Reality Recap True tales of TV trials
Amy Rosen Roasted by a gang of Dragons After finding initial success in Toronto as a cinnamon bun entrepreneur, the opportunity to bring her bake-at-home pastries and spreads to Dragons’ Den was something this Cordon Bleu chef couldn’t resist. But her pitch didn’t impress the judges much. During an episode taped last summer—which premiered in December— she stumbled when answering questions about her corporate finances. Still, it’s given her the chance to laugh about being nationally humiliated on CBC Television. While she initially accepted a $300,000 buyout offer for her company, the deal with the panel of celebrity investors later fell through. Now, she’s focused on expanding a retail network across Canada, with the ability to label these products “As Seen on Dragons’ Den.” A long-time food writer in her own right—Kosher Style was the most recent of her five cookbooks—Amy Rosen’s pastry-making skills also put her on the radar for a Food Network Canada competition series, Wall of Bakers. Donning a white chef jacket, she judged the entrants alongside top dessert-making names like Anna Olson, Lynn Crawford and Christine Cushing. But the show had more Jewish representation than most of its kind, thanks to host Noah Cappe, and the baker who ended up taking a top prize of $10,000: Melina Schein, a professional singer based in Vernon, B.C., who explored her heritage in the kitchen while being unable to perform live during a couple years of lockdowns. Schein even gave herself an online persona: “The Saucy Soprano.”
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