Holiday Baking Championship


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, Wedding Cake Championship and Summer Baking 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.
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. The 3 bakers remaining will compete in the final "Main Heat" challenge.

Host and judges

The show's first three seasons were hosted by Bobby Deen. Jesse Palmer has been host of the program since season four.
Baker Duff Goldman and pastry chef Nancy Fuller serve as permanent judges of the show. Lorraine Pascale was a judge for the first six seasons.
For season seven, Carla Hall replaced Pascale on the judges' panel, joining Fuller and Goldman, until season 11. For season 12, Kardea Brown joined the judges' panel, taking Hall's place.

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesSeason premiereSeason finale
16
28
38
47
57
68
78
88
98
108
118
128