Netflix will debut a new competitive baking show on Friday, and one local woman says she's up for the challenge.
Nina Charles may be recognized around Acadiana from her food truck, Nina Creole, or her baking business, Nina Bakes Cakes. Soon, she'll be recognizable to millions of Netflix subscribers across the world from the latest baking show, "Is It Cake?"
For Charles, baking started as a way to connect with family.
"I was trying to recreate a memory I had with my aunt and mom," she explained, "They used to bake all my cakes as a child. My nephew was turning one so I wanted to create those memories with him. I tried, I failed. It was a disaster. The next year, I wanted to redeem myself. I did, I posted, and people started asking for me to bake for them."
Just six years after this launch of her baking career, Nina was surprised by a call from a casting director, asking her to compete on a new baking show.
"Something nudged me to give them a call back. At that point, I didn't know it was Netflix, I just knew they wanted somebody for a cake show," said Charles.
The show features nine bakers making hyper-realistic cakes that mirror everyday objects, for example, a handbag. Each episode, their goal is to fool the judges into believing their look-alike creation is the real thing, posing the question "Is It Cake?"
"I'm very good at what I do so I think a lot of them will be fooled into thinking that it's not cake," said Charles.
The show drops on Netflix Friday, March 18, and Nina is looking forward to all of Acadiana cheering her on.
"I'm not sure what this means for my career just yet. So I can't tell you how far I got in the competition, but I will tell you to please stay tuned til the end. You may see me on more than one, more than two, more than three episodes," said Charles.