“Food Network Challenge” fans in town had an extra reason to tune in Sunday, as Norton was represented in the televised cake competition.

Rebecca Bosque, co-owner of BosCakes, was one of four competitors who built a Lego cake in the hopes of winning the grand prize of $10,000. Though she placed fourth, it was still the experience of a lifetime for her.

Bosque has been baking cakes on and off since she was 11 years old. About two years ago, she decided to get serious about it.

“I took a few classes at a local craft store, but no formal training. Nearly all of what I learn now is from seeing new techniques online and teaching myself,” Bosque said.

And that training has paid off.

Bosque won second place in the Professional Division at the BCC Wedding Cake Competition in April. She and her husband also officially opened their business earlier this year, renting out of a commercial kitchen in Norton. Before the show aired, business was slower than they hoped. But that changed Sunday evening, when the show aired. They’ve since had an increase in orders and inquiries.

This show was more than a chance to become a highly recognized cake designer. To Bosque, it also meant securing her family’s future, since her husband was diagnosed with a degenerative bone disease.

With less than a month until the show, Bosque chose Paula Surrette, of Cakes by Paula, as her assistant and played with Lego toys whenever she had the chance to prepare. She also made sure to watch as many “Challenges” as possible.

“On one hand, it was intimidating to compete against artists I’ve seen on previous shows,” Bosque said. “On the other hand, I was able to see their weaknesses on other shows and try to use that to my advantage.”

During the eight-hour competition, a few surprise challenges get thrown in the mix. In the first, competitors had to create Lego busts of judges out of cake. Bosque was tasked with recreating Lego brand relations director Mike McNally. The second surprise challenge was to build a Lego play set, something Bosque was quite familiar with.

“At home I was able to assemble the play sets quickly, so I thought I would be great in the surprise challenge,” Bosque said. “Unfortunately, the pressure was so intense, and I also had a cut on my finger that started bleeding during the surprise challenge so that slowed me down a bit.”

This set her back a half hour from working on her cake, which was called, “A King is Always Ready to Defend.” Her design featured a castle, king and evil wizard.

There were several moments when things got overwhelming for Bosque. Not only was her family in the back of her mind, but she was also worried about her business.

“I had equated the success of the business to my performance on the show. So in my mind, I not only didn’t produce a great cake, I set my business up to fail,” she said. “In retrospect, I realize the success of the business rests on a lot more than just one TV appearance.”

Though she was unable to finish her cake, the judges were encouraging.

“I believe in life, sometimes there’s things bigger than how well you do a cake. And you’re going through some of those things,” said Keegan Gerhard, a judge on the show.

“Meeting the judges was surreal;  I’ve watched these people on TV for years, then they were right in front of me,” Bosque said. “Hearing their critiques was also emotional for me because it meant so much that they were able to recognize the other pressure that clearly affected my performance. While it’s true that not having years of solid experience had a big role in the turnout, the pressure I put on myself to do well for my family played a larger role.”

Bosque said that if invited to Food Network again, she’d be up for the “Challenge.”

“I learned so much from this experience, so I can’t say I regret it or would do anything differently. I needed to learn those lessons and am so thankful for that opportunity.”

“Food Network Challenge Lego Cakes” will air again Saturday, Nov. 12, 3 p.m.