CINCINNATI -- When Father Kyle Schnippel isn't celebrating mass, he bakes. His creations are so good that he landed a spot on ABC's "The Great American Baking Show."
Schnippel is pastor at St. John Neumann in Pleasant Run and Corpus Christi on Springdale Road. He spends a lot of time in the kitchen, but said the competition was a whole other level, with cameras around and a hard deadline.
"You've got this clock ticking in the background, of 'do this thing, do this thing,'" he said. "You've got two hours to finish this bake."
The show, based on "The Great British Bake Off," features amateur-but-talented bakers from across the country competing in different baking challenges.
It was stressful, but also thrilling to do something out of his comfort zone, Schnippel said.
"I'm doing something that I don't get to do on a daily basis," he said. "I'm doing something that you've not been trained to do because we're all amateur bakers. To be on the show is to be an amateur."
It also gave Schnippel a chance to offer a helping hand.
"What I loved about it too is that we support each other," he said. "I had a little bit of down time, I was working at my station and the person behind me was like, 'Hey, can you help me out?' And I turned around and I can hold something for her, that was something that I thought was really special about how the show was, that camaraderie, that support that we give each other," he said.
For Schnippel, the show was also a chance to humanize the priesthood.
"I think the wrinkle for me being there as a priest was a fun wrinkle, in the sense of you don't expect priests to do this," he said. "I think a lot of people, even Catholics, we see priests on Sunday at mass. What does he do during the rest of the week?"
Schnippel isn't the only baker from the Tri-State to appear on the show. On Thursday, 9 On Your Side will speak to Jessie Salzbrun, who is also in the competition.
"The Great American Baking Show" premieres Thursday at 9 p.m. on ABC.
