La Casita Coffee owner Maricsa Trejo will appear on the inaugural season of Gordon Ramsey’s Next Level Baker in December, the acclaimed baker announced via Instagram over the weekend.
Photo by Simon Pruitt.
The James Beard-nominated baker will join eleven other contestants for a special holiday version of Next Level Chef beginning at 8 p.m. on December 4, when the show premieres on Fox. Next Level Baker will run over the course of three weeks.
Trejo co-owns six La Casita locations across North Texas — including the Half Price Books location that opened last fall — alongside her husband and third business partner, Brianna Short. In 2022, she earned a James Beard Award nomination and was named a semifinalist for best baker. Trejo was nominated again the following year.
La Casita Coffee opened a new location in Half Price Books in August, following the closure of Black Forest Coffee and an extended permitting process.
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Next Level Baker won’t be Trejo’s first television appearance. In fact, it won’t even be her first time on a seasonal cooking show. In 2022, Trejo appeared on season 8 of the Food Network’s Halloween Baking Championship. The Mesquite-born baker made it to the fourth episode before being eliminated from the competition.
Trejo and her fellow bakers will be evaluated by judges Gordon Ramsey, Carla Hall and Candace Wilson. Taking place over three weeks, the 12 contestants will compete for a grand prize of $25,000, as reported by WFAA.
“This has been the biggest secret I have had to keep from ya’ll! I am an official baker on the first-of-its-kind show! Next Level Baker!!” Trejo wrote on Instagram. “This is the biggest thing I have done to date and I am so ready for Christmas! Move over Thanksgiving!!”
Episodes will also air on Hulu the day after their original TV premiere.
