TULSA, Okla. — Sue Taylor spent decades turning flour, butter, and sugar into something far greater than dessert — she’s turned it into a calling.
“This is my happy place — this is it — in the kitchen,” Taylor said.
WATCH: ‘Follow your dreams’ | Tulsa grandma on Great American Baking Show
‘Follow your dreams’ | Tulsa grandma on Great American Baking Show
The amateur baker credits her mother for instilling in her a heart for hospitality.
“I tell people that God gave me the gift, but my mother taught me how to use it,” Taylor said.
Taylor, a mom and grandmother, continued that legacy by using her talents to support local nonprofits for years. It began with a baking class for The Power of Nickel, a mission’s ministry.
“After that I started giving away baking days in my kitchen to The Pearl House, which is a girls school in Ghana which I am on the board now. I’ve become very involved. And The Common Good is another non-profit I’ve donated baking classes to. And the last ones went for over $3,000 a day. So I have raised a lot of money for very good causes,” Taylor said.
Now, Taylor is taking her passion to the international stage.
While her friends and family thought she was studying baking in London, she filmed The Great American Baking Show.
A friend of one of her daughters urged her to sign up. The year-long process started with an audition tape and a lengthy application.
“It’s very intense. It’s about 70 to 80 questions of what did you bake? Who did you bake it for and how did they like it? It’s like taking the worst essay exam of your life,” Taylor said.
Taylor is one of eight chosen contestants.
“They told us in LA the head producer said they receive 7 to 10,000 applications a year,” Taylor said.
Taylor believes she may also be making history on the show. “I am the oldest contestant to my knowledge that they’ve ever had on the show!” Taylor said.
While filming, Taylor reached a milestone birthday — one her fellow cast members made sure she would never forget.
“Everybody in the tent sang. And then they said, as with any birthday, we have a very special birthday present, so they gave me an apron and it’s monogrammed The Great American Baking Show Happy 70th birthday. So, I have a one-of- a-kind memory that nobody else has,” Taylor said.
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The show filmed last July over the course of about a month.
“Long shooting days. They would pick us up at our apartments between 6 and 6:30, and they would drop us off at night between 7:30 and 8:30,” Taylor said.
There are 5 episodes in all. In the first, Taylor plans to pay tribute to the woman who started it all — her mother.
“I think she would be happy. I think that she would say job well done,” Taylor said.
Taylor cannot yet reveal how she did on the show, but hopes her story inspires others to step outside their comfort zone.
“Follow your dreams because dreams come true at 70,” Taylor said.
The Great American Baking Show streams beginning May 11, 2026, on Roku.
Taylor also hopes to offer baking classes in the future. You can see more of her baked good and contact her on Instagram @mtnmama1955.
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