Jodi Robson fulfills her dream on Great Canadian Baking Show
- Jeanelle Mandes | October 30, 2019
From watching her kokum bake as a kid to making it to a national baking competition show, a baker from the Okanese First Nation is fulfilling a dream.
Jodi Robson has been a long-time fan of the Great Canadian Baking Show. She had always wished to be one of the competitors. When she saw an ad about being a contestant on the show, she filled out an application immediately. She didn’t think she would be picked but she also thought there was no harm in trying.
“Being on the show is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in my life. It’s crazy. It started with an application, then a phone interview, then an audition then everything just snowballed,” said Robson, who proudly displays her Indigenous side by wearing a different beaded necklace that she made prior to each show. “Next thing I knew I was in the tent putting my first cake in the oven and going ‘wow, I’m in the tent’. I’ve seen the tent on TV and I’ve always wanted to know what it’s like to be there…next thing I knew, I was there.”
Robson has always been a baker her whole life. She said it’s a hobby for her to bake for her family and friends.
When she was a kid, she would help her late kokum in the kitchen during her visits. Then she practiced baking at home with her mom’s help who would always encourage her to bake. As years went on, her love for baking became more than just a hobby, it was her happy place.
“My favorite baking to make at home are cinnamon buns and stuffed bread. I do a lot of cakes and cookies,” she said. “Every Christmas, me and a few friends do a cookie exchange and I would make a ton of cookies and give them out as gifts.”
Robson said the support from the community has been phenomenal and she gets messages from complete strangers everyday since the show first aired.
“I get people coming up to me on the streets saying ‘I watch you every week and I’m hoping you’re star baker. I can’t wait to see how far you go.’ It’s unbelievably encouraging to see how many people are actually into baking,” she said. “I didn’t think it was so appealing to a broad audience. It’s so surreal.”
Robson doesn’t know where the next chapter of her life will go from here on. People have even inquired if she was going to open up her own baking business. Although the idea is there, she isn’t quite sure what is in store for her. She’s enjoying the moment as it goes and taking each step as it comes.
“I’m going to keep baking because it’s my happy place,” she said. “It’s been a great and fun experience. I’ve learned so much about baking that I had no idea about at all. I learned a ton of new techniques and recipes that I never heard of because baking is an international thing. It’s definitely opened a whole new world to me.”
The Great Canadian Baking Show airs on CBC Wednesdays at 8pm.