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New Braunfels pastry chef wins festive baking competition on the Food Network
Ashley Landerman, one half of the family baking duo at 2Tarts Bakery in New Braunfels, has won the latest season of Food Network's popular Holiday Baking Championship competition show.
Season 10 of the show featured eight episodes packed full of delicious holiday treats while 12 bakers from around the U.S. — including another from Round Rock — competed for the win and a prize of $25,000. The season finale had Landerman baking a macaron wreath, and a "championship-worthy" holiday cake with a real model train.
Landerman's history of culinary arts began at Ballymaloe Cookery School in Ireland, although her bakery website says she was "born a foodie." She opened her New Braunfels bakery alongside sister April Ryan in 2010, with Pete Landerman and their mother, "Mom Tart," completing the roster for the family business.
This isn't the first time the Central Texas baker has appeared on a Food Network show; Landerman won the Food Network Christmas Cookie Challenge in 2019.
In a recent post on her Instagram speaking with real estate broker Inaky Strick, Landerman said she wanted to challenge herself during the "Holiday Baking Championship" by returning to her roots and proving she still has what it takes to be a highly proficient baker.
"Before this show, I always thought of myself as a baker," she said. "And after [being on the show], I'm like, 'No, I'm a pastry chef.'"
According to her Food Network's profile, Landerman plans on using the prize money to restore her family's camper van.