Tamera Mowry-Housley Says Fans Will See Her ‘Ugly Cry’ on New Holiday Baking Show (EXCLUSIVE)

Tamera Mowry-Housley expected some tears might be shed by contestants over stressful challenges or team eliminations on her new Hallmark series, “Baked With Love: Holiday.” But she never expected that she and the judges would be the ones crying.

With a $50,000 prize for the winners, the stakes were high for the 10 pairs of contestants — all related in some way, from spouses to siblings to parents competing with their adult kids — as they baked their most cherished family recipes during intense, timed challenges. As Mowry-Housley watched the action unfold, she told EntertainmentNow she couldn’t help but get emotional.

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Tamera Mowry-Housley Says the Judges Cried, Too

Hallmark

“Baked With Love: Holiday” is Hallmark Channel’s first unscripted baking competition, filmed in a gorgeous, transformed barn in the English countryside, with pristine baking stations surrounded by twinkling lights, festive decor, and all the gadgets, appliances, and ingredients they need.

The goal is to meet each challenge with their own flair and cultural influences, using recipes and skills passed down in their families. The very first challenge, to bake a double-crusted “hometown Christmas pie,” inspired everything from a peach pie baked by Alabama mother-daughter duo Sally and Amy to a chocolate marscapone pie made by Washington D.C. siblings Susan and Saman.

“I was actually surprised how quickly I became attached,” Mowry-Housley told EntertainmentNow of the contestants, who hail from all over the U.S. “I think it’s because they are sharing their family recipes, they’re sharing family stories, and their traditions. And I immediately, you know, became invested because they’re being vulnerable … you would get emotional.”

As Mowry-Housley and the show’s judges — New York Times cooking expert Vaughn Vreeland and celebrated U.K. chef Anna Haugh — watched the teams do their best to carry on their family legacies, she said they couldn’t help but get choked up.

“You will see me cry,” Mowry-Housley laughed. “It was like an ugly cry, but it was for something beautiful. Yeah, you would get caught up in the moment. And it happened for all three of us. It even happened to Anna, who I always say is the tough cookie of the series. She’s extremely passionate. She’s a mother, so I feel like she went in wanting to teach and help these bakers grow. And she did. She did
just that.”

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Judges Couldn’t ‘Fake’ How They Felt About Sweet Treats on Show

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Though most of Mowry-Housley’s time is spent acting in Hallmark movies, including her upcoming Christmas movie “Tidings of the Season,” her finely-honed skills as a warm and engaging host get to shine in “Baked With Love: Holiday.” She spent seven years co-hosting “The Real” and has helmed two other baking shows in the past, so she was the perfect fit among Hallmark’s top stars for this gig.

Mowry-Housley told EntertainmentNow she was relieved to be the host and not a judge it was such an emotional thing to let each duo go. But Vreeland and Haugh, she said, “were so beautiful in their judging, and I say that because, when you’re getting critiqued, especially with a family recipe, it’s vulnerable, and the judges knew that.”

“At the same time, they couldn’t be fake about it,” the longtime Hallmark star said, noting that their feedback had a “warm, gentle undertone.”

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Why ‘Baked With Love’ Feels Similar to ‘The Great British Bake-Off’

The set and production quality of “Baked With Love: Holiday” is remiscient of “The Great British Bake-Off” because, Mowry-Housley said, the same production company worked on both series.

“They’re the best in the business, so to have them kind of show us the reins … it was like they were our safety net,” she told EntertainmentNow. “I knew that this was gonna look amazing, but the moment I stepped in that barn and I (also) saw this passion and rhythm that each and every crew member had.”

“Baked With Love: Holiday” premieres on October 27 at 9 p.m. Eastern time.