On most evenings, Carmel Valley Ranch Pastry Chef Molly Coen keeps an eye on ingredients, temperatures and her kitchen team. Tonight she will be watching herself.
Coen is one of 16 of the country’s top pastry chefs selected for a new Food Network competition, The Ultimate Baking Championship. The series is hosted by Jesse Palmer, with a premier judging panel led by Duff Goldman.
“I walked in and thought, ‘There are some big names in this room,’” she recalls thinking the first time she stepped into the studio. “The competition is fierce.”
Coen says that Food Network programs—particularly Goldman’s Ace of Cakes, inspired her culinary ambitions. A friend who won a television cooking competition recommended her to the network, and after a series of interviews and demonstrations, found herself in a studio with cameras following her every move.
Contestants were given just a few minutes to become familiar with the environment before cameras rolled.
“It was ‘Here’s your assignment’ and go,” Coen points out. “It was an adrenaline rush I didn’t know I loved.”
Each episode, the field of chefs is whittled down until the final two compete for the title—and its $50,000 grand prize. Coen says that the network set the bar high for this particular competition. Six chefs were sent home after the first episode.
“I’ve always wanted to do a show like this,” she adds. “It’s supposed to be the best of the best. Even getting to be there for round one is enough.”
Coen offers no spoilers, even though the entire series was completed months ago. In fact, she took part in the series after accepting the position at Carmel Valley Ranch’s Valley Kitchen, but before arriving in Monterey County.
She returned to Denver after taping the show, packed and moved. So it was a whirlwind—one that has satisfied her appetite for televised competition.
“I think for right now, I’m good,” Coen says. But she is excited to see what happens on the show.
“I was so nervous, I didn’t eat all day long,” she recalls. “I can’t wait to watch the emotion.”
The Ultimate Baking Championship premieres Monday, March 9 at 9pm on the Food Network.
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