the most emotional group that they had
ever had,” said Lyndsay. “The kids cried
every time someone was eliminated.”
Saylor was amazed by the size of the
kitchen and the amount of people used
for filming. Right away, the kids went
through boot camp. “They had to make
sure the kids knew how to work these
particular mixers and use a gas oven,”
said Lyndsay. “Saylor had never used a
gas oven before.”
In the first episode, their task was
to make “Selfieclairs.” Each competitor
worked with a different flavor. Eclairs
also had to be decorated with something
to represent each baker’s unique
personality. In addition, competitors
had to hashtag whatever they chose.
Saylor’s chocolate hazelnut éclairs
were decorated with sprinkles. She
piped #sprinkle on top of an éclair for
70 Toombs County Magazine
which she was chosen as runner-up in
the first round of baking.
There was no rule against kids
helping another competitor if someone
got in a tight, which is exactly what
Saylor did in the very first episode
for her new friend Davey from Ohio.
This wasn’t something I learned from
Saylor or her mom. It was something
I discovered while watching the first
episode in the competition, which aired
on August 6, 2018. After meeting Saylor,
I was not surprised. If I had to describe
Saylor with an ingredient, I would have
chosen sprinkles, too. She had the
sweetest disposition, and her joy was
simply infectious.
The second episode challenged
bakers with a “Gravity Defying Cake”
with a “ginger twist,” which she
incorporated into her butter cream
Saylor has a collection of recipes
that she keeps handy, but many of
her creations she knows by heart.
She has also learned many of the
secrets to good baking.
icing. Saylor made a raspberry limeade
cake, and somehow made it appear as if
chocolate candies were spilling out of a
bag in thin air and onto her cake.
“Ice Screamers” was the challenge
in the third episode. “It was an ice
cream sandwich, but each one was
different. And the sauce was the
challenge,” said Lyndsay. Saylor was
awarded top baker in this episode for
her homemade peach ice-cream and a
confetti cupcake, which she topped with
a razzle berry coulis sauce.
The challenge in the fourth episode
for those left in the competition was
“lasagna dessert imposters.” “It was
basically a desert that looks like
lasagna,” said Saylor. Once again, she
escaped elimination.
Parents were not allowed on set
during filming, but watched on a
monitor in a separate building. “For
episode five, each baker was assigned
a different desert,” said Lyndsay. “One
got a cookie bar. Another got a mini
bundt cake. Another was assigned a
cookie. The secret ingredient each
had to incorporate into their baking
was popcorn. When Saylor was given
cheesecake, I thought, how is she
going to do that in two hours? But
she was very smart. She grabbed mini
cheesecake pans.”
Saylor decided she would put the
popcorn into her crust. Since caramel
was an obvious choice for flavoring,
she decided to use cinnamon, which
gave her the idea to make a “cinnamon
French toast bacon cheesecake.” She
called her creation: “Saturday Morning
Breakfast.”
“What gave you the idea to put
bacon in cheesecake?” I asked. I mean,
this kid took creative thinking to a
whole new level.
She smiled. Actually, Saylor always
smiled. “Duff loves bacon,” she said.
“But,” she gave a brief pause, “it was
terrible.”
“Val and Duff talked about how the
texture of her cheesecake was like over