At a time where reality cooking shows like Hell’s Kitchen, Nailed It!, and The Great British Bake Off reign supreme, it seems like a no-brainer that Disney would want to enter that space with its own spin on the genre. That’s exactly what the new Disney Channel series Disney’s Magic Bake-Off aims to do.
Hosted by Dara Reneé (High School Musical: The Musical: The Series) and Issac Ryan Brown (Raven’s Home), the first ever baking competition show on the channel combines the beauty of baking with the talent of several young pastry chefs as they set out to create the most extraordinary Disney-inspired desserts.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with The DisInsider’s Dempsey Pillot, Isaac Ryan Brown discussed his involvement in the project, how the series is different from any other Disney Channel original, and the possibility of a fifth season of Raven’s Home. You can check out the full interview below:
DEMPSEY PILLOT: So, my first question is, and I have to ask this, how did you go from Raven’s Home to doing this show? How did you become involved in this project?
ISAAC RYAN BROWN: Well, the incredible people over at Disney Channel and Tastemade reached out to me, and I got an audition. It was actually called something else originally, but the name changed midway through filming season for it. At first, I thought I didn’t get it because I didn’t hear anything back for like five or six months. Then one day I got a call, and they were like, ‘Okay, cool. Well, let’s start filming.’ I was like, ‘Okay, great.’ So we had our first table read and I met Dara, and everything after that is history. We really did something special. We get a lot of amazing kids coming on the show doing what they love to do.
DP: Personally, when I was the age of these kids, I barely knew how to make scrambled eggs. So it’s really cool to see that there’s actually little kids out there that can make full blown dishes and desserts. Now, this is primarily in the realm of reality TV, which is a cool space for Disney Channel to enter. I don’t want to date myself, but I remember back when they used to have shows like Bug Juice, and like Totally Circus, which was probably way before you were born. I guess what I’m trying to ask is how cool is it to be participating in something that isn’t scripted?
IRB: Oh, it’s great because it gives me and Dara and any of our special guests the freedom to riff and kind of show our personalities. I mean, of course, as hosts we still have to drive the show to get from point A to point B, introduce the guests, tell them what the show is the challenge, but anything between that and the interactions that we have with the judges and the kids is pretty great. Even with the “Magic Big Breaks”, which I feel like the kids are going to love. There’s a different one every week.
DP: What’s that?
IRB: So another super unique thing about our show is every episode has a different theme. Every theme comes with a different “Magic Big Break”. So if we do a Star Wars episode, we will have a Star Wars themed “Magic Big Break.” If we do a Mickey Mouse themed episode, we have a Mickey Mouse themed “Magic Big Break.” My all time favorite one was probably the Big City Greens one. I’m not gonna go into detail about what happens, but I will say that it’s really fun.
DP: That’s really cool! Now, aside from it being unscripted, and the fact that you get to try all these foods, how else would you say the show is different from anything else that Disney Channel has on its current block of programming?
IRB: Well, one big thing is that we’re going to be an hour long. It was a big deal when I found out because I’ve never been a part of anything aside from a DCOM that’s ever been an hour long. On top of that, we got Tastemade, the company that does those super awesome recipe videos. We have that integrated in our show. So if you want to try and attempt to do the things these kids are doing on our show at home, we’re gonna have little tutorials in the middle of our challenges. It’s gonna be great.
DP: In the first episode, there are a lot of hijinks just like any other cooking show. You know, contestants panic when they think that they might have done something wrong or added the wrong ingredient. What’s one of the funniest things that you think happens this season that fans should expect to see?
IRB: Well, I know usually, it’s not funny, and it certainly wasn’t funny while we were filming it, but, me and Dara have our fair share of slip ups. Not everything is perfect in the kitchen. I’ve seen some cuts of our episodes, from cakes dropping to icing overflowing to some things overheating in an oven. There’s a lot of funny stuff.
DP: And is there a message in this show that you hope people take away from it?
IRB: No matter what your age is, pursue your dreams. We have seven and eight year olds coming on our show baking real three-tier cakes. Not three layers. Three tiers. So no matter how old you are, no matter how outlandish your dream seems, keep chasing. It’ll happen.
DP: One more question, and I have to ask this. You know, fans are awaiting word about whether or not there’ll be a fifth season of Raven’s Home. Have you heard anything? Do you have any update for the public?
IRB: I mean, I’ll be super excited if it happens. You know, the fourth season was a really emotional season for me and my cast. It all made us come closer together. But if we get a fifth season, it’ll be fantastic. I don’t know. You have to wait and see. I think you may know more than I do.
DP: Isaac, it was a pleasure to be speaking with you. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you for letting me check out the episode. And hopefully we can speak soon. especially if Raven’s Home gets renewed.
IRB: Hopefully! Take care. Thank you.
As a part of the Disney Channel’s FUN-lucky night of premieres, following the debut of the Disney Channel Original Movie Spin and the animated event Descendants: The Royal Wedding, Disney’s Magic Bake-Off will air its first episode tonight at approximately 10PM EST. Every week afterwards, new episodes will be available every Friday evening at 8PM EST on Disney Channel and DisneyNOW.
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