“Need to save it for later:” Spring Baking Championship star Julian decides not to use his immunity

Spring Baking Championship, the Food Network's baking competition series, gives a platform to bakers to showcase their talent and creativity. Pastry chef Julian Jimenez is one of the contestants competing on the show for the title as well as the grand prize of $25,000. Hosted by Jesse Palmer, the judges include Duff Goldman, Kardea Brown, and Nancy Fuller.

In episode 3, Julian received an immunity but decided not to use it. Despite being part of the bottom two, Julian hoped he would stay in the competition. Taking this risky path, Jimenez stated:

“I need to save it for later. I know it’s just going to get more challenging as these competitions go. So it’s not the time to use it yet. I could have saved myself. I hope I don’t regret this choice.”

Spring Baking Championship season 11, episode 3, titled The Magic of Spring Colors, was released exclusively on the Food Network on Monday, March 24, 2025. The episode synopsis is as follows:

"Jesse Palmer asks the 11 bakers to create an impressive, whimsical madeleine tower infused with an assigned tea flavor. Then, the competitors unleash their creativity by crafting rainbow cheesecakes for judges Duff Goldman, Kardea Brown and Nancy Fuller."

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Spring Baking Championship contestant Julian's topsy-turvy ride with judges

On the Spring Baking Championship season 11's Monday episode, Julian competed in the immunity challenge to receive an advantage against his fellow contestants. He managed to impress the judges with his Hibiscus Madeleine tower and was able to secure an immunity for himself. Despite getting the option not to compete in the elimination challenge, Julian decided to save this advantage for later use.

For the next challenge, the chefs were required to make rainbow-themed cheesecakes using key ingredients, such as fruits. Julian presented a peach-flavored cheesecake with a rainbow alongside layered orange hues. Despite exceeding the expectations with the visual aspect of the dish, the Spring Baking Championship cast member had to face criticism from the judges.

The judges mentioned that Jimenez's dish lacked the right flavour as it was overbaked. This meant that Jimenez went into the bottom two and an elimination battle with his fellow castmate, Stacey.

The Spring Baking Championship star hoped not to regret his decision, which was to save the immunity for later. He didn't want to go home this early in his journey on show. During his confessional interview, Julian shared that his dream was to be declared the winner and that he had worked really hard to get to this stage. He continued:

“I’ve worked a majority of my life to get here—worked on cruise ships, big hotels, big resorts in Las Vegas. Mainly, that’s really why I want to win it. I want to show my kids, you know, maybe all those years I spent saying I work very late, you know, it’s all for something.”

In the end, it was revealed that Stacey was eliminated from the competition; hence, Julian still had a chance to prove his capabilities in the upcoming episode. The new episodes air every week on Monday nights at 8 p.m. exclusively on the Food Network.