The Great Canadian Baking Show and Bertie Diaz help the world get happy

10 Feb 2021 - photos courtesy of publicist -
Photos by Steve Carty. Production photos by Geoff George.

Bertie Diaz has a lot of secrets. But they are all going to be revealed beginning on Valentine's Day when The Great Canadian Baking Show's first episode airs. "I did have some close friends who knew I was doing the audition process," says Diaz, "and keeping it all a secret was a bit of a challenge. I was bursting to say 'I'm going to be in the tent.'" The pressure after was even worse. "I'd love to spill the beans, everyone wants to know who won, but they'll just have to turn into the show to see how everybody did." In fact Diaz is curious to see how everyone did it. " There are some amazingly talented bakers," he says. "When you're in it, you miss so much. I was so focussed on my own baking that I saw the creations but I have no idea how they got there." 

Diaz's non-baking job is in the travel industry but "I found myself, like many people at the beginning of the pandemic, unemployed. My partner saw an ad saying that The Great Canadian Baking Show season 4 was taking applications. He said, 'Look at this. Why don't you do it?' And I'm like, 'Are you crazy?' At first I thought he was nuts. I said to him, 'That's not water in your glass, it must be vodka and tonic or something.' It's just not something I would normally do. But after two weeks of contemplating, I thought, 'Why not?' So I filled out the application and I was out walking one day and I got a call on my phone, and it was one of the producers wanting to talk to me. It stopped me dead in my tracks. I wasn't sure what to do. I called him back and auditioned via Zoom. And the rest is history. I kept pinching myself, is this really real? If it wasn't for my partner, I don't know if I'd have applied."

The arrival of Miss 'Rona complicated things. "The filming was in the fall last year, a little later than usual only because of the pandemic. There were a lot more logistics that had to be figured out by the production team to figure out they were going to be able to film and still keep us safe. They took every single precaution. We were tested as soon as we got to the hotel where we were isolated. Throughout the entire filming and on set we used social distancing, masks, shields, everything. We were kept in a little bubble. They did just a phenomenal job of keeping us and the crew safe. Kudos to them. I'm not sure how they pulled it off but no-one throughout the filming was sick in any way. They kept us safe and put together, well I'm biased, but it's going to be the best season yet. The timing actually benefitted us a bit I think, as it wasn't as sweltering hot as it would normally be. The weather co-operated a lot more with us."

The Great Canadian Baking Show is less reality TV and more comfort food for this cold season of covid. "The unique thing about the British show and it translates to the Canadian show," says Diaz, "is that it is a competition and everybody wants to win but, the level of support and help, the Canadian one even more so, it's not about winning at all costs. It's about doing your best and if you have to help someone so that they can do their best, it's ok. I felt that throughout the whole taping. It was a first for all of us and the cameras were always present. But once you started to bake, the cameras became wallpaper. It's initially a little scary, but it fades into the background."

A great deal of the charm of The Great Canadian Baking Show is the intimacy and interplay between not only the contestants but also the judges and hosts. "It was a little bit different this year," admits Diaz. "We did still interact with the judges and hosts, but at a safe distance. We still got to know them really well. The judges, Bruno Feldeisen and Kyla Kennaly are fantastic and the hosts this year, Alan Shane Lewis and Ann Pornel are hilarious. They really helped to keep it light during some tense moments which we all really appreciated. The interaction was less in terms of being close to each other, but I don't think it detracted at all from the show. People may even appreciate the show a little bit more because of covid. If they think of just how hard it must have been for the production staff to put it together. "

Each baker brings unique skills and Diaz says that, "My specialty is bread, it's what I like to bake the most. But I have in the past baked many pies and cakes. It's just that my preference has always been baking bread. I just looked at each challenge as a learning experience. There are some things I hadn't done before. But having the core knowledge of baking and techniques really helped me a lot." Despite all the travelling he has done for work and "I do love tasting things," Diaz claims that he is "not necessarily adventurous. My philosophy towards baking has always been, simple but delicious. I had an appreciation of baked goods from around the world but prior to the show I wasn't brave enough to try. The show has made me more experimental. Now a pie is not just a pie."

Diaz's other passion is Broadway musicals. "I've seen close to 200," he says. "Kinky Boots is my current favourite. The amount of work that goes into it, and there's only three times I've seen a bit of a snafu. I wish I could do it." But he just may have. While baking, "I sang to myself, forgetting I was miked. It was Judy Garland's 'C'mon Get Happy' and who knows, it may make the final cut." When asked if musicals have influenced his baking, Diaz explodes with enthusiasm, "My god, what a showstopper!" He is about to spill details but The Great Canadian Baking Show veil of secrecy descends and he regretfully bemoans, "I can't even tell you what week it is . . ." I'm betting it gets an ovation. Or maybe star baker.

"I still can't believe it all happened," says Diaz. "I'm waiting to wake up from this weird dream I had this past year." He laughs, "I'm having a dream sequence." Then Diaz is serious again. "I'm so thankful and grateful that my partner pushed me. Anyone who is in doubt, I say go for it. It was phenomenal." And like all the rest of us, Diaz can't wait to watch the final product. He repeats, "When you're in it, you miss so much. So even though I was on the show, I'll be tuning in."