Wales Rally GB: a non-elite perspective

Sara competing in the 2009 Severn Valley Clubmans’ Rally

Read exclusive interviews on The Bakery Network: http://www.thebakerynetwork.com/next-great-baker-season-2-contestants

13 Contestants vying for $100,000 prize and chance to work at Carlo’s Bakery. 

Buddy “Cake Boss” Valastro is looking for the NEXT GREAT BAKER and 13 aspiring cake artists are entering the kitchen to see if can bake their way to the top. At stake: the sweet prize of $100,000, a four page feature in Brides Magazine, and a chance to work side-by-side with Buddy and his team at Carlo’s Bakery.

The 10-episode season kicks off with a special 90-minute premiere on Monday, November 28 at 9pm ET/PT. The season one finale – which crowned Dana Hebert the winner – averaged 2.34 million viewers, up +67% from its series debut.

“This season is bigger and better – we’ve doubled the prize, the challenges are tougher, and there’s a seasoned ‘bakers dozen’ fighting it out to prove to me they have what it takes to hang with the Carlo’s crew,” said Buddy Valastro.

This season’s contestants include: 

Ryan Cimorelli, Providence, RI
30 years old; Owner, The Bakery Boutique in Smithfield, RI. 

Wesley Durden, Fayetteville NC
29 years old; Active serviceman with 82nd Airborn Division, based at Fort Bragg. 

Chad Fitzgerald, Duncanville, TX
44 years old; Owner of THE CAKE GUYS in Dallas and Duncanville, TX; also a High School Math Teacher. 

Jasmine Frank, Los Angeles, CA
20 years old; Owner of Jazzy Cakes 

Tony Frys, Forth Worth, TX
23 years old; a co-owner of “The Sugar Art” 

Heather Grubb, Knoxville, TN
31 years old; owner of Cake of Knoxville.

Megan Hart, Pittsburgh PA
38 years old; works as a paramedic for the city of Pittsburgh. 

Marissa Lopez, Pompton Lakes NJ
24 years old; Cake decorator at the Brownstone in Patterson NJ and small business owner.

Heather Macia, Las Vegas, NV
32 years old; a culinary school graduate, she currently works as an exotic dancer.

Carmelo Oquendo, Worcester, MA
43 years old; a retired Gang Unit Police Officer and now the “Cakefather of Worcester.” 

Nadine Reibeling, New York, NY
28 years old; owner of Lolly Love, LLC, and also works in catering sales for a hotel.

Minerva Vazquez, Miami, FL
46 years old; a personal chef and cake artist 

Sara Williams, Cedartown, GA
39 years old; owner of a bakery, Crickette’s Cakes 

Contacts: Dustin Smith, (310) 975-1640, dustin_smith@discovery.com
Press materials: http://press.discovery.com/us/tlc/programs/next-great-baker-2/

The series fan site can be found at http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/tv/next-great-baker.  

NEXT GREAT BAKER is produced for TLC by High Noon Entertainment.

About TLC TLC is a global brand that celebrates extraordinary people and relatable life moments through innovative nonfiction programming. A top 10 cable network for women, TLC has built successful franchises around the Cake Boss, Say Yes to the Dress and Police Women brands. In the first half of 2011, TLC had 23 series averaging 1.0 million viewers or more including Extreme Couponing, Sister Wives, 19 Kids and Counting, What Not To Wear, and Kate Plus 8.

TLC is available in more than 99 million homes in the US and 75 million households in 34 countries internationally. A

destination online, TLC.com offers in-depth fan sites, exclusive video content, and original editorial covering style, home, food, and more. Fans can also interact with TLC via On Demand services, on mobile platforms, including an iPhone App, and through social media such as Facebook or @TLC on Twitter. TLC is part of Discovery

Communications (NASDAQ:
DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the world’s number one nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in over 210 countries and territories.

I love creative beings, so I had to highlight the limited-edition, hand-crafted luggage by London College of Fashion graduate student, Sara Williams (via Trendland).  The pieces are AMAZING!  …I know I wouldn’t be checking them on the plane though.

The beautiful work costs a pretty penny, and rightfully so. Not only are the pieces the most innovative designs I’ve ever seen, they are made by traditional bridle leather of the finest quality, the brass bands are created by metal crafters, and the saddle stitching is all done by hand.

The designs were made to challenge tradition.  Score!

To read more about the collection visit Trendland or visit www.williams-handmade.com.

People tweet about everything nothing.

I, frankly, would much rather hear about the details of a woman´s labor experience rather than why Miley Cyrus is considered a slut this week.

This isn´t about freedom of speech. It is definitely not about sensitivity training…So why the hurrah over the new little chick that became famous before it hatched?

Our culture dictates that it is socially acceptable to go up to a woman during her 8th month of pregnancy (which feels like two years), rub her belly, and ask her if she´s having a boy or a girl. Then give the sympathetic “aww, you were hoping for a _ _ _ _, weren´t you?” face.

Our society finds it acceptable to mass produce t-shirts that state “I´ve got the golden ticket” with an arrow pointing to the would-be-baby bump. Designer diaper bags replace clutches.

Pregnancy and babies are glorified. Baby bumps are glorified.

Everything is beautiful when you´re pregnant.

No one tells you about the constant stuffy nose and unbearable constipation. No one tells you about the urge to pee every twenty minutes and the varicose veins and the clothes that never fit you quite right. No one warns you that your acne could rival that of a 15 year old boy and that your breasts will itch worse than the time you got caught in a mosquito filled swamp for three hours without bug repellant. No one tells you overpriced collagen creams will NOT eliminate all stretch marks.

No one tells you about the “gory” details about pregnancy, labor, and the after math…because that doesn´t sell overpriced body lotions and novelty tees.

I, for one, am glad that Sara Williams and other twitterites (?) are tweeting away about their labor pains.

Maybe some of these teeny boppers that find baby bumps cooler than slap bracelets were in the late 80´s will poke their beaks into what this new family flock is regurgitating is the unaltered, honest truth…and rethink their plans to leave their own mama and papa bird behind in order to start their own roost.