Copyright AL.com
Creating cakes, cookies and other yummy treats is second nature to Jeanna “Gia” Barnes, founder of bSweet Dessert Boutique in Troy. But can this Alabama woman excel during a high-pressure TV competition, besting 11 other bakers for a $25,000 prize? Fans of “Holiday Baking Championship” will find out this season, as Barnes becomes the first person from Alabama to appear on the beloved Food Network series. Season 12 of “Holiday Baking Championship” makes its debut on Monday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. CT, with an episode titled “Welcome to the Holiday Village.” Barnes and the other bakers will be divided into two teams, designated as Naughty and Nice. The Nice Team will be tasked with making “warm and toasty desserts,” and the Naughty Team will prepare “chill and frosty treats,” according to an episode synopsis. Later, each team will assemble an edible holiday village that includes a dessert from every baker. Judges Duff Goldman, Nancy Fuller and Kardea Brown will evaluate the goodies and choose a winning and a losing team. One contestant from the losing team will be eliminated. Typically, the series includes eight episodes per season, and the list of bakers is trimmed until a winner emerges. Other challenges this season will focus on holiday cocktails, pies, holiday wreath desserts, snow day desserts, “Chrismukkah” platters and more, according to the Food Network website. Host for Season 12 is Jesse Palmer. Along with the $25,000 prize, the winner of “Holiday Baking Championship” earns bragging rights and a feature in Food Network Magazine. Here’s Barnes’ official bio for the show: “After a long career in emergency management — including work in public health emergency preparedness during the COVID-19 pandemic — Jeanna ‘Gia’ Barnes decided it was time for a new chapter and opened her dream bakery, bSweet Dessert Boutique, in Troy, AL, on March 17, 2022. Just eleven weeks after opening, tragedy struck when her husband of nearly 25 years suffered a massive stroke and passed away. Determined to carry on his memory, Gia and her two sons chose to continue running the bakery together, pouring their hearts into every creation. “A completely self-taught baker who began experimenting in the kitchen at just five years old, Gia learned the art of baking from her mother and grandmother. Her bakery’s signature treat — a five-generation pound cake recipe — celebrates her family’s legacy and is now baked by her sons as the fifth generation. Today, Gia specializes in custom sculpted cakes, wedding cakes, and traditional Lambeth-style designs, in the bakery, and available for delivery and shipping." Other contestants for Season 12 are: Violet Zoner of Ithaca, N.Y. Daniel Gray of High Point, N.C. Camrey Smith of Detroit, Mich. Erin Luttrell of Kansas City, Mo. Nico Alkalay of Denver, Colo. Charles Zimmerman of Charlottesville, Va. Jean Carlos of Orlando, Fla. Ashleigh Wright of Frisco, Texas. Alyx Abreu of New Orleans, La. Tarek Husseini of St. Louis, Mo. Chase Maus of Santa Fe, N.M. Although Barnes is the first Alabama contestant to compete on “Holiday Baking Championship,” other people from the state have appeared on Food Network baking shows. They include Caleb Fischer, an Auburn chef who made the top three on “Spring Baking Championship” in 2018, and three youngsters who competed on “Kids Baking Championship”: Ellvie Smith of Attalla in Season 13, Brooke Waters of Selma in Season 7 and Brooklyn Kyzarof Silverhill in Season 6.
