Holiday Baking Championship


The Holiday Baking Championship is an American cooking competition series produced by Triage Entertainment and aired on Food Network. 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 and Wedding Cake Championship.

Rounds

Each episode has two rounds. The first round is the "Preliminary Heat" where the bakers must create small pastries centered around a holiday theme; usually cookies or small cakes. The themes could be as broad as Hanukkah or New Years to something specific like creating a Christmas cookie tree or baking desserts inspired by a Christmas song.
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 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.

Host and judges

The show's first three seasons were hosted by Bobby Deen. In Season Four, Jesse Palmer took over the hosting duties.
Cake Baker Duff Goldman, Pastry Chef Nancy Fuller, and Lorraine Pascale serve as permanent judges of the show.

Series overview

SeasonEpisodesSeason premiereSeason finale
16
28
38
47
57
68

Special episode

The winners of all six seasons of the series compete in "Holiday Baking Championship: Homecoming Special," Mon., Dec. 23, 2019, on Food Network.