A
Christmas
Anthony Radencic
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Kitchen King
etflix’s show Sugar Rush boldly and deliberately states that “time’s the most important ingredient”, a fact not lost on anyone as the center of the streaming platform’s high-energy baking competition set is dominated by a jumbotron-like digital clock.
“It’s always there and it’s very real,” Brother Anthony Radencic, Case Western Reserve ’16, said. “If anything, the camera made it look smaller than when you’re there.” Radencic and his teammate Katie Gayner appear in one of the show’s Christmas-themed episodes, released in November 2020. The pair was selected to appear on the show after being scouted on Reddit and making it through a lengthy casting process before traveling to California for filming. Filming for the Christmas-themed episode began in March 2020. Before the cameras rolled, several elements of competition were revealed to Radencic and Gayner, including the format of the competition and an opportunity to learn the lay of the land in the kitchen where they would be filming. As with each episode of Sugar Rush, the team was required
6
Delta Chi Quarterly
By: Matt Gorney, Kansas State ’06, and Justin Donnelly, Kent State ’02
to create a cupcake in the first round, a dessert in the second round, and a cake in the third and final round. “It was a long day. The day began before 6 a.m. and ended after 11 p.m. We felt very privileged to be on set and be there.” Brother Radencic was initiated into Delta Chi in 2010. He pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the College of Arts and Sciences at Case Western Reserve University and graduated in 2016. However, Radencic realized – and readily admits – that he did not have a well-thought-out post-college career plan and was confronted with the task of making immediate career decisions. Such bumps in the road of life can inadvertently lead to unanticipated deviations and an all-together different destination. As such, Radencic found himself working in a grocery store bakery department. “This is where I started learning,” Radencic said of his new occupation. “I’m self-taught and learned on the job.” That first step paved the way for a litany of opportunities in a
