SaskatoonKavi Chatoorgoon is hard pressed to say which is more stressful: his usual job as a pediatric surgeon, or baking against a timer for an audience and a group of judges.Kavi Chatoorgoon made it onto his favourite baking show after 2 prior attemptsLori Coolican · CBC News · Posted: Oct 02, 2025 2:17 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours agoKavi Chatoorgoon appears on Season 9 of The Great Canadian Baking Show. (Carmen Cheung)Saskatoon pediatric surgeon Kavi Chatoorgoon is hard pressed to say which is more stressful: his usual job, or baking against a timer for an audience and a group of judges.”I don’t know how to answer that,” Chatoorgoon chuckled in an interview with Saskatoon Morning’s Stephanie Massicotte.”I think that being in the competition is in some ways more stressful, just because I haven’t spent like 20 years training for it.… Not to say there aren’t times when I stay up late thinking about a case and worrying about the next day, but it’s not the same sort of stress.”Chatoorgoon, 48, joined nine other amateur bakers from across Canada for the newest season of The Great Canadian Baking Show, which launches Sunday night on CBC and CBC Gem.His wife Vidya, who is also a surgeon, first suggested he apply to compete on the show a few years ago, just a week before applications closed.He didn’t make it that season, or on his second attempt. The third time was the charm, he said.Competitors on the show come from across the country and vary in age and background, including a crane operator, a kindergarten teacher and a data science student.The Great Canadian Baking Show Season 9 bakers include Margaret Bose-Johnson, from left, Kavi Chatoorgoon, Shaneka Ekanayake, Jo Mandet, Jennifer Tsang, Dominic Ménard-Bilodeau, Dan Vano, Zoë Weinrebe, Tamara Church and Ryan Gridzak. (Carmen Cheung)Chatoorgoon has been baking for a long time, but “really ramped up during the pandemic,” he said. “Where I lived before, I was down the street from a big bakery and sort of baking school, so I would take lessons there, just to brush up on skills. And then that really got me hooked. Once you start seeing results, it’s hard to go back.”Having watched and loved all eight prior seasons of the show, he had a feeling he’d end up making nine new friends from across the country, even though they’d all be competing against each other.WATCH | Saskatoon doctor lands spot on The Great Canadian Baking Show: Saskatoon doctor lands spot on The Great Canadian Baking ShowSaskatoon doctor Kavi Chatoorgoon found a second home in the kitchen and his skills landed him on The Great Canadian Baking Show. He joined Saskatoon Morning to talk about his passion for baking and his experience on the show.”It’s a very intense show just because of the time crunch and a lot of factors that are out of our control. But it was also a really amazing place to be,” he said.”The cast and the crew were just really, I wasn’t expecting how warm and nice everyone would be, and just trying to help you to be the best you could be.”Baking takes precision and attention to detail, but it’s still a creative process, and it has served as a sort of mental refuge from the intensity of the work Chatoorgoon does in children’s health care.”It’s nice to use a different part of your brain,” he said. “I find it’s sort of like playing music or anything; the focusing on the task helps you to push away other things going on. And so it’s a good way to kind of leave work at work and focus on something that will hopefully be delicious.”Saskatoon Morning7:32Meet a Saskatoon pediatric surgeon who is taking his baking talents to the hit series The Great Canadian Baking ShowWhen Saskatoon doctor Kavi Chatoorgoon isn’t doing surgery, he can be found in the kitchen whipping up delicious baking creations. These skills have landed him on the latest edition of the Great Canadian Baking Show, which airs this Sunday. Kavi is competing against nine others for the coveted title on the reality show.ABOUT THE AUTHORLori Coolican has been a reporter and editor in Western Canada since 1996.With files from Saskatoon Morning
Saskatoon surgeon brings precision to the kitchen on The Great Canadian Baking Show
