Look who’s cooking

We asked the 12 contestants on The Great Kiwi Bake Off to tell us about the dish they are most proud of and their biggest baking disaster.

Ana Djokovic, 28, human resources adviser, from Hamilton (originally from Serbia). Proud of: A dish called ‘burek’ – a traditional Yugoslavian pie. Disaster: The great love-heart blob disaster of Valentine’s Day 2018. When shortbread isn’t cold, love hearts turn into love blobs.

Jennie Verstappen, 27, dietitian, from Tauranga.

Proud of: I made a croquembouche (French wedding cake) which was fun but in terms of everyday stuff I’m probably most proud of our family’s carrot cake with cream cheese icing – simple and delicious, always a winner. Disaster: My biggest baking disaster was probably trying to make a completely sugar/sweetener-free cake and it was just gross. Best to stick with proper baking. Annabel Coulter, 19, having a ‘gap year’, from Timaru. Proud of: My chocolate fondants because when you get them right they are very satisfying and yummy. Disaster: I love making macarons but, funnily enough, that’s where my biggest baking disaster comes from. When I first made them, I followed a recipe but they were awful so from then I made my own recipe and got it down to a ‘T’.

Clayton Barnett, 39, freelance TV producer, from Auckland. Proud of: Macarons. They took ages to nail. Disaster: A sweet pastry with bacon and egg pie. Not a winning combination.

Stacey Johnsen, 29, mum and body piercer, from Invercargill. Proud of: It’s not really a dish, but I make amazing pikelets. Disaster: I haven’t really had anything too major at home thankfully, just forgetting to add an ingredient or a cake not rising. I find most things could be fixed.

Shannon Patangata, 41, IT analyst, from Wellington. Proud of: My grandmother’s famous steamed pudding. Disaster: Destroying a friend’s pot when I forgot about a pudding I had boiling away. Smoke plumes everywhere and the kitchen resembled a coal mine. Funny now – at the time not so funny.

Hannah Ward, 33, mum and part-time teacher, from Wellington. Proud of: My family pies – sweet and savoury. I love making pies. The flavour, food value and decoration are something that brings big smiles to those that eat them. Disaster: A pavlova. It was glossy and gorgeous and decorated beautifully but when my hubby cut into it, a horrid fart smell came out. To this day I have no idea what we did but we had created a fart pav.

Jeff Poole, 49, communications consultant, from New Plymouth.

Proud of: A pumpkin ginger cheesecake.

Disaster: A gingerbread bridge. I tried three times and had to give up as I couldn’t get it to work. Larissa Wilson, 22, engineering student, from Christchurch. Proud of: I really think I can do a pretty fabulous croissant. The problem is that they take me three days usually, so aren’t really appropriate for being made in the Bake Off tent. Disaster: I dropped a whole vegan ‘Beef Wellington’ on the floor on Christmas Eve last year. It was meant to be my sister’s Christmas lunch and actually still was because we just ate it anyway.

Vanessa Bradley, 48, business owner, from Auckland. Proud of: Lemon meringue pie and some of my breads – baguettes or sour dough probably. Disaster: I made my daughter a birthday cake one year which was supposed to be a Cinderella carriage. But it turned out to look like a brain.

Joel Arnold, 28, landscaper, from Hamilton. Proud of: Anything I bake I’m proud of to be honest, unless it goes balls up – then not so much. Disaster: I would say a flat pavlova or a flat cake. Sonali Thakur, 44, flight attendant, from Auckland (she is originally from India). Proud of: My dark chocolate and whisky tart with grand marnier jelly. Disaster: Macarons. I have had piles and piles of failed ones.