For Tahoe City local Amanda Nguyen, baking has been not only a hobby but a way to create unique experiences with her family.

This summer Nguyen got the chance to showcase her skills as a contestant on The Great American Baking Show, which features bakers from around the country.

“What makes the baking show so awesome is that they’re all amateur home bakers,” said Nguyen, who grew up baking with her mother and grandmother. “We don’t make any money. Most of us have just been baking our entire lives.”

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Nguyen said she fell in love with the show many years ago and when the chance arose to apply she took it. After two auditions she was accepted by the show, which was filmed in London during a three-and-a-half-week stretch in August.

“One of the ways I prepared was relying on community.” – Amanda Nguyen

Nguyen could not reveal where she stood among the other competitors at the end of the competition, as the show is set to air on Dec. 6 at 9 p.m. on ABC.

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Leading up to her trip to London, Nguyen used the members of the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District as taste testers for every creation she made on the show.

“They were so excited and I was so happy I found someone that I could share all these baked goods with,” she said.

Nguyen said she also received tips from the owners of Tahoe House Bakery & Gourmet in Tahoe City and Sierra Bakehouse in Truckee.

“One of the ways I prepared was relying on community,” she said.

After filming the show she said her son inspired her to start a baking blog and YouTube channel to share her recipes with others.

“I definitely got more confident in my baking skill and realized that I had something to offer,” she said. “My son said ‘you really need to share what you know’ and that really resonated with me.”

Her YouTube channel titled “Bake Along” was launched just before Thanksgiving and now has 171 subscribers and 20,000 views on her first video. After each episode airs she said she will post the recipe of the dish she made on that episode, as well as an instructional video.

For Nguyen sharing her talents with others through her appearance on the show as well as her blog allowed her to feel more connected with her mother and grandmother.

“I only have memories what it was like to bake with them,” she said. “For me to do this video diary of all these family recipes, and the recipes that I have prepared for the show, was really just something that struck a chord with me and I thought this is important to do.”

Hannah Jones is a reporter for the Sierra Sun. She can be reached at 530-550-2652 or hjones@sierrasun.com.