CTV's Original Competition Series CROSS COUNTRY CAKE OFF Premieres with Special Two-Night Event Beginning December 15

– Hosted by Canadian Screen Award-winner Mary Berg and celebrated pastry chef Andrew Han, CROSS COUNTRY CAKE OFF decorates CTV's schedule beginning Thursday, Dec. 15 and Friday, Dec. 16 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app –

– The competition series features cake makers from across Canada, and comes out of the oven with a four-episode festive installment, before returning to CTV with all-new episodes in spring 2023 –

– Series produced by Boat Rocker's Proper Television and distributed globally by Boat Rocker –

To tweet this release: https://thelede.ca/EKfUqZ

TORONTO, Nov. 21, 2022 /CNW/ - CTV's new cake competition series CROSS COUNTRY CAKE OFF is set to make its debut with four holiday-themed episodes, premiering with a special two-night event Thursday, December 15 and Friday, December 16 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app. Hosted by cookbook author and multiple Canadian Screen Award-winner Mary Berg and introducing celebrated pastry chef Andrew Han, the CTV Original series features the country's best cake makers as they bake to claim the $50,000 prize, and the title of CROSS COUNTRY CAKE OFF Champion.

Throughout four holiday-themed episodes, hosts Berg and Han judge the homemade cakes of 24 bakers from across Canada. During three regional qualifying rounds, eight bakers in each of the host cities – Vancouver, Toronto, and Halifax – present their creations to the judges. Four cake makers from each qualifier then move forward to compete in the CROSS COUNTRY CAKE OFF kitchen in a festive cake challenge. The Top 2 bakers representing each region move on to compete in the finale.

On Monday, Dec. 19 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app, the third and final qualifying round concludes leaving six cake makers to face off in two holiday challenges. The winner takes home the top prize of $50,000 and the title of CROSS COUNTRY CAKE OFF Champion during the finale on Tuesday, Dec. 20 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app.

Following the four-episode holiday season, CROSS COUNTRY CAKE OFF returns to CTV in spring 2023 with six all-new episodes featuring a new crop of 40 Canadian bakers vying for the top prize.

Viewers can stream new episodes of CROSS COUNTRY CAKE OFF on CTV.ca and the CTV app, which is also home to bonus content including exclusive video content and behind-the-scenes extras. In addition, viewers can follow @CTV's social channels all season long for highlights, bonus content, and more.

Mary Berg is a three-time Canadian Screen Award-winner for Best Host, Lifestyle for her shows MARY MAKES IT EASY (2022) on CTV Life Channel and CTV's MARY'S KITCHEN CRUSH (2020-21). MARY MAKES IT EASY was also named Best Lifestyle Program or Series at this year's Canadian Screen Awards, following back-to-back wins for MARY'S KITCHEN CRUSH in 2020 and 2021. Berg is the Season 3 winner of CTV's MASTERCHEF CANADA, as well as a cooking expert on CTV YOUR MORNING, THE SOCIAL, and THE MARILYN DENIS SHOW. Berg is the best-selling author of Kitchen Party: Effortless Recipes for Every Occasion, and Berg's newest book Well Seasoned: A Year's Worth of Delicious Recipes.

Chef Andrew Han is the owner and executive chef of the award-winning Kouign Café, located in the heart of Vancouver's historic Chinatown. Chef Han discovered a love of cooking early on in life and received training in classical French and Italian culinary and pastry arts at the Northwest Culinary Academy of Vancouver. He began his career as executive pastry chef at several notable Vancouver restaurants and bakeries, merging his Korean-Vietnamese-Canadian upbringing with his passion for food to then create his whimsical and other-worldly creations at Kouign Café. While Chef Han is known for his masterful execution of combining sweet and savoury ingredients and his special selection of Kouign Amann, his most well-known menu item is the White Rabbit Cookie. This cookie went viral when he participated in a one-time Chinatown pop-up, drawing daily lineups of hungry foodies craving culinary nostalgia.

With just the right amount of authenticity, innovation, and imagination, Chef Han elevates the humble foods of his Chinatown upbringing and takes his guests to a magical place where he shares his childhood and heritage through unique and delectable bites.

CROSS COUNTRY CAKE OFF is developed and produced by Boat Rocker's Proper Television, in association with Bell Media. Cathie James and Lesia Capone are Executive Producers and David Donohue and Meredith Veats are Series Producers. For Bell Media, Heather Williamson is Sr. Development Executive; Rachel Goldstein-Couto is Head of Development; Tina Apostolopoulos is Sr. Production Executive; Sarah Fowlie is Head of Production, Original Programming; Carlyn Klebuc is General Manager, Original Programming; Pat DiVittorio is Vice-President, CTV and Specialty Programming. Justin Stockman is Vice-President, Content Development & Programming, Bell Media. Karine Moses is Senior Vice-President, Content Development & News, Bell Media and Vice Chair, Québec, Bell.

CROSS COUNTRY CAKE OFF is distributed globally by Boat Rocker.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS: 

Twitter
@CTV_PR 
@TheLede_CA
@CTV
@mary_berg3
@ProperTVPR

Facebook
Facebook.com/CTV

Instagram
@CTV_PR
@TheLede_CA
@CTV 
Andrew Han – @thekouign
Mary Berg – @ mary_berg3
@propertelevision

Boat Rocker BRMI is the home for creative visionaries. An independent, integrated global entertainment company, Boat Rocker's purpose is to tell stories and build iconic brands across all genres and mediums. With offices around the world, Boat Rocker's creative and commercial capabilities include Scripted, Unscripted, and Kids & Family television production, distribution, brand & franchise management, a world-class animation studio, and talent management through Untitled Entertainment. A selection of Boat Rocker's projects include: Invasion (Apple TV+), Orphan Black (BBC AMERICA, CTV Sci-Fi Channel), Dear…(Apple TV+), Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry (Apple TV+), The Next Step (BBC, Family Channel, CBC), Daniel Spellbound (Netflix), and Dino Ranch (Disney+, Disney Junior, CBC). For more information, please visit www.boatrocker.com.

Since opening its doors in 2004, Proper Television has become one of Canada's most successful production companies. Proper works across a wide range of genres including reality, lifestyle, documentary and specialist factual programming. The company's ratings-grabbing slate includes a mix of originals: MOTEL MAKEOVER (Netflix), VEGAS RAT RODS (Discovery, Velocity), MARY MAKES IT EASY (CTV, Food Network US), FAMILY HOME OVERHAUL (HGTV Canada, Hulu); along with big international formats: MASTERCHEF CANADA (CTV, Cooking Channel US), THE GREAT CANADIAN BAKING SHOW (CBC, Netflix), and IRON CHEF CANADA (Food Network, Discovery Plus). In 2017 Proper Television became a division of Boat Rocker Media.

Bell Media has commissioned some of Canada's most-watched and most-acclaimed original programming, working with the best Canadian independent producers in the country. Hit series commissioned by CTV include #1 Canadian drama TRANSPLANT; record-breaking Canadian format THE AMAZING RACE CANADA; and comedy series CHILDREN RUIN EVERYTHING and JANN; as well as upcoming scripted series SULLIVAN'S CROSSING and THE SPENCER SISTERS, and unscripted dating series FARMING FOR LOVE. Among the original series on Bell Media specialty and streaming platforms are CTV Life Channel's culinary series MARY MAKES IT EASY with Mary Berg; CTV Comedy Channel's ROAST BATTLE CANADA and the upcoming ACTING GOOD. Crave Originals include hit series LETTERKENNY, CANADA'S DRAG RACE, and WAY OVER ME (SORTEZ-MOI DE MOI); docuseries DARK SIDE OF THE RING; and acclaimed documentaries FANNY: THE RIGHT TO ROCK and A.RTIFICIAL I.MMORTALITY. Discovery is home to Bell Media's hit factual series and franchises HIGHWAY THRU HELL, HEAVY RESCUE: 401, and MUD MOUNTAIN HAULERS, and others. Bell Media is part of BCE Inc. ((TSX, NYSE:BCE), Canada's largest communications company. Learn more at BellMedia.ca.

CTV is Canada's #1 television brand. CTV provides unparalleled entertainment programming across two broadcast television networks; a powerful suite of specialty channels including CTV Comedy Channel, CTV Drama Channel, CTV Life Channel, and CTV Sci-Fi Channel; and digital channels CTV Throwback and CTV Movies, streaming on demand from CTV.ca and the CTV app. CTV has been Canada's most-watched television network for the past 21 years in a row and features a wide range of sports and information programming, including CTV News, Canada's highest-rated national and local newscasts. CTV's parent company is Bell Media, Canada's premier multimedia company with leading assets in television, radio, digital, and out-of-home advertising.

SOURCE CTV