Gray gets chance to become 'Next Great Baker'

Nov. 19, 2012


Peter Gray Reminder Publications submitted photo

By Chris Maza

chrism@thereminder.com

EAST LONGMEADOW — Peter Gray and his delectable deserts have been the talk of the town since he was in fourth grade, but recently he had the opportunity to become the talk of the nation.

Gray, a 21-year-old East Longmeadow High School alum, was selected as one of a baker's dozen of contestants in the third season of the popular TLC series "The Next Great Baker" in which "Cake Boss" Buddy Valastro offers up a prize of $100,000, a feature in Redbook Magazine, and a chance to work side-by-side with him and his team at Carlo's Bakery.

"It's been a great experience and I have had the opportunity to meet some celebrities and work with some really great people," Gray said.

"The Next Great Baker" season premiere airs on Nov. 26 at 9 p.m. More than 1.7 million viewers watched the premiere for the second season, according the TLC.

Gray will be offering his supporters a chance to catch the premiere at a viewing party at Spoleto Restaurant, starting at 7:30 p.m. The party will also be the official release of his new cookbook, "Pete's Treats."

Reservations and a $10 donation to charity are required to attend.

For Gray, a love for baking and dessert making started at a very early age.

"It all started a long time ago. My grandmother was very much into cooking and candy making," Gray said. "When she passed away, she left me some of her candy making items and I did a fourth-grade presentation on chocolate. That four-minute presentation turned into a business."

That business was "Pete's Sweets," a venture that he continued through middle school and into high school.

"In middle school, I would sell dollar candy bars," he said. "They eventually had to tell me to stop selling them because kids were spending too much money on candy and not on school lunch."

Gray added that an interview with Reminder Publications during his junior year of high school "sparked the business town-wide."

Gray now attends the New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, Vt., where he has continued to hone his craft.

"I think I definitely found the correct place for me," he said. "New England Culinary Institute has small, hands-on classes where everyday I am able to work in the kitchen and enjoy learning."

It was a teacher at the school who recommended that Gray try out for the show.

"In late summer, Adrian Westrope, one of my teachers, suggested that I try out for his show and that began a long process for me," he said.

The process included a multi-step interview procedure that got more and more personal as applicants progressed.

"The first step was to open an email and reply back with answers to questions," Gray said. "Being somewhat technologically impaired, I opened it once, closed it, then couldn't open it again, so I was not off to a great start."

Still, Gray didn't let that stop him.

"I remembered that the first question was to send pictures of yourself and some of your work, so I sent that to them and got a response telling me how great they were," he said, adding that he was able to get another email survey sent to him afterward, which he then returned fully completed.

After the email, he received more applications to fill out and once that process was completed, after a waiting period, he was asked to produce a video interview; something he admitted was a bit awkward for him.

"If you know me, you know that I'm someone who loves to talk to people," he said. "But with the video, you're basically talking to yourself on camera and that's hard to do."

After another period of waiting, TLC informed Gray that he was selected as a semifinalist for a spot on the show. The network then brought him in for an in-person interview at which time he was asked to show his stuff.

"They had me make a cake or two and it was a challenge because they threw some curveballs at me," he said. "They wanted to see how I would do under pressure. I didn't make the world's best cake, but I had a lot of fun because I went in there thinking, 'What do I have to lose?'"

After the interview, Gray was left to wait once again and admitted that he didn't think he had made the final cut.

"I was wishing I would just get the phone call saying I didn't make it so I could at least know," he said.

Finally, while sitting on the beach in Maine, where he was in the midst of an internship, he received the call saying he was selected as a contestant on the show.

"I flipped out," he said. "I was so excited."

While the show produced its share of tense situations, Gray said he was able to handle them in stride because it wasn't his first time producing under pressure.

After all, he had already made a cake for a former president.

While working at Tides Beach Club in Kennebunkport, Maine, for his internship, he was charged with making a cake for the Bush family, who owns an estate there.

"I actually went to the compound and made the cake right there," he said. "It was very nerve-racking. After all, I was making a cake in front of President George [H. W.] Bush, [former First Lady] Barbara Bush and other members of the family."

While he said he had to remain mum on many of the details regarding the show, Gray promised it would be an entertaining season with many challenging assignments for the contestants.

Those interested in attending the screening party at Spoleto should contact Gray at 265-6297 or petes-sweets@hotmail.com by Nov. 23.

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