WAYNE COUNTY, Mich. – Two Wayne County women will be representing Metro Detroit and showing off their incredible baking skills on Food Network Canada.
Season three of Great Chocolate Showdown will feature Connie Kazan of Dearborn and Bri Brown of Detroit.
Both talented bakers got their start at a very young age.
“My parents were one of the first families to start the pita business in the United States, especially in Michigan. I grew up under their wings and I look at my parents, idol them because they taught me life, they taught me what to do,” Kazan said.
“I’ve always loved to bake, I got an Easy Bake oven for my fifth birthday and that’s really when things started popping for me,” Brown said.
It also helps that her father is a chef.
Brown’s passion for sweets landed her an opportunity to throw on an apron for Food Network Canada. She tried to do season two, but it didn’t work out. Staff on the show said they would reach back out for season three and they did. After multiple interviews she got the final call.
“When I got on the call for the interview, that’s actually when they told me ‘You’re coming on the show!’ and I was just like ‘What?’ and immediately started bawling because I grew up watching Food Network in the States,” said Brown.
The competition was no piece of cake especially because neither Kazan or Brown specialize in chocolate.
“So chocolate is a whole different world,” said Kazan.
“I know a lot of people are like, ‘Oh I could do that,’” said Brown. “But I’m telling you, the show is hard.”
Brown said the experience was also very rewarding.
For Kazan, a proud Muslim woman, this competition was bigger than the chocolate and $50,000 grand prize.
“Wearing the scarf (hijab) and stuff and representing some Muslim women in the world, just showing that we can take things to another level we push ourselves and representing Dearborn Of course, you know, my hometown.”