Heather Allen | GCBS Baker Bio
Heather Allen, 40 (she/her)
Hometown: Winnipeg, MB
Occupation: Literacy Educator
Instagram: @heatherswildbakes
A proud prairie girl, Heather is passionate about her Winnipeg community and often bakes for local charitable causes. She, her husband and two children love to spend their time exploring the Manitoban countryside, and their own backyard, to forage and harvest ingredients to infuse nature's goodness into everything they make. As a literacy educator for children, Heather is also a voracious reader and immerses herself in books.
When did you start baking? I seem to lack the appropriate amount of fear and respect I should have for difficult things, so the first thing I ever baked was a full lemon meringue pie, when I was about 11 or 12. I had never made pastry, curd, or meringue, but that didn't give me a single pause. I'm sure the pastry was tough, the curd split, and the meringue weepy, but my three brothers disappeared it in record time, so it couldn't have been too bad!
What's your signature bake? There is no particular baked good people always ask me to bring. Everyone likes something different and I love tailoring my bakes for them individually. I just love figuring out what people need to taste and giving it to them.
Why do you think you can be Canada's Best Amateur Baker? I had to try for five years to achieve what some people did in one year, but I'm clearly persistent and not afraid of hard work and that counts for something.
Watch The Great Canadian Baking Show on CBC Gem.
