Grossmont College Culinary Arts Instructor Marianne Daquino can empathize when her students struggle with making the perfect confectionary delight. As a contestant on TV cooking shows including “Sugar Rush” and “The Big Bake,” she knows the challenges of baking an awe-inspiring creation.
“It’s very intense,” she said of her TV appearances. “You’re judged on every little detail. You’ve got to have a tough skin.” Daquino most recently was on the Food Network’s “The Big Bake” show called “Halloween: Witch and Famous.” She and her two team members had five hours to create a cake depicting a witch in a cauldron holding a crystal ball that lit up. Daquino was responsible for making six rat-shaped cake popsicles.
Although her team didn’t win the competition, Cake Artist Ron Ben-Israel commented, “This is the best ratsicle I’ve ever had.”
Daquino, 44, discovered her love of baking while she was a student at Modesto Junior College with the goal of becoming an athletic trainer. She said her roommate’s mother was an excellent chef and inspired her to delve into cooking.
She worked in medical billing for eight years, where she met her husband, Steve. Daquino said he urged her to go to culinary arts school, and she attended her first class at Grossmont College in 2008.
“I thought, ‘I’ll just take a class to see how it goes’ and I loved it,” Daquino said.
After returning to the area from a move to New York, Daquino earned her associate degree in Culinary Arts in 2017. Grossmont College Culinary Arts Instructor James Foran asked her to assist him in his classes, and later asked her to teach the Chocolate class.
“He had so much confidence in me when I didn’t have confidence in myself,” Daquino said.
Daquino said that after she convinced Foran to appear on the Food Network show “Chopped,” he told her she should also try out for a cooking show. She was selected for an episode of the Netflix series “Sugar Rush” in 2020.
That led to her other television appearances on Food Network’s “Holiday Wars,” “Halloween Wars,” and the “Big Bake” episode. She’s set to appear on episodes of “Holiday Wars” scheduled to air beginning Nov. 5.
Daquino said the filming of the shows can be brutal. For “The Big Bake,” she flew to Toronto, Canada, arriving at 11 p.m. Filming started at 5:30 a.m. the next day and continued until 2 a.m., then she returned home that day.
She credits her success to Foran’s passion for pastry arts and his desire for student success.
“Chef James really inspired me to be the best I can be,” Daquino said. “He’s the reason I went through culinary school. He has such a passion and he loves teaching. That’s the biggest thing when you have a chef who wants you to learn and who wants you to be better than they are.”
Daquino hopes to land a spot on another TV baking competition next year. In the meantime, she is looking forward to teaching her eight-week chocolate class this fall.
“I love the fact that it’s been a full circle – from student to teaching assistant to teacher,” she said. “To me, that’s the most rewarding thing.”