Halloween Baking Championship


Halloween Baking Championship is an American cooking competition show that premiered on Food Network on October 5, 2015. Like its sister show, Holiday Baking Championship, it's a seasonal program that runs for a few weeks and aims to crown the best baker of spooky, creepy desserts.

Rounds

Each episode has two rounds. The first round is the "Preliminary Heat" where the bakers are first told of their themes and get varying cook times to create a small pastry. The person who wins the first round gets an advantage going into the next round, and aren't told until after the second round is announced. The advantage varies by episode.
The second round is called the "Main Heat" and the contestants get a considerably longer time to bake than the "pre-heat". This larger dessert must fit a new theme presented. The winner of the "Main Heat" advances to the next episode. One baker is eliminated every episode except for the last one. In the finale it's down to the final three or four contestants competing in a winner-take-all final round. The winner gets $25,000 and a spot In Food Network Magazine in season 4-5.

Host & Judges

Unlike its sister show, Holiday Baking Championship, the panel of judges has changed each of the first three seasons. In each episode during the judging of the Main Heat round, the judges come out dressed in costume for the Main Heat, to keep with the spirit of Halloween.
The first season was hosted by Richard Blais with chefs Carla Hall, Ron Ben-Israel and Sherry Yard serving as judges. The second season saw Carla Hall as the only returning chef/judge. She was joined by Food Network personality Sandra Lee and Damiano Carrara to help judge, and Comedian Jeff Dunham was the host. Since season three, show has been hosted by John Henson. Lorraine Pascale and Zac Young joined Carla Hall as judges for the third and fourth seasons, while Katie Lee replaced Pascale for season five.

Series overview