Food Network Archives

In an epic, jolly finale to Food Network's Holiday Wars, artists brought mind blowing cake and sugar work, well at least in round two, round one kind of felt like they played it just a little too safe Ginger Snappers and Bah Hum Bakers competed to wow the judges by giving the abdominal snowman a[...]

In the all-female finale of Food Network's Holiday Baking Championship, contestants created delicious flavor profiles and had me holding my breath at multi-tiered cakes made to resemble a plaid shirt.  Such talented women, dedicated to their craft, the sheer elegance of their work was inspiring this episode. Host Jesse Palmer resumed giving us some extra spice[...]

This week on Food Network's Holiday Wars, host Jonathan Bennett and judges Shinmin Li and Jason Smith tasked the competitors to lock up the Christmas gifts and provide Santa with a side hustle post-holiday season Children love to go sneaking around in the middle of the night looking for their gifts, from closets, to cupboards, to[...]

This week on Food Network's Holiday Baking Championship, contestants got in the Chanukah spirit with gelt inspired desserts.  All had one thing on their mind, making it in to the finale for a chance to win $25,000.  They collectively brought skill and perfection with judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Lorraine Pascale struggling at the[...]

This week on Food Network's Holiday Wars, "The Spirit of Christmas" continues with teams working seamlessly like little elves and wowing judges Shinmin Li and Jason Smith with their immaculate cake and sugar work.  Host Jonathan Bennett had fun playing dress up, and wrapping gifts while tasking the remaining four teams to create Santa's perfect[...]

Host Jonathan Bennett and judges Shinmin Li and Jason Smith are back on Food Network with new series Holiday Wars and "Stealing the Naughty List" epitomized the holidays.  This is exactly what I want to see out of a baking competition to put me in the Christmas spirit The set decorations alone had my inner[...]

This week on Food Network's Holiday Baking Championship, we got to see host Jesse Palmer strip (yes, I said strip) and challenge the remaining six contestants to repurpose the most delicious (in my opinion) holiday sweet bread "Panettone" – something my family has every Christmas. Holiday Baking Championship / Food Network I was very excited to see[...]

This week on Food Network's Holiday Baking Championship, host Jesse Palmer challenged the remaining 7 contestants to create mini pies from brie and homemade jam and incorporate uninspiring prepared ingredients in to delicious cakes.   While Palmer enjoyed his brie a little too much, the judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Lorraine Pascale were in some[...]

The final episode of Food Network's Ultimate Thanksgiving Challenge had the remaining three contestants expressing touching moments of inspiration and creating intricately beautiful meals to represent their family Thanksgiving.  Host Giada De Laurentiis tasked them to use squash as their muse and all three created meals that made my mouth water Judges Alex Guarnaschelli, Carla[...]

This week on Food Network's Ultimate Thanksgiving Challenge, the four remaining competitors were tasked with working together to create the best "Friendsgiving Dinner", a perfect dish highlighting goose and hen.  One team conveniently coined themselves "Batman & Robin" and they were a "dynamic duo", working exceptionally well together. Things did get a smidge out of hand[...]

This week on Food Network's Holiday Baking Championship, host Jesse Palmer challenged our remaining eight contestants to impress judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman, and Lorraine Pascale with apple cider donuts wrapped in fall themes, and decadent thanksgiving roll cakes. As is the theme this season, during "Pre Heat", contestants really took the challenge to the next[...]

This week on Food Network's Ultimate Thanksgiving Challenge, the remaining five competitors were challenged with thinking outside the box using some nontraditional food items and transforming them into Thanksgiving comfort food.  Host Giada De Laurentiis encouraged them to express their creativity to reinvent items like pizza, lasagna, and tacos 0 while judges Alex Guarnaschelli, Carla[...]

This week on Food Network's Holiday Baking Championship, host Jesse Palmer challenged the remaining nine contestants to show off their pie baking skills using holiday spiced nuts and harvest ingredients What I wasn't expecting out of this episode was the contestants and myself getting hot flashes as we indulged in watching Palmer's hard nipples as[...]

Food Network's Holiday Baking Championship is back and putting us immediately in the holiday spirit, so welcome egg nog, Rudolph, Santa's helpers, and Krampus? Host Jesse Palmer welcomes 10 new bakers to the arena to battle it out for a chance to win $25,000.  Consisting of some professionals and some just hobbyists, the competitors, have[...]

With Thanksgiving being a few weeks away, and thoughts of food, family and post-holiday gym memberships on our minds, I geared up to watch Food Network's Ultimate Thanksgiving Challenge Full disclosure: as much as I enjoy the show, I do watch it to inspire my holiday menu, especially with ingredients being low cost and meals[...]

The season finale of Food Network's Halloween Baking Championship was probably the best episode of the season, and thankfully so "A Haunting We Will Go" wrapped up with ghosts, zombies, and blood – lots and lots of blood.  Between the grotesque cake creations and the set décor the episode truly wowed for the Halloween week. [...]

The season finale of Food Network's Halloween Wars "Scary Tales II" had great concepts but struggled in execution – especially in the first round Both "Small Scare" and "Spine Chiller" forced the contestants to think outside the box and they really (theoretically) got into the Halloween spirit.  In reality, some of the ideas didn't translate[...]

Her work was so realistic, flawless, and stunning, and such props to her for hitting a serious snag when her curtains wouldn't stay on, and she improved beautifully.  The killer in the backdrop trying to get to the fire eater was frightening, and the star of the display was stunning down to the detail on[...]

This week's episode of Food Network's Halloween Baking Championship offered up one of my favorite themes, Grave Robbing "Gravely Delicious Desserts" had the contestants digging through dirt for… vegetables?  Not exactly where I thought that was going: limbs, insects possibly, but not carrots, fennel, beats and sweet potatoes.  Were they grave robbing or digging in[...]

This week's episode of Food Network's Halloween Wars "Other Holiday Mascots Go Trick-or-Treating" definitely didn't bring down the house in the "Small Scare" round Given a task like "Vampire Makeover," contestants created sculptures that ended up needing makeovers of their own Contestants did step up their game in "Spine Chiller," impressing host Jonathan Bennett as[...]

To its credit, Cooking Channel's "Freakshow Cakes" continues to impress with mind-blowing horrific concepts - and "Misfortune Teller" was no different.

This week's episode of Food Network's Halloween Baking Championship had me falling in love with John Henson His humoristic antics are becoming a much needed enjoyable treat throughout the episode "Creepy and Crusty Creations" starts off with Henson sitting on a couch Freud-style, reflecting about his "Mummy" issues to inspire our contestants on their "Pre-Heat"[...]

This week's episode of Food Network's Halloween Wars was definitely an improvement from last week Although the "Small Scare" challenge during "The Swarm" was uneventful, the contestants brought their serious "A-Game" in the "Spine Chiller" round Host Jonathan Bennett (with judges Shinmin Li and Todd Tucker and guest judge Harley Quinn Smith) were impressed by[...]

On this week's Food Network Freakshow Cakes, contestants brought us horrors in snake handling gone seriously wrong The carnival allure of the backdrop, the creepy music and the enthusiasm for all things abnormally enticing made Snake Charmer Showdown another very enjoyable episode Hosted by Zac Yung and Vivian Chan, 3 passionate "freaks of nature" create a[...]

I was very excited for this week's episode of Food Network's Halloween Baking Championship, although a bit thrown off by the title "All Things Weird and Wonderful" was inspired by The Addams Family, and made me nostalgic for the time I won best Halloween costume as Wednesday Addams in elementary school – so there's that[...]

This week's episode of Food Network's Halloween Wars "Zombie Dating Show" had a comedic Halloween twist to it but seriously lacked in overall skill sets, a huge contrast to last week It's as if most of the contestants took part in some body-snatching experience prior to the show and were replaced with amateurs Host Jonathan[...]

As part of Food Network's overall celebration of the culinary creeps that make up the Halloween season, sister network Cooking Channel premiered Freakshow Cakes on Friday, October 4th – and it actually made me want to scream a little From all of the shows I've screened so far, this episode best exemplified Halloween. Granted, I might[...]

This week edition of Food Network's Halloween Baking Championship brought us spirit guides, Dia de los Meurtos, and Zac Young dressed like a flamingo, John Henson doing his best Spanish impression, and judges Carla Hall, Katie Lee, and Young tasted alcohol-infused bee hives, mermaid tails and Zeus tarts. At the start of the episode, the competitors[...]

In honor of the ninth season premier of Food Network's Halloween Wars, I sat down with my daughter to carve a pumpkin – and to be completely transparent, our "cat" came out looking more like "possum roadkill" Regardless, every year I look forward to being shocked and frightened by the imagination of the contestants My[...]

Food Network is the ultimate go to for all things creepy, crawly, and delicious this season This week, Halloween Baking Championship scared up a fifth season – with host John Henson (Wipeout!, Talk Soup) and judges Carla Hall, Katie Lee, and Zac Young jump-started our Halloween spirit like Leatherface revving up his old chainsaw –[...]