‘Baking It’s’ Dynamic Duo Jonah Nigh and Patrick Herron

Maya Rudolph and Andy Samberg are serving up a sweet treat this holiday season.

The Saturday Night Live alums are hosts of the brand-new reality food competition show Baking It, a spin-off of the Emmy-nominated NBC crafting competition Making It. In the six-part series, eight talented teams of home bakers gather in a winter cabin and face off in themed challenges for the chance to win $50,000.

Spouses Jonah Nigh and Patrick Herron are one of the duos.

“We went into it not really sure what to expect,” Herron says. “We hoped that one of the other teams would like us and we’d make some friends, and we hoped it wouldn’t be a complete disaster. We hoped we wouldn’t embarrass ourselves. So, we went in with terrified expectations, and it turned out to be one of the best experiences of our lives. It was one of the most memorable things we could have done together.”

“Absolutely,” Nigh adds. “I thought this was just going to be, like, a footnote in my life, but the people have been so wonderful, and not to get too sentimental, but this came at the perfect time. My younger brother passed away during the casting process, and this was such a positive force. Everybody in the show is incredible. We love them all like family. We talk a lot about how traditions and family are not just handed to you, especially when you are part of the LGBTQ community. Traditions and family are things that you create, and we created it in the show. It’s very meta, but very on-target. It was just a wonderful, positive experience.”

Living in The Bronx, Nigh works in fundraising for a nonprofit company while Herron is a bioethicist. They initially auditioned for Baking It as a joke.

“I saw on Instagram a promotional ad for home bakers,” Herron explains. “I am a huge fan of Schitt’s Creek. I’ve made Jonah watch it many, many times, and one of my favorite scenes is the whole ‘folding in the cheese.’ I sent the ad to him as a joke with the catchphrase ‘fold it in.’ Like, haha, whatever.”

Unbeknownst to Herron, his husband filled out the application.

“I did a video at my desk during my lunch break,” Nigh says. “I was like, hey, I’m Jonah; I’m a diversity BINGO card. I’m gay; I’m Brown, dual-faith family, married to a white guy; we’ll give you everything you need. Three hours later, a casting agent called, and I was like, this is a scam. They’re like, no this is real, we want to see you and your husband on Zoom tomorrow. Then I called Patrick.”

“He was texting and calling me at work, and I thought there was an emergency,” Herron recalls. “I’m like, what’s wrong? He’s like, they called! What are you talking about? Fast forward, next thing you know, we are meeting these amazing producers.”

After four months of conversation and a tedious audition process, Nigh and Herron were finally cast on the show.

According to the pair, meeting and interacting with Rudolph and Samberg was better than they ever imagined. However, the Emmy winners were not who the teams cooked for.

Four real-life baking grandmothers named Anne “Grandma” Leonhard, Norma “Bubbe” Zager, Sherri “Gigi” Williams, and Harriet “Nana” Robin had the final say.

“They were amazing, but they also knew their stuff,” Herron says. “Every subsequent challenge, there was pressure on everybody to really step it up. If they gave you feedback, how would you incorporate it?”

“The problem was, their taste was so different,” Nigh says. “Judge X would like boozy desserts; judge Y likes very sweet desserts; judge A didn’t like sweets, so it was impossible for that panel to be completely pleased, but they were lovely, lovely people.”

While some people find it difficult to work with their significant other in the kitchen, both Nigh and Herron agree that Baking It brought them closer together as a couple. They have been married for six years.

“It’s funny because we live in The Bronx, and our kitchen is very tiny,” Herron says. “It’s not a kitchen for a reality show. So, we’re rarely ever in the kitchen at the same time because there’s not enough space. It was interesting that this whole experience required us to actively work together. We generally divide and conquer.”

“I bake; he cleans,” Nigh jokes. “I was a little nervous because you can obviously tell that our temperaments are very different, but that’s good because there were a couple moments where I very much needed a calming presence. Then there were times when Patrick needed a kick in the pants.”

Additionally, Nigh and Herron believe their appearance on the show will bring positive visibility.

“Even in 2021, I think there is still this pervasive notion of what an all-American family looks like,” Nigh says. “I think having a family like Patrick and I on there is progress. I grew up dual faith; Patrick grew up a different faith, gay, we have every color of the rainbow in the family, so I just think it’s really important. Some other family that looks like us is going to get to see themselves.”

If the couple wins the $50,000 grand prize, they plan to put the money to good use.

“Number one, we are going to buy a dishwasher,” Herron quips. “I can retire from that duty and finally focus on my own baking. Besides that, like many other people, we have not been able to do much because of the pandemic. Summertime is usually when we do a big trip somewhere, and we had to delay it. So, we have been talking about Norway and visiting friends who live around the world, stuff like that. Our hope is that we are getting closer and closer to that. That’s on our wish list.”

“It would be nice to have some down time,” Nigh adds. “It has been go, go, go, go this year.”

To stay up-to-date and connect with Nigh and Herron, follow them on Instagram. All six episodes of Baking It are now available to stream on Peacock. 

Photos Courtesy of NBC Universal/Baking It