An unsung winner works to rebuild her success

If you have ever had dreams about participating in and eventually winning a reality cooking show but never made it past the application stage, you understand disappointment. But your chagrin at not making the grade likely pales in comparison to that of Vallery Lomas. She won a televised cooking competition, but no one was ever allowed to see it.

Lomas was a contestant on the third season of ‘The Great American Baking Show’, (the US spinoff of GBBO), when the program was derailed by allegations of sexual misconduct against one of its judges, Johnny Iuzzini. Even though the show had wrapped, ABC cancelled the series after airing only two episodes. 

Naturally, Lomas was crushed by this outcome as her formerly smooth path to culinary success encountered a sudden roadblock. However, the former attorney was not going to quit without a fight. She is still pursuing her dreams and has leveraged the small amount of press she did receive. She presented the Outstanding Baker Award at this year’s James Beard ceremony, and has made a handful of TV appearances. Lomas is currently working on a pitch for a TV show and is writing a cookbook – we’ll let you know about it as soon as we know the details!