GS engineering student competes on Netflix baking show

October 5, 2021

By Kyle JordanPublished: Oct. 5, 2021 at 12:12 PM EDT|Updated: 1 hours ago

RICHMOND HILL, Ga. (WTOC) – A Georgia Southern student is showing off her talents on a new Netflix show.

Hannah Walden is a mechanical engineering student and is taking her skills from the workshop to the kitchen. She’s competing on the unconventional new show, “Baking Impossible,” that pairs bakers with engineers in a race against the clock to create functional food.

“The things that they created were so beautiful,” Walden said about her follow competitors. “I’m just really honored that I got to meet them and I got to participate and like put forward my stuff too.”

Walden is no stranger to creativity. Her family home in Richmond Hill is filled with gadgets, inventions, and surprises at every turn. A bookcase becomes a door to a hidden laundry room. A painting on the wall lifts to reveal a television.

“It started when I was in like the sixth grade and as I got older, the projects got more and more complex,” Walden said.

The Waldens have a techno desk in the living room that features 220 volt wall outlets, a drawer for the WiFi router, a place to store your mail, a shredder, an antique 1920 speaker connected to a weather radio, a place to store your umbrella, a disco light and more.

“I keep a spreadsheet of things to build and I currently have 78 future projects on it,” Hannah’s father Chuck Walden said. “There are four projects underway right now and we’ll think of more.”

Appearing on a baking show wasn’t on that spreadsheet.

“Netflix found me actually,” Hannah said.

The Waldens created a YouTube channel called “Atomic Dairy” to highlight their projects and show everyone how they did it. It is full of how-to videos featuring Hannah, Chuck, and their latest creations.

“We had enough people ask us how to build a thing,” Hannah said. “It picked up traction, which we didn’t anticipate.”

After several phone interviews, Hannah was invited to California to participate in the show. Her problem-solving skills would be put to the test when the cameras started rolling.

“I know how she thinks and operates and I knew that she would be up to the challenge, and I just couldn’t wait to see how she solved the problems,” Chuck said.

“Baking Impossible” premieres on Netflix on October 6, 2021.

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