Deep Dive
Shownotes Transcript
Welcome everyone. I'm Jan Arden. This is the Jan Arden Podcast, but I have two very special people that come with me on this journey week after week after week. Caitlin Green, Adam Karsh, they're both in their Toronto homes respectively. I am coming to you from Vancouver, British Columbia today from Bruce Allen's office in downtown Vancouver. Actually, I'm in the woods of rural Quebec.
Like technology. Adam, you can make up where you are. You can tell us you're in Maui if you want to. Sure. In a room that looks exactly like my basement office. Yes. We have such a fun show for you. We are going to be talking to the brilliant, young, funny, hilarious hosts from The Great Canadian Baking Show Season 5.
Yeah, I'm excited because we talk about food so much on this show and we all love food so much. And baking, I feel like became everyone's sort of favorite pastime. I think during the pandemic, it went from not wanting to waste bananas to making your own bread and just boredom turned into comfort. And now I think it's a more regular part of everyone's life along with comfort viewing. And I think this show is kind of it encompasses both of those things. It's like a cozy watch at home. And also you might want to bake some of the stuff that they do.
Oh my God, of course you do. And there's something about watching. There is a lot of drama in food. There's a lot of drama in how they edit these shows of the time they have left of the roof falling off of the,
masterpiece gingerbread. I mean, it is tense. I always feel like I want to take an Ativan. Watching these guys pushing it to the final place. They've now burnt the caramel. Somebody every season burns freaking caramel. Can we just keep your eye on the caramel? Because that is really... Anyway, there's a lot of drama and it really is very compelling. I ended up binging...
A couple of seasons during the pandemic of the great British baking show. Yeah, this is sort of what started it all, right? Yes. Yeah, okay. That's sort of... I think Canada has been doing...
Some of these franchises, I mean, just lately we've seen Family Feud, the Canadian version of Family Feud. RuPaul's Drag Race, of course, has made a huge impact in Canada, having our version of that. And now we have Canada's Drag Race. I love it. I mean, I feel like for a long time, Canadians kind of, we always watched other people's content and it would be this big hit. And it took a while to make its way here. And I think that's happening just so much faster now.
Well, I just think having a Canadian spin on these shows is really important. And of course we get all the American stuff too. People are always saying I watch both. I watch all RuPaul's stuff. And of course we have Brooklyn Heights here doing, you know, the seasons here in Canada and guest hosts coming and going. But there's something about a Canadianized version of anything that we always cheer on. Yeah.
I'm trying to think of other examples of things that have come here. You're like, what? Didn't we not have The Bachelor, the Canadian version of The Bachelorette or The Bachelor? No, we haven't done that, have we? I don't think so. I know that they filmed, I know they filmed like a recent getaway on The Bachelor. Amazing Race. Amazing Race Canada. Yeah, we have Amazing Race, of course, yes. But I don't know. I don't know if it makes any difference.
maybe I'm just talking crap here, but is there a huge difference between the American and the Canadian versions?
I mean, there is, I just, I kind of like, I like seeing the Canadian version of kind of anything. And I think it's just that, that same element that Canadians just love. We just love our own success stories. We love any kind of homegrown success story. So I think that's kind of why I get a kick out of it. Plus, I mean, too, we're a little spoiled. We work in media, obviously. So when, you know, Canada's drag race starts, you know, we know, I know Tracy Melcher a bit. So it's just cool to see people you're familiar with. And I, yeah, I like that angle. I like it.
And maybe on the Great Canadian Baking Show, they do very Canadian specific things like butter tarts that might not make their way onto the US or UK versions. Nanaimo bars. See, exactly. Like the Nanaimo bars. I'm going to completely switch topics right now because we are going to be talking about food, obviously, in the latter part of the show with Anne and Alan. And can't wait to chat with them. I want to just cut right to the confusion surrounding food.
the vaccinations uh the american border is going to be opening to us the land and rail segments of travel between our countries is going to be opening up and there is still a lot up in the air as far as uh canada is one of the countries that mix the vaccinations so we had astrazeneca and moderna some people had a moderna and a pfizer some people had pfizer and astrazeneca so they
The Americans haven't given us any sort of concrete answer of how they're going to deal with millions of Canadians that have a combined vaccination. Thoughts?
Oh, it's an illogical mess. This is so, this is frustrating to no end to me personally, because I'm one of these mixed people. So I had my first dose was Pfizer. Then there was that random, you know, global supply issue around Pfizer. So my second dose was Moderna. And at the time I did have a little bit of hesitation because I wondered not if it was safe. I knew it was, but I wondered if one of these types of, you know, logistical snafus would wind up rearing its head later on. Yeah. And here we are.
And I knew this was going to happen, but my mind was, look it, the science is there. This produces a really strong immune response. And my number one priority isn't going away on vacation. It's protecting myself from Delta. And so I'm glad I got it when I did. I still think that was the right call. If you're listening and you're one of these people, just know that you still made the right call because it was, it,
it produced a really strong immune response for so many Canadians. And it meant that we got our population vaccinated faster and our numbers have been just so much better than in the U S. So I just think it's a U S issue. It's not so much our issue. I know people are frustrated with the fact that the government told us to do this and now people's travel plans are being impacted. That certainly is frustrating, but it's really the onus in my mind is on the provinces to either give people with mixed doses, a booster so that they have two,
consecutive match doses, which is possible. And we know boosters are coming anyways. So you can kind of resolve two issues. A lot of us are now looking at November, December, January, because I was April and June for my shots. Yeah. Yeah. So I mean, Alberta's already, I believe now this is because I posted about this on Twitter and I had a bunch of responses from people all over Canada and some people in Alberta said, Oh, well, Alberta is already offering a booster shot so that they can,
internationally travel. So if you had a mixed dose, they'll give you two matching ones at the end. So Alberta is already apparently on board with this. If we could get the rest of the provinces on board, that's one way to resolve it. The other way of course would be for the U S to just open their eyes and review the massive piles of data that we've provided them with on the efficacy of mixing your doses, whether that's AZ like a viral vector vaccine and then mRNA or two mRNA vaccines in
It's, you know, it's worked really well for us. It's worked really well for a lot of countries in Europe where they've taken on this as well. And our numbers support it. So I hope I'm crossing my fingers that perhaps in the next few weeks, they will review this information and the CDC will say, okay, we consider mixed doses fully vaccinated. No problems here because it's leaving a lot of people in the lurch. I mean, 3.8 million Canadians have mixed doses, including our prime minister. So if you're frustrated by this, I don't imagine this is going to persist for long. I just, I don't even understand why it's a thing now.
I mean, you have to hand it to our Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, really. Here's a guy who's, you know, one of the leaders of the free world, certainly. I'm not saying that Canada is a giant military power, but we are looked upon with a lot of respect still globally. And here's a guy that could have gotten two Pfizer's, he could have got two Moderna's, he could have got two AstraZeneca's, he could have got, it's the Prime Minister.
He had a mixed dose because, A, I think he wanted to support Canadians, cheer them on and say, listen, I'm doing this. I have a family. I have kids and a wife. This is what we're going to do. And let's think back. His wife did contract the coronavirus. They were all quarantined. You know, everyone was doing the best they could. But I think the U.S. is absolutely going to okay travel. I think they're just...
the big world power right now. And what we say kind of goes, honest to God, what happens behind closed doors would probably surprise us all. But I think we will get there, you guys. Yeah.
Yeah, I think so too. It's just, you know, it's too bad. The timing wise thing, it's just, it's too bad. I'm seeing people all over social media saying, you know, this is impacted. I'm, I'm too, like myself and my husband are the only two family members out of a group of 10 of us who are planning a big family vacation in the U S that have mixed doses. And now we're unsure if we can go with the rest of our family and sure in the grand scheme of things, vacations, obviously not the biggest deal, but
people have waited a long time for these things and everyone's stressful. And it's just, it's that nice little carrot. That's something to look forward to that seems to be taken away. And again, needlessly, if this was actually a public health issue, that would be one thing, but it isn't. And so it's a bit foolish. I just, I hope they snap into place on this. I mean, this happened in Barbados. Barbados didn't consider Canadians with mixed doses, fully vaccinated and negatively impacted on Ontario couples, wedding plans. They actually had to
move their whole wedding to the Dominican Republic, I believe, either their wedding or their honeymoon. But then Barbados went, oh, geez, we really, okay, we'll take a second look at this. And they pivoted very, very quickly. So I do hope that that is the case. I hope that every Canadian who is fully vaccinated, whether that's a mixed dose or not, is recognized by the US because it's really exciting to have the land border reopening. I think they're saying early November. The belief is that it'll be sometime around November 5th or 7th. And again, I'm in the eastern townships of
Quebec right now. And normally part of our trip out this way, because we come at least once a year is to go across the border to go to Vermont. And it's still so beautiful here and we always love it, but I love that one little day trip to Vermont. It's a nice thing. So I'd like to be able to see the U S in person. Now, do they have a target in Vermont? I was just going to say that.
I don't usually go to Target, but we would drive like I live just outside of Calgary, west of Calgary. And my couple of girlfriends and myself, we would drive to friggin Montana to go to the Target. And I remember one year going and buying all these bras that were three dollars and ninety nine cents. And I didn't try them on. And my friend Teresa is like, this is probably back in the day when I was drinking. She's like, you should probably try those on.
And I tried them on. I think I bought 10 bras just sight unseen. It was my size. I bought them and brought them back. Anyway, all not one of them fit me. Not one single three dollar ninety nine cent bra fit me. I don't know who did the sizing. Some somebody who obviously knew nothing of breasts.
um it's probably some guy from Tennessee I don't know you'd think they would know about brass but anywho uh we ended up having a bonfire that night and we chucked all the bras and had my friend's kids have my bras that I bought at the end of a stick and melting them over the bonfire and then the wires were just sort of hanging there on the wood it was a really good time you're listening to the Jan Arden podcast you're probably wondering what is the topic well
We have a very special guest coming up pretty soon. You're going to have to come back and listen to Anne and Alan talking about the great Canadian baking show. But not yet. You're stuck with us for one more go-round. We'll be right back. This girl is on Pfizer. Girl is on Pfizer. No more hand sanitizer.
Welcome back to the Jan Arden Podcast. Caitlin and Adam are here with me. We've been talking about the confusion surrounding mixing vaccines going to the U.S. I had friends that have a cabin in Montana and they haven't been there for 20 months. Thankfully, their neighbors have been looking in on stuff for them.
but they are so excited about the possibility of going. And I think they, I think they are double modernists. So, okay, good. But their kids are not. Oh, so their children are under the age of 12. So they're probably not. No, they're not. They're they're in their twenties. Oh, but they all, but they would all go to Montana and have a great time. Um,
At the cabin and Christmas is coming up. They've spent many Christmases there. They couldn't go last year. So that's a quandary. When I see families that are split by this, you were talking about, you know, going on the holiday with your family and you and Kyle are the lone dogs out having the mixed vaccine. Well, so no, that was a, that was a reference to someone else who was talking about this. I've seen it on social media, but no, this is impacting us because we are thinking of going away to the, the,
the Caribbean with some friends who currently live in the U S and the plan was to go down, meet them in the U S they live just outside of Detroit and for us to travel all together from Detroit directly to the Caribbean. And this is kind of throwing a wrench in the plans.
So I just, I don't know what will happen and if they'll change these rules by the time Christmas rolls around. Again, I certainly hope so. I know the CDC is reviewing the mixed dosing data and our data is excellent. I mean, Canada has fared far better than the U.S. in terms of COVID numbers and deaths and every single statistic we've outperformed then even relative to our population size. And so I think
I think it's just not a strategy that they chose to adopt because they have vaccine manufacturing in their country. Yeah, they do. We don't, we don't, we are at the mercy of, we used to, Canada used to lead the world in vaccinations in, in research and development. And we did make vaccines in this country. I mean, we did, we produce them in Quebec. It's, it really is a shame. It's, it's like, yeah,
I don't know. It's like the world just forgot that there was sort of some evil bugs out there that could come and get us at any time. And to let that kind of, that kind of thing lapse, I think is very negligent and not, not much foresight on a government's part to say, listen, we need to get ready for this. Every single government kind of wears that one. So as much as it was, I believe the Mulroney government who ultimately made the decision to sell off, um,
that vaccine manufacturing plant in Canada because the government had a stake in it and it just wasn't as profitable as it once was. Governments thereafter, liberal and conservative both, received huge recommendations from public health officials, especially after the SARS outbreak in Toronto. So after that happened, they were basically given this big document that said, included in it,
of the many recommendations, we need a vaccine manufacturing facility here. And we need to include this in our approach to viruses moving forward. And no one did it. And so now I know that they're going to be making plans to change that because I think our vaccine procurement strategy was
excellent. I mean, we really consider we don't make our own. We did pretty darn well, but it's just not good enough because then those supply shortages happen and you end up in the situations that we were. So, yeah, I hope everyone can, I hope that this, I hope the mixing doses is recognized globally very soon, but until then, anyone who does have a mixed dose, you're going to have to check. You're really going to have to check. Are you getting used to showing your vaccine credentials? I've, you know, been, I mean, I live out of town obviously, but yeah,
Even flying today, I flew to Vancouver and I had to pull it out to go into the lounge. I don't even know why I went in there. It was like, there's nothing in the lounge really. I had a bite to eat when I came on the other side, just whipped into a little restaurant in my rental car. I parked it and I was asked again. And it's just, I'm just, it's, it's so weird. I just feel like I'm living in some kind of futuristic world.
world that pretty soon people aren't even going to be able to fly domestically like i don't know
Yeah, it's unusual to see. It's the first we've ever, I mean, we're living through history. All of us are living through history together. And so there's no point of reference for this. And it's very unusual. And for better or worse, humans do tend to acclimatize to things fairly quickly. So I was surprised the first few times that it happened. But I think the first few times that it happened, I was just so excited to be eating.
you know, eating, eating inside again. I was like, I don't care. And then I think, you know, eventually over time it'll wear on people. I would imagine because it just becomes this added step, this added thing that you have to consider. And yeah,
yeah, but I, I'm kind of getting into the swing of it. It was interesting to do it here. Now I'm in Quebec right now. And, um, they're, they check much more closely. I found in, in back in Toronto, I found, you know, and again, yeah, that's it. They just sort of flash their phone and you're in there. They're looking for ID as well. First dose, second dose matching your name. When were the dates? Was it long enough? Are you fully like they were very, it was very, um, very different here. That's for sure.
Well, there's an app in Alberta. Of course, Jason Kenney is doing everything that he said he wasn't going to do with the QR codes and all that stuff. But now there's an app. It escapes what it's called, but it's so companies in Alberta can check to see if the stuff that was handed in, like you have to be vaccinated by October the 29th or you have to go on unpaid leave. So there's a lot of companies like that, a lot of government agencies. So my friend who works for
a little town, let's say, I'm not going to say where it, they got the app and she thinks there's going to be a half a dozen people that are going to be immediately dismissed for falsifying documents because the app, it will, you know, it actually does the check to see if it's certified and, and, and, and not forged. And she's just like, this is the hardest thing. These are people that I thought I knew.
And they have literally forged being vaccinated to stay in their job. Meanwhile, fooling everyone around them and being unsafe. So what it doesn't leave a company any choice, but to, I'm sorry, not only have you lied, but you can't be in an office with 50 people on vaccinated. Yeah. And again, like,
The stats don't lie. I mean, that's really what it comes down to. And your chances of getting sick, of spreading whatever you may have, it just goes up if you're not vaccinated. So I don't really... I know it's so frustrating for people to go through all this together. And some people have a harder time kind of getting on the old treadmill than others. But...
We don't really have any options given the, what we have just lived through with COVID. I mean, I would love to get into the DeLorean and go back to a time where this didn't exist, but that's not the case. I mean, it takes, and it is, I feel like it's, it's akin to grief. Like it's this process of grieving what you once had and this, the simplicity of the life you used to live and not having to have these contentious, weird personal health issues spread into your day-to-day life. But
I kind of just feel like, well, here we are. I don't know what else to do about it. So yeah, I feel for anyone who, you know, you're kind of looking around at some...
that may complicate things for coworkers or friends who just maybe now they can't travel, now they can't do this or that. But, you know, forging documents is probably not going to go over well, not going to go over well with your employer on any front. You can imagine, you know, the desperation though to probably have people that have never done anything like that in their lives. I don't even know how to get my printer on to print out my...
My thing from the Alberta government that shows my my vaccine dates and everything. It's this little blue thing that's and it says printable card. And I'm looking at my phone going, what the F do I do now? Like, how do I get something that small?
off my printer and my friend was like Jan are you that big of a moron I said apparently I am she said you cut it out you put it on a full-size piece of paper and you cut the thing out I'm like well I didn't know I thought there was like a little card you put in your printer and then it just prints it out where do I get it laminated oh my god so this is what I've been dealing with my friends I feel bad about it so right now it's on my phone but we listen I
We've got two very special guests. We have the beautiful hosts from the Great Canadian Baking Show, Season 5, Alan and Anne, who are funny, charismatic. They represent. I mean, all I can tell you is that they are making this such a special eight-part series. And there's lots to talk about. So when you come back, we're with Alan and Anne.
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As promised, all you food lovers out there, I know a lot of you have been waiting for this. We have with us Anne Pornel and Alan Shane Lewis, hosts of the great Canadian Baking Show. Drumroll. Yes! Yes!
Anne and Alan, you guys are probably the most popular, you have the most coveted job in the entire country, if not world. You guys are around food, never mind food, but I think everyone has such a weakness, especially given this last 18 months, for baked goods of any description.
Tell me, I'll start with you, Anne. What has this journey been like being a co-host on this amazing franchise?
I know already that I sound like a complete broken record because anytime anyone asks in real life, in an interview, I'm like, it was like a warm hug. And it was that. It was just such a comforting and fun and joy-filled experience filled with some of the best, best bakers. And Bruno and Kyla are incredible. And it really felt like...
I was being rewarded for having stayed at home for all of the lockdown. Like I was finally being like, the sun was finally on me and I was like a little kitten in a sunbeam. That's what it was like doing this show.
So Alan, do you think that you ate a disproportionate amount of carbohydrates? Like, was it hard not to eat? I mean, I know that's part of the job, but when the cameras kind of went, okay, cut, like, were you guys literally going, I'm going to eat one more of those?
Oh yeah. I was like a human raccoon. Like anytime they're like, and cut. And like, they're about to clean things up. I would just run over and make a little plate for myself. And like the plate itself was just like the leading tower of pizza of just all these baked goods. And I take it back to my trailer and I come back like a little brother that I am and go to Anna. I'm like, look what I got. And like all these like amazing like dishes from super sweet bakers that like
really put out their heart and soul into a lot of these baked goods that are like really, really good. Like when you watch it on TV, you're like, wow, that must taste good. But if you actually get to taste it, you're like, oh my goodness, it's this next level of stuff that like personally I cannot achieve, but I'm great at eating it. And let me say, Alan barely shared with me. When he would knock on my trailer, he'd be like, look what I got. And then just go to his trailer. And I was like, rude, my guy, rude.
But if there was like specific things, I'd be like, get your little box. I got you. Once in a while. But yeah, 100% true. Yeah, I think part of the fascination with it is that we're at the other side of the screen, just mouthwatering, thinking of eating these things. And let's face it, everybody was baking.
There was a flower became like cocaine in this country. There was, there was back alley deals going on for fricking fast rising yeast. Yes, yes, yes.
So I don't know if the government had like a line on, okay, we can get 40 pounds of flour for the show. Meet me at the corner of. Can you walk me through a little bit of what the audition process was like to get a job like this? Because someone has asked me the question, can you please ask Anne and Alan what it was like to audition to be host for the show and how do I get that job? Yeah.
Yeah, it was this warehouse that they had like a whole like fake kind of kitchen set. And I went there and, you know, you read off the script like now, you know, talk to somebody and just play with them and just like talk to them as they bake and find interesting questions and ins and outs and now it's just like, yeah. So I did a bunch of that a lot of improv stuff. And to be honest, I was like, well, I didn't do great. All right. That was fun.
And then months down the line, you get a call and you're like, oh, I'm going to stand up and walk around as you tell me all these great news. Like I was just like, yeah, as Anne said, it's like a warm hug. It came at the absolute right time. It was in the middle of the pandemic. You're just kind of there at home all the time. And just this opportunity that just like completely changed my life. And I'm just I'm just so grateful for it.
Well, coming... You guys both have comedic backgrounds. And in improv, that has to be a useful skill when you are auditioning for things like that. And although it's not in the realm of, huh, this is going to do five minutes of stand-up every show. But I think those...
those skills of being reactionary and saying things on the spot and being in the moment, that kind of training, training, that's kind of a lame thing to say, but that kind of experience in comedy had to have been helpful, Anne. It was. And it really was training, right? Like, I've been improvising for just about 10 years now, and I took classes. I took many classes. So even though we kind of...
Improv gets a really bad rap as being like, ooh, I'm a chicken. And it is that. But moreover, what improv is and how it helped in this particular case is that it teaches you to listen. It teaches you to not plan ahead. And I think one of the reasons why this job is so enjoyable to not only do but to watch is because when you're watching the conversations between Alan and the bakers or myself and the bakers,
It's all improv and it's all coming from a place of I am going to ask you a question and then listen to your response. And that is it. And when you're able to be in the moment like that, it just leads to fun. It leads to also vulnerability and openness and getting to see someone's real side. So improv really for sure helped me get this job. Do you think people...
How do I put this without sounding really mean spirited? Do it. Like when people are getting critiqued, it's very cringe worthy for me to watch the show when people have obviously failed at a task. And you know, when the judges go around to
cut into that thing and eat it and it's not the right color and this was burned and this fell apart and everything went wrong. It's so hard to see them get critiques. And I'm just wondering how that was in real time standing there in that studio and watching these people break into tears when things went sideways.
I think like, especially like the, the earlier bakes, they kind of get a sense of for like what the tent is because the tent is not your, your kitchen at home. It's a different type of oven. You have to learn about different things. You have to adapt. So there are a lot of those factors that go in. And I think a lot of the times the bakers can be, you know, their toughest critiques, but the end of the day, they're putting out amazing,
amazing bakes that 99% of like the population can possibly do. And I, with Bruno and Kyla, I think they're very helpful with what they say. And, uh, they are very specific. It's not just like, you know, uh, hell's kitchen is like, this is whatever it's like, it's not like, like that. It's a lot of like, you know, you probably should have swearing at anybody off camera. Let me tell you. No, no,
No, it's super sweet. It's super constructive. And I think the bakers are listening because a lot of times you'll see the next week they'll be like, I heard that last time. Now I'll do this. So it's they're getting themselves like they're training and learning and they get better each time. So yeah.
And also what you're seeing on TV is the edited version to be compressed. But really, Bruno and Kyla are so wonderful in how they give their critiques because they're not going to say something mean to be mean. If they're saying something that's perhaps a little bit hurtful, it's probably because it's true. And the bakers know that. There is no part of them that's just like, well, they're out to get me. It's like, yeah. Yeah.
it did get burned. Yeah, this is not finished. You can't really argue with criticism like that. But truly they, you know, for every one critique they have, there are five effusive, wonderful things that they've got to say about that bait. I always love seeing the underdog story. I love seeing you, you know, contestants coming from behind and, and season five certainly had,
All of that. Do you guys, and be honest now, do you have favorites that you're secretly cheering for? And you obviously have to set it aside and you can't say anything, but did you? I mean, I think I would be a liar if I said I didn't, but the fact is,
It's like six people are my favorite. And the only reason why it's not 10 is because those bakers didn't stay long enough to have that relationship. Like I, you really do fall in love with them in the tent because what you're seeing is these people working so hard at something that they love and that they're passionate about and something that's not their job, right? These are all home bakers who do this for the love of it. And,
The baking show attracts a certain kind of fan and a certain kind of audience and a certain kind of baker. And they're always great people. So yes, there's favorites, but like, no, there's not. No, I would imagine it would be hard to set aside your, just to have that. I know that I would, without even probably thinking that I was doing it, I'd be picking somebody and kind of praying for them. And then when it all went sideways, it'd be like, oh,
what can I do to foil the other contestant? Yeah. We make those threats a lot. Yeah. We offer like, I'm going to put salt over there. I can do that. If you want to do this, like just tap on the table twice. You don't have to like, you know, say it, but like just wink it. We'll do it. We are here with Ann Pornel and Alan Shane Lewis from the great Canadian baking show. We're going to be right back. You're listening to the Jan Arden podcast.
Welcome back to the Jan Arden Podcast. I'm with Adam and I'm with Caitlin, but I'm also here with Alan Shane Lewis and Anne Pornel, host season five of the Great Canadian Baking Show. And what an experience that was. I want to dig right in to you guys and your relationships with food. We ask so many people that are guests on this show about their childhood lunches that they took to school.
And Anne, I'm going to start with you. Did you take a lunch to school? Did you stay at school to have that lunch or did you go home to have it? And what would that look like for you? My lunch was almost always. Oh, here we go. It was rice, like white rice and chicken nuggets.
And if I didn't get that, if I got anything else, I would be upset. Like I was that kid who was like, I have to have that same lunch. Otherwise I'm not going to eat it. And I would say that for the most part, I did eat it at school, but like,
In grade six, I had a friend who lived across the street. So we would say that we got a note from our parents to leave school for lunch. And we would just pop over there and eat our lunch at her place. And you'd probably have two lunches. You had the lunch that you had in the box and you had whatever was at your friend's place. Alan, do you have a lunch that you have lunch favorites? Did your mom make you a lunch? What went on?
Yeah, my mom would make my lunch and it would, because we're West Indian, we're Trinidadian. So I get a lot of like Trinidadian food. That sounds spectacular, whatever that is. I would have preferred that over like a tomato sandwich. Yeah, so I get the big thermos and you know, you'd have to be very careful because like I'd break them because I was a very just like, you know, clumsy child. But I get that. So I always have like a nice home cooked meal in there and then like a passion fruit and then a bunch of candy. Yeah.
And then a Del Monte apple juice. That was the way. Or a pop, but don't tell any of my teachers. They didn't like what I had. They were like, is he drinking a Chubby or a Coke? That child shouldn't be drinking that. Too much sugar. What are your go-to comfort foods, you guys? Like what really – and I don't want to say like last meal that you have on the planet, but I think all of us kind of develop these –
These go-to things. And I'm just wondering if you guys had things you ate during the pandemic that you never really considered before.
I love Chinese food. And I like, unfortunately, not traditional or authentic Chinese food, which is delicious in its own right. But I love the sort of westernized, anglicized Chinese food. Like that to me is comfort at its core because it's greasy. It can be spicy and it's full of carbs and fried stuff. So I love it.
Who doesn't like a deep fried chicken ball with the plum sauce? No, I know. Like, I don't know. Well, I think that is a very go-to. And let's face it, we were all doing takeout. We were all either picking it up or having food delivered.
and you can only eat so much pizza alan go to comfort foods or things that you are your favorites yeah i definitely have a rotation of uber eats it's kind of embarrassing how they're just like it's like the same five in a row but it's a lot of mcdonald's wow i've i've been eating chicken mcnuggets since the happy meal and i've like not changed that like my friends from elementary school make a joke like you're still eating nuggets with barbecue sauce i'm like
Yeah, maybe. What of it? That, and I love a good like curry goat, like roti. That's just like, that makes my soul just happy and warm. So would you just hit the Uber Eats reorder button? Like it does show you what you ordered in the past, right? Yeah, depending on like the time of day, because I know like delivery times and everything. I kind of, I factor it out. There's a method to the madness. He's got a science. Yeah.
Yeah, it goes down to a science. And it's like certain things at certain times. I'm like, this is probably going to be the best and most fresh right now. So you know, I'm going to do this. And right now I'm probably going to get Mother of India. I'm going to get some butter chicken. That's going to be great. It's right here. If there's traffic, it's easy. I don't live too far from it. So it's great. Are you a cook, Anne? Are you a baker? No. Do you feel like that having no experience was kind of a good thing to have going into the baking show? Like to have zero experience?
experience with baking or cooking? I will say I'm not a big cooker. I'm not a big baker, but I love like Food Network is my default channel. So I might not participate in it, but I do love like I read books on food and cultures and different food cultures. So my mind is open and like a sponge. So even though I don't know how to, I'm always engaged in what I'm watching because like
Maybe one day I'll want to cook or one day want to bake, but not today. What would you cook for me if I was coming over? Like if you had to make me something, you and I are going to have a little meal. We're going to binge watch something. What are you making me?
I'm not going to make anything, but I will assemble an incredible charcuterie board. Okay. Like a huge board of all of the meats, the cheeses, the fruits, the jams, the honeys, everything.
little treats. Like I love a really non-authentic. I went to Paris and they were like, no one should put any fruit on a charcuterie board. I'm like, okay, calm down. But like a really kitted out charcuterie board with everything you could think of and just graze, just graze for hours. That is an art form that there's companies that are going out doing like these charcuterie type boards that are 10,
10 feet long and four feet wide. And I thought, how is that going to continue on with COVID? Like, what does that look like with, you know, everyone just going up to the board and picking stuff off? But I love that idea. I do love a plowman's lunch. I love, just hand me a baguette and I'll come and sit and watch Netflix anytime with you. Alan, what would you make for me, do you think? Yeah, I recently bought a grill. So I'm like been grilling. Yeah.
My sister came over. I did a seven-hour pulled pork. That was a lot of fun. And then I made a barbecue sauce based on a TikTok trend. What is that? It's a what...
So it's a watermelon and they put mustard on it together. So I reduced the watermelon down into thing. And I put a lot of, I made it into like a vinaigrette and mix it into the barbecue sauce and like add a little bit of spices and like some things. And I made it into a barbecue sauce. You are a cook. I can cook. I just don't cook. It ends up just being, I'm like, I could do that. Or I could just get it in 20 minutes. Okay.
Did you guys learn anything? Did you guys learn something from this series? Did you leave with information and skills that you did not have before you started? Honestly. I don't want to lie to you, Jan. You can't make a freaking scone? What's happening? I can tell you directions, but loosely, those are just a guide, right?
Okay. I learned one thing. You have to listen sometimes when you're in the oven for certain things to when it's time to take it out. Listen? So there's like a sound you have to wait. Yeah. You have to listen. You mean like the buzzer going off? The timer? No, you have to be like right at the oven and you have to be just like super prepared to take it any second. So that's one thing. And tempering chocolate is hard. See? He didn't learn the weather. I learned that.
I think that's good that you came away with that. Would you ever want to be a contestant on the Great Canadian Baking Show? Would it even be remotely possible for either of you to participate in that way? In the Great Canadian Baking Show? Certainly not. We don't want to poison Bruno and Kyla. They're wonderful people. I'm not baking anything for them.
Yeah. No one wants to see me just cry by the end of the entire time. Somebody wants to know from Instagram if it's real. I'm not sure what that means. Is the baking show real? I think what they mean is does somebody come in in between and there's other people doing all the stuff? Oh, no. Absolutely not. It's a high pressure. They're doing it. They're doing the damn thing.
Just with 10 cameras on them, a hot tent. And then we're just like, hey, what's going on? So it's like all these different distractions at the same time. So they're just like multitasking. And the fact that they put this stuff out there, it's like a testament to how talented they are. Are we allowed to ask, is it over an eight week period or is it condensed a little bit more? Is the show done in a month or how is that shooting? How does that go? And obviously they're sworn to secrecy because we're seeing it after the fact.
believe our shooting schedule for this season was over six weeks okay so i don't think we're uh we're we're showing how the sausage gets made but in a in a in a small way basically um for one episode it's over two days of filming so you'll have the the signature and the technical on day one and then the next day you'll have the big showstopper and it's not back to back to back um
they'll have a few days in between so they can you know practice their baking and make all the adjustments and do all of this so I would say 18 days 20 days of shooting over six weeks that's a lot though it's a lot for people you know being away from their families it's just a lot of pressure and it's long days anybody that's done any television in their life realizes that
TV is grueling and there is a technical aspect to it. All those little cutaway shots that people see. Anyway, I can, I could sit here and talk to you guys and an Allen forever. I can't thank you enough for being on the show today. You've answered so many of the questions that I was wondering about. I wish you continued success. I hope there's six, seven, eight, nine, 10 and 11.
I think it's the kind of feel-good television that we all want so much. And who doesn't love a good reveal? Damn it. I wish you continued success. I hope I get to see you guys doing your thing, being funny and doing TV. And I just wish you both all the best going forward. You guys are representing so well.
We're just all so proud of you and proud of the show. So keep doing what you're doing and eat those baguettes. We will. We'll eat them. We won't make them though. Yeah, absolutely not. You've been listening to the Jan Arden podcast. We'll see you next time. This podcast is distributed by the women in media podcast network. Find out more at women in media.network.