This summer, Emerson Valley resident Veronica “Vera” Grayson will be appearing in the hit reality baking/dating competition Don’t Go Caking My Heart. She was selected from a group of more than 1,000 potential contestants who made it through the first two rounds of auditions to join the cast of the show’s 11th season. The season’s lead was announced as Charleston, NC native Aiden Berkowitz, a 28-year-old baby food salesman with a six-pack and a winning smile.

Miss Grayson, 24, filmed the show this past winter, but signed an NDA barring her from discussing anything that happened during the tapings. Now that the wait for it to air is almost over, she’s been allowed to promote the season with hints of what’s to come.

“I’m so excited for everyone to see me in action,” Miss Grayson told the Gazette. “Wait—by ‘see me in action,’ I meant the baking part. Aiden was a total gentleman, so nothing happened between us. Oh, shoot! I mean…maybe it did, but maybe it didn’t? Jeez…I don’t know. Talking about the show without being allowed to say anything about it is really hard.”

As with other popular reality TV competitions, Don’t Go Caking My Heart sees 12 contestants battle it out for the chance to date the hunky lead. Each week, 2 contestants are eliminated, until the lead must choose between the final pair to crown as his baking queen. The winner also gets a lucrative cookbook deal that many see as the real prize. Out of the couples from the previous 10 seasons, only 3 are still together.

Don’t Go Caking My Heart: Season 11 premieres Wednesday, June 2nd at 9 PM EDT on NBS-affiliate WEVL Channel 8.

-Sarah Donovan, Editor & Local News, Emerson Valley Gazette

UPDATE (6/30/2021): Vera Grayson was sadly eliminated in week five’s episode when the lead decided her plum-creme vanilla macarons didn’t pack as much flavor as Imogen Carter’s double-chocolate brownies.