Mia - Young, ambitious and creative

In the winter of 2019/20, Sistie met Mia Emilie Persson, who was the season's youngest participant in Den Store Bagedyst 2019. At the time, the high school student from Rungsted Gymnasium was just 17 years old and had already participated in Masterchef Junior at 14.

Mia was in the program alongside her high school years, which gave her a busy everyday life, where she tackled normal youth errands such as assignments, school lessons and exams, all while also recording the program on weekdays.

12 years old with an interest in food

Mia got a taste for cooking and baking when she was just 12 years old. The interest increased, but before then, she was actually very picky and did not eat very many things.

“When I was little, I was super picky. After I started cooking, I decided I wanted to like more things - I succeeded and today I eat almost everything. There is hardly anything that I don't like.

Mia has baked the finest Sistiecakes 💛

The Great Baking Contest – a desire for a challenge.

Mia had long been fond of cooking, but also wanted to challenge herself and try her hand at the sweet kitchen.

"It has been the coolest and funnest experience to be part of. I have learned an incredible amount from it. Not only have I become better at baking, but I have also learned to be more creative, structured and goal-oriented under enormous pressure.”

From the start, Mia decided that she would not take the safe choice in the program. She wanted to challenge herself and push her limits by thinking outside the box and doing something different with her cakes. This has sometimes crossed the line, but it was important to her that she herself was satisfied and could vouch 100% for her works.

Pushing her limits is not new to Mia, who has the same attitude in her private life.

"I can really recommend challenging yourself, you learn an incredible amount from that! I also challenged myself in high school when I chose to take a global course of study, where the teaching is primarily in English. I wasn't very good at English, but I wanted to be.”

The youngest girl

Mia was the season's youngest participant and although she could feel it at times, she still thinks that many of the experiences were the same for everyone across ages.

"When it comes down to it, I just think that we have all had a great experience and learned an incredible amount about ourselves and everything else."

Still, there is a difference - because Mia also had school to think about on the side. It is a challenge in itself to be part of The Great Baking Contest, but it was not made easier by having school on your mind as well.

"I have to admit that the school was probably given a bit of a lower priority, both in relation to the preparation for the lessons and the absence. The recordings were always filmed on weekdays and therefore I missed many hours.”

It was strange for Mia to return to normal everyday life without being able to tell anyone about her experiences. The classmates knew very well why she was gone, which only increased their curiosity. It required her to train herself to keep the secret to herself until it came out.

"The last recordings were during my reading holiday, which sent me to my final exam completely unprepared. Fortunately, it still went well.”

Future prospects

Of course, Mia had her own expectations for the program, but she also ended up being surprised. The Great Baking Contest filled her life with a lot, and it was a huge experience, with experiences she can use in many aspects of life in the future.

She feels that her everyday life has returned to normal after the programs, but that her participation has also opened doors to fun and exciting experiences - such as her interview with Sistie.

After high school, there are many opportunities for Mia - however, she is not that interested in being either a chef or a pastry chef.

“However, I would like to work with food in some sense, but I don't know exactly how. Food and communication, maybe development... I am very happy to develop recipes that I share on Instagram or my website. But time will tell.”

Initially, Mia has to go out and experience the world when the end of high school comes closer. Either way, we here at Sistie have no doubt that there is a bright future ahead for talented Mia ❤️