Barajas and Aimee Anderson, an unconventional friend duo from Chula Vista, CA. Plus, Season 4 included competitions like: a candy-themed challenge judged by Dylan's Candy Bar owner, Dylan Lauren; a wedding cake extravaganza, judged by Sean and Catherine Lowe from THE BACHELOR; a life-sized cake recreation of Theresa Caputo judged by the LONG ISLAND MEDIUM herself; a spooky, sweet challenge judged by Freddie Krueger actor Robert Englund; a trip to Rachael Ray's talk show for an audience-judged challenge; and many more cake challenges.