If you’re looking for a comforting show to watch, The Great Canadian Baking Show on CBC Gem takes the cake!
Raufikat Oyawoye-Salami is the winner on Season 4 of The Great Canadian Baking Show with consistently delicious, beautiful bakes. It turns out, she has an undergraduate degree in Electrical/Computer Engineering and a Master’s degree in Wireless Communications Systems. Currently she works as a Technical Business Analyst at HEXO Corp.
Watch our fun and inspiring interview with her:
Photo credit: CBC
For the finale, Raufikat had to manage a lot of very complex bakes at the same time. She believes her Engineering background helped her navigate the time management challenges: “I used spreadsheets, breaking down each step and the time needed.” Says Raufikat, “Engineering requires full thinking and pre-planning everything from beginning to last minute.”
Raufikat’s excellent time management helped her always finish on time, and she often used that time to help other contestants. “No man is an island.” Raufikat says. “Collaboration is very important in any aspect of life, whether professional or personal.” Raufikat was always ready to help others and she believed they would have done the same for her. She follows the same principle in her professional career as well: “It is helpful to foster the team spirit, when you are always there to help each other.”
Photo credit: CBC
She also never seemed to show the pressure and admitted that engineering exams were actually more stressful than competing on the show. Her advice for dealing with high stakes circumstances? “I generally like to remind myself that losing my head is likely to be more detrimental to the situation than taking a moment to regroup and re-strategize.”
Raufikat showed a lot of creativity during the show. She says she loved everything she baked: entremets, charlottes, meringues, breads, and cookies. But perhaps the most creative and beautiful one was her meringue crunch cake, which her daughter also loved. Raufikat considers herself a chocolate fan and she loves everything chocolatey!
Photo credit: CBC
“My family has been completely 100 percent behind me,” says Raufikat about how supportive her family has been through the show and in her career. When she attended the show, she didn’t know whether it would be for a week or the whole season. Her youngest was ten months old at that time. Raufikat’s husband took care of their children while she was away. Even her family back in Nigeria always encouraged her to do her best. Their support, Raufikat mentions, helped her be focused and determined. She remembers her father encouraged her to study engineering. Her husband and two sisters are engineers as well.
According to Raufikat, engineering and science are fundamental to baking. “You should be careful of ingredients. Everything is there for a reason and proportions must be precise. I tested everything out and knew the function of them.”
Photo Credit: CBC
Raufikat shares her advice for young women as a Black immigrant engineer: “Don’t let anybody tell you that you cannot do it. Women are excelling in every single field. Reach out and ask for help. There is a network of women engineers who will support you.”
Raufikat has not decided about her future moves in baking. She is looking forward to more professional growth in her field, advancing herself in her engineering career.
“Women can achieve anything. There is no limit. There is nothing that only men can do. If you want to do it just find out what you need. Don’t be discouraged. Stay focused and ask for help. Don’t think that you have to do it all by yourself.”
Raufikat’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raufikat-oyawoye-salami/
Raufikat’s bakes: https://www.instagram.com/lanisbakebox/
To watch the show: https://gem.cbc.ca/season/the-great-canadian-baking-show/season-4/eaf6fa01-a3fe-4ccf-8826-a9ef12b3030c