FRIDAY HARBOR, Wash. — A cookie maker from the San Juan Islands is making her national television debut on The Food Network.
Gerryanne Bohn, owner of Driftless Cookies in Friday Harbor, is competing on the network’s "Christmas Cookie Challenge" Sunday, Dec. 11.
Evening host Kim Holcomb talked to her about the experience.
HOLCOMB: "How did they find you? Did they reach out to you, did you have to apply, how does this work?”
BOHN: “Yeah, actually Food Network reached out to me on Instagram. I laughed when I got (the message) because I had just had a conversation with my mother-in-law last Christmas — she asked if I would ever be on the show, and I said to her while watching it, 'No, no I would never do that. There's too much pressure, you need to know all these different recipes!’ I'm a newer baker. At the time, I'd only been doing it for two years and was completely self-taught. And so I just felt like I didn't have enough experience and skill level yet. But when that message came through, my husband was like, 'When is Food Network ever going to reach out to you ever again for this?' And I'm like, aw man, you're right. (laughs) So I decided to go for it."
HOLCOMB: “What’s the name and meaning of your small business?”
BOHN: "I run Driftless Cookies. Originally I was raised in Southwest Wisconsin, in the Driftless area, so it was untouched by glaciers. I am actually a fulltime special education teacher. This is my 10th year teaching. And in my free time, I love doing arts and crafts and picking up different hobbies. My first cookie I ever made was three years ago in November."
HOLCOMB: "Do you feel prepared to see yourself on national television?”
BOHN: "I tell you, it's a rollercoaster of emotions."
HOLCOMB: "What has been the reaction of your friends and neighbors in the San Juans?”
BOHN: “People are going crazy! I went to the grocery store the other day and they're like, 'There's the celebrity!' And I'm like, oh my gosh people know who I am!"
HOLCOMB: "Ultimately, were your mother in law and husband right?”
BOHN: (laughing) “They were right. Honestly, being on Food Network was the experience of a lifetime. It was fun being a part of that and being a little piece of 'Christmas Cookie Challenge.'"
Bohn’s episode airs at 8 p.m. on The Food Network and will stream on Discovery Plus.
Driftless Cookies ships throughout Washington State. You can also follow her cookie journey on Instagram.
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