Naman Shrestha
Netflix’s ‘Blue Ribbon Baking Championship’ is a state-fair-inspired baking competition show that brings together ten award-winning bakers from different walks of life and state fairs across the country. Even though each baker is well-established and has a blue ribbon attached to their name, they must make the best dough to become the best blue-ribboned chef. So, these pastry masters don their respective aprons and compete against one another in a series of baking challenges to win the bragging rights and the grand cash prize of $100,000.
Serving as hosts are Jason Biggs, an actor widely recognized for his role in the ‘American Pie‘ film franchise, and the internationally acclaimed food expert and a blue ribbon-winning baker herself, Sandra Lee. She also serves as one of the three judges on the show, alongside the award-winning baker Bryan Ford and the former White House pastry chef Bill Yosses. Given the realistic setting of a state fair outside the barn where the competition takes place, the authenticity of the fair and the actual locations are bound to be questioned by the viewers.
Blue Ribbon Baking Championship Filming Location
‘Blue Ribbon Baking Championship’ is filmed in Ontario, especially in an open field located in the town of Milton. From what we can tell, the inaugural iteration of the reality series was shot sometime in 2023, supposedly around the summer. As the premiere of the show approached, Bill Yosses shared his experience shooting the competition on social media, “Had an unexpected and wonderful time last year filming this TV show- soooo many people worked on this: camerapeople, wardrobe, asst Directors, I am inclined to highlight Back-of-House peeps since I am myself BOH. there is incredible wealth of baking talent in America and this show gives each person a chance to shine.”
Milton, Ontario
In order to stay true to the theme of the show, the production team of ‘Blue Ribbon Baking Championship’ sets up camp in the County Heritage Park at 8560 Tremaine Road in Milton, where actual events and fairs take place regularly. While the entire area was transformed into a fair during the shooting process, the main competition between the contestants is carried out under the roof of the Elliott-Harrop Barn, which is one of the prominent establishments in the park.
One of the contestants, Nathan Chandler of Pocatello, told Idaho State Journal, “We literally filmed at a state fair setup. You’ll see in the back of the show there were Ferris wheels. There were people on rides, there were big cotton candy machines. All of that was real. None of that is CGI — we were actually at a fair. We baked inside of an old barn.” Not only was he provided with an active microphone, but he was also assigned multiple cameras during filming, making things a bit challenging as he had to bake under pressure with numerous cameras constantly moving around him to record his process of baking.
Read More: Eileen Gannon: Where is Blue Ribbon Baking Championship Runner-up Now?
