Kean Student Showcases Baking Talent on Rachael Ray Show
Math major Bridget Trela has baked her way to a Jamaican vacation on the Rachael Ray Show.
The 21-year-old from Colonia competed in the show’s Spring Bakers Bake Off, which aired on WABC-TV on Friday, March 16. She baked her family’s signature chocolate chunk oatmeal cookies in a contest that challenged Trela and a student from Columbia University to bake cookies using equipment found in a dorm room – a toaster oven, microwave, hotplate and waffle iron.
“Once I was on set, my nerves left. I just thought that no matter what the outcome is, the fact that I am on TV and meeting my idol, Rachael Ray, is prize enough,” said Trela. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
Although Trela’s cookies were described as delicious and “perfectly chewy and crunchy at the same time,” by the show’s cookie expert Grant Melton, the grand prize went to Niko Savas, who baked kourambiedes, Greek shortbread cookies.
However, the final surprise was yet to come. Announcing, “It's my show, and it was really close, and I cheat,” Ray awarded each contestant a five-day trip for two to Montego Bay.
“I couldn’t believe that I was going to Jamaica. It didn’t sink in until I got home,” said Trela. “It was so unexpected and overwhelming, but I am so grateful and happy at the same time.”
Trela learned about the Spring Bakers contest through her job at Kean’s Student Health Services. Marci Blaski, one of the nurse practitioners, got a Facebook request from a friend looking for college students to compete. She turned to Trela, who loves to bake.
“I've always been baking, ever since I was little,” Trela told Ray. “I saw you on TV and said, ‘Hey mom, I want to do that.’ So, she taught me everything she knew, from cakes to pies to cookies. You name it, I can bake it.”
Trela is a residential student at Bartlett Hall, and says she bakes in the community kitchen. Her appearance has made her a celebrity among her friends at Kean, in Greek Senate where she serves as treasurer, and at her alma mater Colonia High School.
“Everyone was so excited for me. My family was having viewing parties at their jobs, and my friends were sending me pictures of me on TV,” she said. “Even my high school had a viewing party in the cooking classes.”
Trela plans to keep baking after receiving her bachelor’s degree in mathematical sciences (statistics), a skill that could come in handy if she chooses to open her own bakery some day.
Photo Captions:
Top: On set at the Rachael Ray Show, left to right are Spring Bakers judge Grant Melton, Rachael Ray, Niko Savas and Kean's Bridget Trela.
Above, right: Bridget Trela snapped this selfie backstage at the Rachael Ray Show.