On April 11, Season 3 of the The Great American Baking Show aired on Roku. The lineup included Daniel Freiburger, a home baker and Epic employee who lives in Madison.

Daniel has been baking seriously for the last 10 years, a passion that he first discovered while on a trip with his family. “I bake to eat, and my favorite thing to eat is cake,” Daniel said while discussing his time on the show. “I wouldn’t say it’s my specialty, but I do end up making a lot of cake.”

However, in order to get through the lengthy audition process, Daniel had to demonstrate his experience in all the baking disciplines. After having produced a long written audition, taken a baking quiz over the phone, met with casting directors via Zoom, baking live in a tasting audition in Chicago, and participating in a film test, Daniel was selected as one of eight contestants to appear on the season to compete for the title of “Best Amateur Baker.”

The contestants, who hailed from all over the United States, filmed last July in one of the two infamous “Bake Off Tents” in the UK, with Paul Hollywood and Prue Lieth judging their creations. In the second episode of the season, one of the challenges was to create a showstopper meal that represented the contestants’ hometown. “I went with a Wisconsin theme,” Daniel said. “It was cool. I got to represent the state, and I chose to lock into the cheese theme.”

“It was a dream come true,” he continued. “To bake in the tent for people that I see on TV was surreal. It was an incredible experience. And then you go through it with these seven other incredible bakers, and we’re still really close. We text every single day. I didn’t expect to be such close friends after being together for just a month.”

When asked about what he wanted people to know, Daniel said, “The process of applying was actually really enjoyable. So if you’re interested in applying you should apply. They select cast members from all over the country, so it could be you.” You never know. 

The entire season is now available to watch on any Roku device. And for those who don’t have Roku, you can download the Roku app and watch on a phone or other device.