It was a slew of firsts for Justin Ellen.

A first plane ride. A first visit to Los Angeles. A first time on television.

But none of that deterred Ellen, 19, a self-taught baker in Passaic, from going on Netflix's newest reality competition show, "Is It Cake?" to try to fool judges with cakes made to look like anything but cakes.

And Ellen had to miss his high school prom and graduation to do so. He is an alum of Passaic County Technical-Vocational Schools' culinary arts program. The show was filmed last June.

"I was sad at first, but it was worth it," Ellen said.  

Not familiar with the show? On each episode (so far, there are eight), bakers compete to fool three judges by creating ultra-realistic cakes — cakes that look remarkably like sewing machines, handbags, a carton of eggs, a rubber ducky and more.

Ellen had to make a cake that looked like raw steak and another that looked like a fishing tackle box. (He's on episodes four and six.)

King Cake: A Mardi Gras treat with lots of meaning — and a tiny baby — baked in

Openings:El Taco Bar, Boomchia & 40 more North Jersey restaurants that have opened so far this year

Dining:15 places to get 2022 Easter brunch and dinner in North Jersey

He managed to fool the judges with the steak — a thick sheet cake that he cut in the shape of a T-bone, painted with food dye, and laced with water and gelatin to resemble cellophane. He failed to fool them with a fishing tackle box, sheet cake slathered with rusty-looking cake dust.

"I know," he said. "I didn't know what a tackle box was, either."

Ellen began baking at a young age with his mother and grandmother.

"I made a mess everywhere," he said. The family would make cookies, breads and cupcakes but never cake. He taught himself cake baking by watching YouTube.  

By age 16, he founded an online custom-cake bakery, Everything Just Baked. He got the word out via social media, he said, and it's also how the show found him. He has more than 49,000 Instagram followers. 

Now he hopes to find a brick-and-mortar location.

As for what he learned being on "Is It Cake?"

"It definitely taught me that opportunities are endless," he said. "You've got to keep yourself out there. Who knows? I may be asked to be a host on Netflix."

Esther Davidowitz is the food editor for NorthJersey.com. For more on where to dine and drink, please subscribe today and sign up for our North Jersey Eats newsletter.