The Great Kiwi Bake Off is getting ready to make a return to TVNZ 1 this year and co-host Hayley Sproull has a trio of new stars, eager to modernise the show.
Replacing judges Dean Brettschneider and Sue Fleischl, are internationally renowned chef, restaurateur, writer and Prime Ministerial wedding consultant Peter Gordon and the Kiwi cakemaker who has taken Hollywood by storm, Jordan Rondel.
Replacing comedian Madeleine Sami to join Sproull is funny man Pax Assadi, who should remould nicely into a "sure to rise" baking double act.
Assadi tells Spy he and Sproull have worked together many times and every time they do, it's a wild, goofy time. He has already appeared as a talent scout on TVNZ's 60 Seconds this year, and Spy reckons the pair will be a hit.
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Advertise with NZME.Describing the new team of four, he says they are getting on like a pack of hungry wolves who were raised in the Siberian mountains.
Sproull, who won a NZTV Award for Best Presenter for Have You Been Paying Attention? this year, admits that everything needs a little facelift every now and then, and Bake Off is certainly getting that.
"It's a fantastic group and I think Pax, Jordan and Peter will bring such a fresh and exciting energy to the show. I've followed Peter and Jordan's careers for years and I'm already a huge fan, so I'm so excited to work with them."
Rondel founded The Caker, a retail and cake-kit supply business, 12 years ago in Auckland. When Spy caught up with her last November, she and her sister Anouk were three years into their takeover of the US and had just teamed with famous US department-store chain Neiman Marcus to exclusively create a spiced pear cake kit.
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Advertise with NZME.Since then, supermodel Chrissy Teigen has endorsed The Caker, posting a picture of chocolate cake next to her musician husband John Legend, with a large slice missing.
"@thecaker's flourless chocolate cake is SOOOOO GOOD," she posted to her 37 million Instagram followers.
Rondell managed to put some things on hold in Los Angeles to be able to come home and do the show and the shift in gears for her, she says, is welcome. When she was asked to do the show, it was an immediate "yes" and a perfect fit for her first TV gig.
"I've hired many bakers over the past 12 years of owning The Caker so I know which sorts of personalities, inherent skills and creativity make a great baker, or will make a great baker with a bit more practice. Enough said.
"I hope I can bring something new and special and more than just the crazy outfits I plan on wearing to this already iconic show."
The self-taught baker learned through trial and error, failures and wins. Because of this, the detailed science of how a cake works, she says, is ingrained in her.
As for Gordon, Rondel says that he has much more expertise than her in all realms of the culinary trade and she is honoured to be standing next to him. He is someone she has looked up to throughout her career.
"I think Peter and I will be able to find the next Great Kiwi Baker because we have both dedicated our lives to our art and we will know true passion when we see it and passion is the most important thing, because if you have enough of that you can achieve anything."
Gordon says he will be looking for creativity and a personal style in the 10 bakers vying for this year's title, and how they channel this through flour, butter and sugar.
His team at his restaurant Homeland will have no idea why he is taking a three-week "holiday", until they read this story, but he says it is all in good hands, and his time away will be well worth it. He is a huge fan of the show and loves watching the journey of the nervous-at-first contestants, who grow from their time on the show.
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Advertise with NZME."I'm an all-round chef rather than just a baker but have a huge love of anything baked - from a puff pastry mille-feuille to a bacon and egg pie. I'd like to think I'm a good baker with an understanding of the chemistry behind baking, and I've included a good selection of baking and desserts in six of my eight cookbooks - even my vegetable book," Gordon says.
He and Rondel met only last Friday at Homeland and says they immediately felt a good bond.
"I love Jordan's style and I loved the cake she brought in for us - multiple layers, apple, roses, punchy flavour, gorgeous to look at and to eat."
