Guelph's Aaron Macpherson is a hobby baker who has his own Youtube series called The Chaotic Kitchen Chronicles. Once a week, he uploads a video of a new recipe he creates.
It was just on a whim that he enteredThe Greatest Baker Contest, but now he's in the running against other bakers across Canada for the title.
According to him, he had heard about the contest from a friend who encouraged him to apply.
“I joined as one of those, ‘Well I’ve got nothing to lose’ moments because my friend sent me the link for it.” he recalls.
After applying, Macpherson was notified on Sep. 25 that he had been selected to participate in the contest, giving him a month to come up with a photo series of different desserts and baked goods he can make.
As of Wednesday, Macpherson is sitting in third place within a group of 25 other bakers. If he manages to be in the top 10, he will go on to compete in the next round.
“I don’t own a bakery and I’m not a professional cake decorator. ” says Macpherson, recalling his reaction to the news, “Me being in third, was just from me messing around in the kitchen, which is great.”
The contest works by people voting once a day for the baker of their choice. They can cast additional votes for one dollar, with all the money going towards the No Kid Hungry foundation.
Macpherson says there are some pretty steep competitors within this contest.
“There are a couple professional cake decorators that have some wild (cakes),” he says, “One of them is a fish. It’s a cake, but it’s a photo-realistic image of a fish.”
If he wins, Macpherson says he would use the money to update his camera equipment and buy a couple new kitchen gadgets he has his eye on.
The final day everyone has to cast their vote is Nov. 5. To vote, click here.
Macpherson developed a love for baking at 16, when he took the College Heights Secondary School commercial bakeshop class in high school.
Although he was a student at Centennial high school, Macpherson switched for a semester to attend the class.
“The most fun I’ve ever had in a highschool class was the College Heights bakeshop,” says Macpherson.
“I spent a semester there and it was incredible. I learned so much and I met so many awesome people that I am still in contact with.”
To this day, Macpherson still keeps in touch with his teacher from that class, Marna Yates, whether emailing her for a suggestion on what to bake next, or her challenging him to make something new.
Baking with his grandmother was also another event that influenced his love of baking. From her, he was taught how to make multiple baked goods, including pies, cakes and Christmas cookies.
“I was lucky enough to live in a house with an attached apartment for eight years, and periodically we baked together.” says Macpherson, “She was always my go-to recipe tester.”
Of all the things he loves to bake, croissants are his favourite. He says he learned the two-day process of creating the buttery treat, three years ago in a cooking class he took with his dad in Florida.
“They are very time consuming, but also very rewarding.” says Macpherson about making croissants.
“When people see these beautiful, buttery layers come out of the oven. Their reaction is priceless.”
Outside of the contest, Macpherson is also working on a cookbook which will feature different recipes from his YouTube channel.
“It’ll be the Chaotic Cookbook to go with the Chaotic Kitchen Series.” he says.
To learn more about his baking, check out Macpherson's page on the Greatest Baker website.
