The Big Nailed It! Baking Challenge, another spin-off of the Nailed It franchise, dropped all ten episodes on Netflix on Friday, August 4, 2023. The show started with 10 amateur bakers, but only two contestants, Georgina and Ignoisco, made it to the final.
Ultimately, Ignoisco De' Juan, a music teacher, took home the grand prize of $100,000 in episode 10. After his victory, he said that it was a "full circle" moment for him and gave a shoutout to his students as he reminded them that their dreams can become their realities.
"In order for people to grow, like, you have to push them past their limits. It's the same thing that I do with my students. My baking dreams are possible, all my dreams are possible," Ignoisco told the cameras.
However, Georgina didn't go home empty-handed, as she participated in a classic Nailed It pantry raid, where she could take home all she could grab.
What did the contestants bake in the finale of The Big Nailed It! Baking Challenge?
In the season finale of The Big Nailed It! Baking Challenge season 1, the two finalists were tasked with making a stunning cake of their own design, accompanied by two treats to complement their main creation, in 12 hours.
Until the finale, the amateur bakers were presented with a cake they had to replicate or were given briefs to adhere to. However, in the finale, it was all fair game.
Since their expert coaches, Erin Jeanne McDowell and Robert Lucas, were not allowed to help them, two eliminated contestants, Frank and Richard, were brought back to help them with their final challenge.
Frank was paired with Ignoisco, while Richard teamed up to help Georgina. The Big Nailed It! Baking Challenge contestants, however, were allowed to discuss their plans with the coaches.
Ignoisco told the coaches he always wanted three businesses, a bakery, a performing arts school, and a homeless recovery center. He wanted to incorporate all of the three in his final cake. He further told them he wanted his flavors to be alcohol-inspired, and for his treats, he wanted to do strawberry margarita cupcakes, cookies, and cream cheesecake bites.
Georgina explained to the coaches that she came to the baking show because she wanted to make something nice for her father. She noted that he has been playing the guitar for 30 years and wanted the cake to represent that.
"I'm pulling my inspiration from a family tradition that we have. We like to go to the beach every Saturday, ride our rides there, then my dad will sometimes play some music," she told the cameras.
The Big Nailed It! Baking Challenge finalist noted that her idea for the cake was a guitar in a mound of sand on the beach with seashells. She wanted the flavor profile to carry something chocolatey or like coffee since her father loves tiramisu. Her two treats included musical note cookies and chocolate hazelnut cupcakes.
They created two stunning creations using all the skills they learned throughout the competition. The challenge was stretched over two days, and on day 1, the contestants baked everything and made a lot of progress with their presentations. They returned to the kitchen the next day with only three hours on the clock, during which they had perfected their cakes and the treats.
While both had minor flaws in their creations, the contestant who took home The Big Nailed It! Baking Challenge's grand prize was Ignoisco De' Juan.
Episodes of the baking competition are available to stream on Netflix.