Jomar Manzano: The Great Canadian Baking Show and sharing bakes

29 Sep 2022.

by Drew Rowsome - Photos courtesy of the CBC. Portraits by Carmen Cheung, episodic photography by Geoff George.

"It hasn't really hit me much," says Jomar Manzano about the celebrity status that comes with being a contestant on The Great Canadian Baking Show. "I'm a small fry. The show hasn't even started yet." He laughs, then admits, "I'm a little star struck."

The audition process for The Great Canadian Baking Show is notoriously arduous, out of all who apply, only 10 are chosen. "I'm one of the fortunate ones," says Manzano. "I started early. I auditioned for the season before this but, with a new job I couldn't really do it. It's very challenging, you have to know what you're doing, and then do it live." Manzano's husband Carl was also in school but when he finished, "He said, 'This is your year, you get to do it.' Then I got called back." Manzano believes that he had an advantage beyond his superlative baking skills. "I told my friends before applying that I'm a compelling story. Immediately, I'm a person of colour, Filipino. I was born and raised here, in the prairies, now in the country's biggest city. And I'm very proud of being gay. That Venn diagram of place and person."

Manzano insists that baking is a hobby, he is a structural engineer by trade. "Baking vs cooking is less about improv and more about timing. You have to follow the rules. If you don't follow the recipes . . . When I make designs, they must be followed or they collapse. I think analytically but am quite creative. I don't know how to play any instruments, I don't paint, don't write except to journal. I don't play sports, just work out. Baking is my thing." But not his only talent, Manzano sings with the Toronto Gay Men's Chorus. He began as a way to meet people after moving from Winnipeg to "a giant city like Toronto. I always start my first day with a bake, 'By the way, here's some chocolate chip cookies . . .'" He insists that the cookies didn't seal the deal, "I'm a pretty good tenor." He didn't try his patented icebreaker at The Great Canadian Cooking Show but, after taking a break from the chorus for filming, he's looking forward to getting back to vocalizing, socializing and "sharing some treats."

Manzano started baking early. "I was always in the kitchen with Mom. I was one of those boys who was heartbroken not to get an Easy-Bake Oven, so my mom said, 'Why don't we try on the big oven?' I learned to make muffins and Filipino bread." That spirit carried on to the moments during The Great Canadian Cooking Show that he is most proud of. "The bakes I put forward," he says, "all had a component of hope. Filipino, Toronto or gay would show up in the bakes. Anything Filipino I was vocal about, really celebrating it. If you think about any Asian ethnicity, there is a restaurant or dish associated. Can you definitely tell me what Filipino food is? I was able to showcase it." Though he admits that the tent is a "charged environment. I very much remember stepping out of myself. The two hour or four hour time limits on screen are true. It's very stressful, unlike anything else I've ever done. I put a lot of care into my bakes but the love had no time."

The technicals were the worst for Manzano. "They beat me into the ground," he says. "An engineer is always wanting to be prepared, the instructions could be difficult to read, the adrenaline, and I never liked pop quizzes to begin with. There's no buffer zone just 'bake a cake in two hours.'" And it is a television program so Manzano was also expected to be entertaining. He practiced baking while explaining what he was doing. And he had Carl interrupt him and ask questions to increase the pressure. "He was very supportive," says Mazano. "My Carl is honest. He'll say, 'Hmmm . . . that's garbage.' But I could also say, 'I had a hard time with this one so hold your sass.'" Manzano says the preparations before filming overwhelmed their "small apartment. Our kitchen, our home, turned into a battle zone. Ingredients everywhere, baked goods to go out, failures to be given away to anyone who would eat them."

 
All of the practice paid off. Manzano adjusted to the cameras and, when asked about The Great British Baking Show host scandal, Manzano has a much different reaction to the Canadian counterparts, Ann Pornel and Alan Shane Lewis. "At first it is weird," he admits. "But any time we had interactions with the hosts, they made us laugh. They helped break the tension. They are people of colour, that representation helped. To have visible minorities—Ann is Filipino herself—not completely white, not completely straight, to banter with is to have family there." Though The Great Canadian Baking Show is a competition, Manzano says that, "First and foremost it is for yourself. The other contestants made the process bearable. We were there to support, to help each other out, because we spent so much time together. It's unlike any other reality show." He contrasts it with Big Brother. "Man, those people are so nasty. Of course, they want to win." Whereas if one of The Great Canadian Baking Show contestants conquered a problem or survived a potential disaster, "the others cheer. They're a bunch of nice people. Genuine. We still keep in touch, I go for dim sum with the two Toronto people." 

Manzano is proud of his work and grateful for the experience but admits, "I have not seen any of it, I don't know what to expect." Nevertheless, "I can't wait to share it with my Village siblings." To that end he is hosting a viewing party at Pegasus, 489B Church St for at least the first episode. Hopefully he will bring cookies to break the ice with the star struck.