Tri-Cities baker was up against 10,000 in a contest. She’s made the semi-finals
After the pandemic forced one Pasco mom to quit her job she dusted off her master baking skills, and now is closing in on her chance for the title of greatest baker and a hefty cash award.
Katrina Jackson is one of 32 bakers who made the semi-finals out of more than 10,000 in the online contest The Greatest Baker.
Until a few months ago, the 32-year-old Pasco native was working as intervention prevention specialist.
When the pandemic hit, she and her fiance lost their full-time nanny. They have twin boys who weren’t quite 2 at the time plus an older son who has the autoimmune disorder vitiligo and needed to stay home as well for his safety.
After working from home with kids under foot and cobbling together child care for the past year, she threw in the towel and felt she was better off baking.
“I’m going back to do something I love and have some kind of routine for my 3-year-olds,” she said.
She also said that the competition means even more now so she can use the cash to set up a cottage bakery.
Her talent can be seen in a photo spread of more than 100 examples on her contest profile, including cakes with extensive floral piping work, intricate fondant decor and themed cakes like a poutine cake and tree stump.
Jackson’s signature is a German chocolate cake with toasted coconut and toasted pecans. Although, the favorite cake she ever made was for this Father’s Day and it looked like a stack of pancakes.
“It was all fondant and painted. It took five hours to make but it was worth it,” she said.
If Jackson is selected as the best baker in her group of eight semi-finalists, she will join three other contestants who pulled out the No. 1 spot in their groups to compete in the finals.
Contestants have advanced through the competition through at least four rounds through public voting. Each baker submitted a visual catalog of their creations.
Votes must be made through a Facebook or with paid votes that cost $1 per vote with a $10 minimum purchase. Proceeds of 25 cents per $1 vote will benefit No Kid Hungry.
If she wins, she will be featured in Bake from Scratch Magazine and receive a $20,000 prize plus a year’s supply of Stuffed Puffs chocolate filled marshmallows.
Neither Jackson nor her fiance have any social media, so it has been difficult to drum up publicity from the general public. But because she comes from a very large extended family she was able to get votes to bring her this far in the contest.
Voting for the semi-finals goes through June 24. Votes can be cast for Jackson at greatestbaker.com/2021/katrina-jackson.
Jackson is one of multiple master bakers and chefs from the greater Mid-Columbia region who have put their skills to the test in various contests.
▪ Michele Pompei, co-owner of Walla Walla Bread Co., in Walla Walla, has made it to the final four out of 10 bakers to battle it out on the TV series, “Best Baker in America.”
▪ And Yakima chef Shawn Niles will compete in the World Food Championship sandwich category Nov. 5-9 in Dallas, Texas, after winning third place in the qualifier with brown sugar bourbon glazed salmon.
This story was originally published June 21, 2021 at 12:09 PM.