Kingswood kids to compete in Disney Bake-Off show on Friday

WOLFEBORO — It was last February when Spencer Kelly, a ninth grader at Kingswood High School, received a message through Instagram. Spencer is a baking prodigy who shares his creations through the @sweetsbyspencer Instagram handle, and the person contacting him said they wanted to talk to him about possible television appearance on a major network.

Spencer said he was skeptical, as the contact couldn’t immediately disclose any significant details, but also found the prospect “very intriguing and exciting.”

That first contact was the beginning of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, which brought Spencer, along with one of his closest friends, to California, where they competed in the "Disney Magic Bake-Off" competition. The episode they’re in will air on Friday, Oct. 8, at 7 p.m.

Spencer said his earliest baking memories are making drop-biscuits from Bisquick mix while visiting grandparents in Nova Scotia. He started baking by himself around five years ago, and started sharing his cakes online two years ago.

When the agent who contacted Spencer told him he would need to find a baking partner to audition with, he said he immediately knew who he would ask. “The second they told me it was teams, I Facetimed Kaitlyn.”

Kaitlyn Cooper, another ninth grader at Kingswood, happened to be poolside at a hotel during a family vacation, when Spencer’s Facetime request popped up on her phone. “I tried not to freak out because I was in public,” she said, and raced back to her hotel room so that her freak out could commence.

Kaitlyn and Spencer have known each other since pre-school days, and have been baking buddies for years. He loves to watch baking competition shows, and she loves anything Disney. They both had dreamed of going to California, so the opportunity before them seemed like a dream come true.

But first, they had to go through several rounds of Zoom auditions and Skype interviews to make sure they would make for good television. Spencer and Kaitlyn went for it, wearing baker’s hats and matching, customized T-shirts to make an impression on the production team.

Emily Mraz, "Disney's Magic Bake-Off" executive producer and head of development for Tastemade, said Spencer and Kaitlyn nailed their auditions.

“We were immediately drawn to Spencer and Kaitlyn's lifelong friendship and the teamwork that they exhibited in their audition. It's important to us that the kids on the series have a friendship as well as lots of experience baking together. We have a ton of fun on set, but it is a competition at the end of the day, so partnership and teamwork are key. We knew Spencer and Kaitlyn would be great at both, and we were excited to see what kind of cake they would dream up together.”

Prior to the filming, which took place in early May, Kaitlyn and Spencer were informed they’d be tasked with building a cake based on the 2018 Disney Channel film “Zombies,” which depicted a normal high school that had to integrate with a school for zombies, and how the two groups had to overcome their differences.

The young bakers were given four hours to complete their bake, which seemed like the shortest four hours of their lives, said Spencer. They approached the task with a divide-and-conquer strategy. He focused on the cake itself, while Kaitlyn was in charge of the decoration. “Time definitely felt like it went by way faster,” Kailtyn said. They whipped up a vanilla buttercream cake. “Overall, the cake turned out really good, we were proud of what we made.”

Spencer said he wants to be a pastry chef when he’s an adult, while Kaitlyn said she will keep baking for her own enjoyment, but will likely pursue a career in performing arts.

But first, they have a watch party to look forward to. Spencer wouldn’t say what the outcome of the episode is, but promised an entertaining show.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun, make sure to watch to the end,” Spencer said. “You’ll be on the edge of your seat.”