Not only has she wowed neighbors and friends with her creations, thanks to social media postings she found her way to the Food Network’s “Christmas Cookie Challenge” TV show back in 2021 and will be back on the show again at 8 p.m. Thursday in an episode featuring her and four other contestants. Sarmiento-Gupana, 41, said she began developing a passion for baking as a child. “As a youngster, I started making things from boxes as most people start with.
” A casting director for the Food Network’s “Christmas Cookie Challenge” reached out to Sarmiento-Gupana through social media in 2019 when they started looking at her work. She finally got a spot on the show in 2021. She said she came pretty close to winning in 2021, “but unfortunately lost in the finale, so I was really hungry and eager to come back.” “I was very proud to get a call this spring asking if I would be willing to come back for a ‘redemption episode.