Meet the Competitors of Spring Baking Championship, Season 9

Get to know the 12 bakers competing for a chance to win the $25,000 prize and the title of Spring Baking Champion, and watch them Mondays at 8|7c.

Photo By: Rob Pryce

Molly Robertson — Natchez, MS

Molly owns and operates a baking business out of her home in Mississippi. She specializes in making wedding cakes, birthday cakes, entremets and just about any dessert you can celebrate with.

Keem Jackson — Florence, South Carolina

Keem is a pastry chef from South Carolina whose biggest strength in the kitchen is making tiered custom cakes. He grew up watching baking shows, so the opportunity to compete on Spring Baking Championship is a dream come true.

April Franqueza — Sapphire, NC

April is a talented pastry chef from North Carolina. She fell in love with baking at a young age while making coconut cream pies with her mom.

Jessica Quiet — Stowe, VT

Jessica describes her baking style as "classical French pastry with a twist!" She loves brainstorming different flavor combinations and new ways to present desserts that are out of the norm.

Christian Velez — Hollywood, FL

After a successful career as a pastry chef at multiple restaurants and hotels, Christian decided to become a culinary arts teacher. His favorite part of baking is showing his creativity through color, texture and flavor.

Jai Xiong — Savage, MN

Jai has been in the culinary industry for a decade and was thrilled to open her own baking business in 2021. She specializes in making wedding cakes and told us that she always "bakes with love."

Luke Deardurff — Bronx, NY

Luke currently works as an executive pastry chef at a restaurant in New York City, where he enjoys plating desserts to make them look like works of art.

Manja Blackwood — Tucson, AZ

Growing up in Germany, Manja first fell in love with baking when she learned how to make her grandmother’s delicious sponge cakes. She relocated to the United States at the age of 21 and now works as an executive sous chef at the University of Arizona.

Josh Cain — Orlando, FL

Josh’s favorite part of baking is whipping up colossal chocolatey treats. His past coco creations include an 11-foot-tall chocolate rocket and a massive 32-foot-long chocolate train (which used 16,000 pounds of chocolate)!

Victoria Casinelli — Shelton, CT

Victoria has been baking ever since she was old enough to use a cookie dough roller. After graduating from culinary school, she worked various jobs to further develop her skills as a pastry chef.

Clement Le Deore — San Diego, CA

Clement grew up in France and started baking when he was just 15 years old. He achieved his dream of moving to the United States to begin his own baking business two years ago.

Michelle Henry — McAllen, TX

Michelle runs a bakery out of her own home in Texas. She first used baking as a stress-relieving hobby while pursuing a bachelor's degree in pre-med biology. Eventually, she took her passion for baking full-time as she began making wedding cakes for friends.