Holiday Baking Championship is an American cooking competition series produced by Triage Entertainment and aired on Food Network.[1] It airs from early November through late December, covering the U.S Thanksgiving and Christmas season. The first episode premiered on November 9, 2014, and it has become a yearly competition with several spin-off shows, including Spring Baking Championship, Halloween Baking Championship, Kids Baking Championship, Wedding Cake Championship and Summer Baking Championship.
| Holiday Baking Championship | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Presented by | Bobby Deen Jesse Palmer |
| Judges | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 11 |
| No. of episodes | 77 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 42-84 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | Food Network |
| Release | November 9, 2014 – present |
Rounds
editEach episode has two rounds. The first round is the "Preliminary Heat" where the bakers must create small pastries centered around a holiday theme.
The person who wins the pre-heat gets an advantage going into the next round and aren't told about it until the second round theme is announced. The advantage usually varies.
The second round is the "Main Heat" where the contestants get more time than the first round to create a larger confection (in size or quantity) that sticks to the holiday theme of the episode. Partway through the main heat, there's often a curveball thrown in that has the bakers adapt or change their plans. The winner of the "Main Heat" advances to the next episode while the baker with the worst dish is eliminated. The 3 bakers remaining will compete in the final "Main Heat" challenge.
Host and judges
editThe show's first three seasons were hosted by Bobby Deen. Jesse Palmer has been host of the program since season four.
Baker Duff Goldman (Ace of Cakes[2]) and pastry chef Nancy Fuller (Farmhouse Rules[3]) serve as permanent judges of the show. Lorraine Pascale (former UK television chef and model[4]) was a judge for the first six seasons.
For season seven, Carla Hall replaced Pascale on the judges' panel, joining Fuller and Goldman.[5]
Episodes
edit| Season | Episodes | Season premiere | Season finale |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | November 9, 2014 | December 14, 2014 |
| 2 | 8 | November 1, 2015 | December 20, 2015 |
| 3 | 8 | November 6, 2016 | December 25, 2016 |
| 4 | 7 | November 6, 2017 | December 18, 2017 |
| 5 | 7 | November 5, 2018 | December 17, 2018[6] |
| 6 | 8 | November 4, 2019 | December 23, 2019 |
| 7 | 8 | November 2, 2020 | December 21, 2020 |
| 8 | 8 | November 1, 2021 | December 20, 2021 |
| 9 | 8 | November 7, 2022 | December 19, 2022 |
| 10 | 8 | November 6, 2023 | December 18, 2023 |
| 11 | TBA | November 4, 2024 |
References
edit- ^ "Holiday Baking Championship". Food Network. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
- ^ "Ace of Cakes' Duff Goldman Talks Graffiti, TV, Cakes & College". 23 October 2015.
- ^ "Nancy Fuller's Farmhouse Rules". 31 May 2017.
- ^ "Lorraine Pascale: Chef & Supermodel". Archived from the original on 2017-10-14. Retrieved 2017-10-14.
- ^ "Food Network Celebrates the Season with Eight Weeks of Holiday Programming Including New and Returning Series, Specials, and Stunts" (Press release). Food Network. October 14, 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2024 – via The Futon Critic.
- ^ List of Episodes for Season 5