Meet Janet Tan, the Sabahan Baker Who Won RM44K After Triumphing in Food Network's Christmas Challenge
A woman originally from Lahad Datu, Sabah, has made a name for herself after winning an American baking competition and taking home a grand prize of US$10,000 (RM44,350).
Janet Tan appeared on an episode of Food Network's Christmas Cookie Challenge where the episode pitted four bakers over two rounds for a winner every week over the season.
According to a Facebook posting, Janet managed to wow the judges with her creative tropical Christmas cookies.
How her baking journey began
Before her win, Janet was not born talented in baking. According to a report, she had never gone to a pastry school and didn't even know how to operate the oven because she was so used to reading Celcius instead of Fahrenheit.
Janet worked in the hospitality sector before she and her family moved to Seattle from Malaysia in 2013.
Since moving, she has been a stay-at-home mother. She then became a ground staff member for an airline company. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she was forced to stay at home again.
Her interest in cookie decorating came by chance after she came across some YouTube videos.
According to Janet, when she first told her husband she wanted to try cookie decorating, he was sceptical and repeatedly asked for confirmation.
The birth of Fairyland Pastry
Janet started her home-based cookie business, Fairyland Pastry, in December 2020. It all started when her eldest daughter was in kindergarten, and they were getting invites to birthday parties almost every month.
Janet said she wanted to make something special for her daughter's friends instead of buying them gifts. So, she asked the kids’ moms what their favourite characters were, and baked them custom cookies.
“If you buy a gift, they might not remember you, and even now, I still have moms who still talk about how I made their kid cookies. I think that's kept me going, from a hobby into a business,” she said.
The show's producers had their eyes on her
Janet’s opportunity to appear on the show came when she saw an advertisement for the casting. At first, she was unsure, considering English is not her first language, and she was nervous about speaking on TV.
While Janet contemplated, it turned out that the show's producers had their eyes on her and intended to reach out. After three months of interviews, Janet was selected to compete. The filming for the show began in April over three days.
Janet competed in season eight's fourth episode, themed Santa's Seaside Holiday. According to the Food Network episode overview, the cookie makers had to build 3D Christmas sandcastles, complete with crushed cookie sand, and use papayas, mangoes, coconuts, or guavas in their cookies.
Upon learning about the theme, Janet said she was excited as it reminded her of the beaches back in Sabah.
Talking about the show's experience, Janet said it was very intense but really, really fun. Through the show, she also learned that she can now make cookies in less than 90 minutes, compared to before, when it would have taken her two days just to finish two dozen cookies.
“How am I going to finish in such a short amount of time? To mix dough, to bake, to mix the icing, colors and decorate… they pushed me to the limit where I thought I was going to crash, but it turns out I can do it, and I just needed someone to push me to go faster,” she said.
Janet said she would definitely do it again if she had another opportunity to compete.
Life after the show
Since her win from the show, Janet said the Fairyland Pastry has been swarmed with orders. Many of them were for the upcoming Christmas holiday.
As for what's next, Janet said she plans to return to Malaysia as he hadn't returned in seven years.
Congratulations, Janet! We wish her business continues to boom.
Those living in Seattle looking to order her pastries can check out Fairyland Pastry's website or Instagram.
Featured Image Credit: Fairyland Pastry