Sixteen pastry chefs from across the United States will compete in “The Ultimate Baking Championship,” a new show premiering Monday on Food Network. Among the contestants are three Chicago-based pastry chefs: Juan Gutierrez, Casey Doody, and Christopher Teixeira. The competition offers a $50,000 prize and challenges participants with tasks such as chocolate work, sugar artistry, science-inspired desserts, and 3D chocolate sculpture.
Hosted by Jesse Palmer with judge Duff Goldman, the series will present weekly challenges to test each chef’s skills. The first challenge requires contestants to create a dessert in their signature style using an assigned flavor profile—sweet, salty, sour, or bitter. Episodes will also be available for streaming on HBOMax and Discovery+ after airing.
Juan Gutierrez is the corporate pastry chef for Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises in Chicago. He described the level of talent on this show as unique compared to other baking competitions. “I wanted to do this show because I wanted to go there and compete with the best,” Gutierrez said. “I wanted to go there and know that I’m going to be pushed.” Originally from Colombia, Gutierrez moved to Chicago after attending French Pastry School despite family expectations that he become a doctor. He began his career in hotel kitchens before joining Fifty/50 Group and now leads pastry at Lettuce Entertain You’s restaurants.
Gutierrez faced skepticism early in his career but remained determined. “I had so many people saying, ‘Don’t do this,’ ‘You’re not ready,’ ‘You’re going to fail,’” he said. “I just thought, ‘I’m going to prove everybody wrong.’ There’s nothing more that a Latino likes to do besides prove people wrong.” His recent viral creation—a cat-shaped panna cotta—reflects his aim to showcase new techniques during the competition. “I’m able to show a different side of me, show different techniques that I learned or I was not able to show before,” Gutierrez said. “I’m hoping that the people who followed me before fall in love with me again and just get to follow this new journey I’m going through.”
Casey Doody grew up near Chicago working at her family’s pizzeria before pursuing dance at Columbia College and later culinary school while living in Dallas. Her parents encouraged her passion for baking: “My parents asked me what I loved doing,” Doody said. The answer: baking.
Doody worked as pastry chef at Dallas Country Club before moving into New York City’s Michelin restaurant scene and eventually returning home to join Gibsons Restaurant Group in Chicago. Known for her tiramisu and creative focaccia recipes—which gained attention on TikTok during COVID-19—Doody now runs her own consulting company called PastryCASE.
Appearing on Food Network is a milestone for Doody: “I’ve talked to producers, I’ve auditioned but I’d never made it farther than that,” she said. “So it’s such a shock, such a surprise to be on the show.” She recalled being inspired by Food Network shows growing up: “I remember being like ‘I’m going to be the next gen of pastry,’ ‘I want to be a personality behind pastry,’” Doody said. “Everything that I have gone through in my career has led me up to this moment.”
Christopher Teixeira works as pastry chef for Fifty/50 Group in Chicago but began his culinary journey at his mother’s workplace—a Lebanese bakery—in Fall River, Massachusetts when he was four years old. His early experiences shaped his desire for kitchen work; he started as a dishwasher at age 15 before attending culinary school.
Teixeira’s first job out of school brought him into fine dining at a two-Michelin-star restaurant and then relocated him permanently to Chicago where he found strong community among local chefs and restaurant staff. “I think Chicago is one of the best food scenes in the States currently,” Teixeira said. “It’s a very tight-knit community even though the city is so big.”
His approach blends classic pastry techniques with savory elements influenced by Portuguese heritage; however, competing on “The Ultimate Baking Competition” presented new challenges due its high skill level among contestants: “The caliber of pastry chefs on the show were very very high,” Teixeira said.“That’s intimidating.” Nevertheless Teixeira welcomed the challenge: “The other chefs drove me to be better because they are very good,” he added.“The talent level in that kitchen was amazing.Being on Food Network is always a good time.”
In addition to “The Ultimate Baking Championship,” CBS will premiere “America’s Culinary Cup” Wednesday featuring two other Chicago chefs—Beverly Kim (Paracute HiFi/Anelya) and Diana Dávila (Mi Tocaya Antojería)—competing for what CBS calls “the biggest cash prize in culinary history.”
