Tonight could be the night for Delaware pastry chef

Pastry chef Dana Herbert could be named America’s “Next Great Baker.” 

The winner of the reality show baking contest will be announced tonight on TLC’s “CAKE BOSS: The Next Great Baker.  You can watch it with Chef Herbert at Theatre N in the Nemours Building in Downtown Wilmington.

Doors open at 7 p.m. with the finale show starting at 9 p.m.

Earlier this month, Herbert reminisced about baking cookies at Grandma’s when he was a little kid.

But he says the “itch” to bake really started back in high school.

“I would just go home and make stuff out of the cook book every day I got home. Eventually my mom said, ‘Wait! You gotta eat all this stuff that you’re baking.'”

After studying at the University of Delaware, the Bear native studied at Johnson and Wales’ prestigious College of Culinary Arts in Rhode Island.

Now, 34, Herbert’s elaborate creations are on display at New Castle’s Desserts by Dana.

Voted Best of Delaware last year, Herbert’s known for his custom wedding cakes, red velvet cake and sweet potato cheesecake.

He stumbled on the reality show opportunity while surfing the internet.

“I was looking at it for days and I was like ‘Should I, should I not?’ And I was like , ‘Why not, throw my name in the hat.'”

Eight weeks later, Herbert’s in the finale, despite some stiff competition, and is this close to being named the country’s “Next Great Baker.”

“If you win, of course there’s the $50 thousand dollars, which is great, I’m expecting a baby so I can always use that money. They just announced that we’d be getting a car, even better. And you have the opportunity to work for Buddy,” said Herbert.

Buddy, who’s known as the “Cake Boss,” runs Carlo’s Bakery in Hoboken, NJ.

If he wins, Herbert’s not sure whether he’ll work under Buddy or if he’ll stay local.

One thing he does know, the next few weeks will be busy.

Then in two to three weeks, Herbert’s sweetest creation arrives.

His wife of three years is expected to have the couple’s first child, a daughter Herbert affectionately calls “Daddy’s little cupcake.”

For those of you who prefer savory foods to sweets, Chef Herbert released a cook book titled The Sweet and Savory Union that he says will appeal to all palates.