The Great Poly Bake Off, Poly’s rendition of the Great British Bake Off, had four submissions this year, two rounds and one winning team. Despite the best efforts of freshmen Rai Gutierrez, Alaya Baral and Charlie Brooks, junior duo Eden Stern and Stella Martinez came out on top. We interviewed this winning team to uncover the baking secrets behind their victory.

Both teammates have been baking since childhood, and in recent years, Stern and Martinez have worked together in the kitchen to master a range of baked goods and dishes, including cinnamon rolls and pesto pasta.

When asked what inspired her love for baking, Stern stated, “I would bake a lot to get my head out of the difficulties of COVID.”

Often, Stern and Martinez enjoy pretending to be characters from “Ratatouille,” with Stern piggybacking Martinez while they bake. This experience has not only brought them closer as friends but has also improved their baking precision and skill.

“The more you have fun, the sweeter it tastes,” Martinez noted.

The pair’s shared passion for baking was not a linear journey, though. Martinez grew up severely allergic to several ingredients commonly found in baked goods, such as eggs and nuts. One day, she decided she would not let her allergies stop her from eating delicious food, and she started practicing the art of making allergen-free baked goods. Now, she’s grown out of her egg allergy.

“It was very hard,” Martinez described, “but now it’s more serious Bake Off stuff, so I got over [the challenges of] my allergy, and my baking got better.”

Their first dessert of the Bake Off was candy cane gingerbread molasses cookies. They found a recipe through a cookbook, and then wanted to make the dessert their own, adding a signature ingredient: crushed candy canes. The blend of spicy ginger with minty candy canes impressed the judges with an unforgettable holiday explosion. Upper School Mathematics and Computer Science teacher and Bake Off judge Dominic Rosato noted, “They were very impressive.”

Both bakers noted that they’ve had less time to bake since entering high school due to their busy schedules, ranging from Stern’s soccer practices to Martinez’s late-night dance rehearsals. They also stated that there have been times when they have messed up recipes or couldn’t find the correct ingredients. Did this diminish their love of baking? Of course not.

When they prepared their signature chocolate cupcakes for the second round of the Bake Off, they initially planned to fill them with caramel sauce, but the taste pairing wasn’t what they were looking for. Instead, the team swiftly improvised and made a homemade raspberry puree for the center.

Filling hearts and stomachs, Stern and Martinez have changed the meaning of what it means to be a team. To anyone whose goal is to be the Bake Off champion next year, Stern says, “You can’t beat us. Wait till we graduate.”