Johns Creek Resident to Feel the Heat in CBS Baking Show

Local viewers may see a familiar face if they tune in to CBS's "American Baking Competition," debuting tonight at 8.

Darlene Pawlukowsky, a 21-year resident of Johns Creek, made it on the show after auditioning in Tennessee. Based on a popular reality show in Britain, the seven-episode series was filmed here in North Georgia, is hosted by comedian Jeff Foxworthy, and features only amateurs.

"I don't do things like this," Pawlukowsky told Patch. But, she says, one day she was out driving and pulled into a grocery store she doesn't normally shop at. Pawlukowsky ended up in a conversation with another customer whom she had never met, telling her how she liked to bake "crazy" cakes, and that customer told her she should audition for the show.

Pawlukowsky said she thinks she was chosen "because I'm a really darn good baker" and a "humble homemaker" at the same time. She said she likes to try "creative things" with her baking – there's "artistry in my work." 

Pawlukowsky said she stared baking at age 7 with an "Easy Bake" oven, later moving on to a real kitchen and eventually cooking for her own children as she thought it was important for them to grow up with homemade food.

When Pawlukowsky spoke with Patch, she was in the midst of creating a dessert buffet and wedding cake for her daughter's wedding, and said her children were "shocked" when they found out she would be on the show.

"My whole life has been about doing everything for them," she said, adding that they grew up with her "wild baking" and always thought that was how other bakers did it.

The Johns Creek resident said she is looking forward to folks tuning in for the show. "What makes this show so great is we’re all amateurs" so there's some exciting real highs and lows, she added. 

Pawlukowsky said that she loved the chance to make new friends while learning more about baking. "It's the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, but the most rewarding," she said.

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