Halloween Baking Championship

American food reality television series

Halloween Baking Championship

Genre| Food reality television
Presented by|

* Richard Blais
* Jeff Dunham
* John Henson
* Carla Hall

Judges|

* Carla Hall
* Ron Ben-Israel
* Sherry Yard
* Damiano Carrara
* Sandra Lee
* Lorraine Pascale
* Zac Young
* Katie Lee
* Stephanie Boswell

Country of origin| United States
Original language| English
No. of seasons| 10
No. of episodes| 64 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time| 41-84 minutes
Original release
Network| Food Network
Release| October 5, 2015 (2015-10-05) –
present

Halloween Baking Championship is an American cooking reality competition series that premiered on Food Network on October 5, 2015.[1] A spin off of Holiday Baking Championship, it's a seasonal program that runs annually during the Halloween season and aims to crown the best baker of spooky desserts. The eleventh season is scheduled to premiere on September 15, 2025.[2]

## Format

[edit]

Most episodes have two rounds. The first round is the "Preliminary Heat", also called "The Thriller" challenge in season 7 and later. The bakers are first told of their themes[3] and get varying cook times to create a small dessert. The person who wins the first round gets an advantage in the next round, which varies by episode and season. For example, the advantage may be exclusive choice of ingredients or themes, assigning these to other contestants, or immunity from elimination.

The second round is the "Main Heat", also called "The Killer" challenge in season 7 and later. The contestants get a longer time to bake a larger dessert, which must include a new theme and/or ingredients that might be chosen by the contestants or assigned to them. The lowest-ranked baker in this round is eliminated every episode except for the last one. In the finale, the final three or four contestants compete in a winner-take-all final round. The winner gets $25,000 and in some seasons are given a feature article in Food Network Magazine.

From season 6 onward, every season has an overarching theme that relates to the theme of each challenge. For example, season 6 features a haunted house theme, with each challenge being associated with a different room in the house.

## Host and judges

[edit]

Unlike its sister show Holiday Baking Championship, the panel of judges has changed frequently in the series (with the exception of Carla Hall, who has been on the show since it began in 2015).

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 as the host. For seasons three through five, the show was 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.[4] For the sixth season, Henson did not return to the show (likely due to difficulties owing to the COVID-19 Pandemic, which was ongoing at the time). As a result, Carla Hall served as both a judge and a host for that season; she was accompanied by Zac Young and Stephanie Boswell as judges.[5] John Henson returned to serve as host in 2021 for season seven and Carla Hall, Zac Young and Stephanie Boswell returned as judges.[6] They have all remained in these roles through season ten.

## Series overview

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Main article: List of Halloween Baking Championship episodes

Season  | Episodes  | Originally aired

|
|

First aired  | Last aired
| 1 | 4  | October 5, 2015 (2015-10-05) | October 26, 2015 (2015-10-26)
| 2 | 5  | October 3, 2016 (2016-10-03) | October 31, 2016 (2016-10-31)
| 3 | 6  | September 25, 2017 (2017-09-25) | October 30, 2017 (2017-10-30)
| 4 | 6  | September 24, 2018 (2018-09-24) | October 29, 2018 (2018-10-29)
| 5 | 6  | September 23, 2019 (2019-09-23) | October 28, 2019 (2019-10-28)
| 6 | 7  | September 14, 2020 (2020-09-14) | October 26, 2020 (2020-10-26)
| 7 | 7  | September 13, 2021 (2021-09-13) | October 25, 2021 (2021-10-25)
| 8 | 8  | September 12, 2022 (2022-09-12) | October 31, 2022 (2022-10-31)
| 9 | 8  | September 11, 2023 (2023-09-11) | October 30, 2023 (2023-10-30)
| 10 | 7  | September 16, 2024 (2024-09-16) | October 28, 2024 (2024-10-28)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Get Ready for Loads of Tricks and Treats with the New Series Halloween Baking Championship". Food Network.
2. ^ "For Doom the Bell Tolls". Food Network.
3. ^ "Five Things You Didn't Know About "Halloween Baking Championship"". Food Network.
4. ^ "Spellbinding Sweets Fill The New Season Of Halloween Baking Championship Hosted By John Henson".
5. ^ Struble, Cristine (September 15, 2020), Halloween Baking Championship Season 6 Premiere: Welcome home?, archived from the original on October 9, 2022, retrieved October 9, 2020
6. ^ "Food Network's Halloween Schedule Includes "Halloween Wars," Zak Bagans & a Tribute to '80s Slashers!". August 4, 2021.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* Halloween Baking Championship at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Holiday Baking Championship

* Episodes

Halloween Baking Championship|

* Episodes

Spring Baking Championship|

* Episodes

Other spin-offs|

* Kids Baking Championship

* v
* t
* e

Food Network original programming

Current

* 24 in 24: Last Chef Standing (since 2024)
* BBQ Brawl (since 2019)
* BBQ USA (since 2022)
* Beat Bobby Flay (since 2014)
* Bobby's Triple Threat (since 2022)
* Chopped (since 2009)
* Cutthroat Kitchen: Knives Out (since 2025)
* Delicious Miss Brown (since 2019)
* Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (since 2007)
* Girl Meets Farm (since 2018)
* The Great Food Truck Race (since 2010)
* Guy's Grocery Games (since 2013)
* Halloween Baking Championship (since 2015)
* Halloween Wars (since 2011)
* Holiday Baking Championship (since 2014)
* Kids Baking Championship (since 2015)
* The Kitchen (since 2014)
* The Pioneer Woman (since 2011)
* Spring Baking Championship (since 2015)
* Supermarket Stakeout (since 2019)
* Tournament of Champions (since 2020)
* Worst Cooks in America (since 2010)

Former

| 1990s debuts|

* Cooking Live (1997–2003)
* Emeril Live (1997–2010)
* Essence of Emeril (1994–2007)
* Good Eats (1999–2012; 2019–21)
* How to Boil Water (1993–2000)

|

2000s debuts|

* 30 Minute Meals (2001–12; 2019)
* $40 a Day (2002–05)
* 5 Ingredient Fix (2009–11)
* Ace of Cakes (2006–11)
* Ask Aida (2008–09)
* BBQ with Bobby Flay (2004–07)
* Barefoot Contessa (2002–21)
* Behind the Bash (2006)
* Big Daddy's House (2008–11)
* Chocolate with Jacques Torres (2002–04)
* Chopped Junior (2015-19)
* A Cook's Tour (2002–03)
* Cupcake Wars (2009–16)
* Dinner: Impossible (2007–10)
* Dweezil & Lisa (2004)
* Everyday Italian (2003–08)
* Extreme Cuisine with Jeff Corwin (2009–10)
* Feasting on Asphalt (2006–08)
* Food 911 (2000–06)
* Food Detectives (2008)
* Food Network Challenge (2007–11; 2019–20)
* Food Network Star (2005-18)
* Giada at Home (2008–15)
* Giada's Weekend Getaways (2007–08)
* Glutton for Punishment (2007–11)
* Good Deal with Dave Lieberman (2005–07)
* Guy's Big Bite (2006–16)
* Guy Off the Hook (2008)
* Ham on the Street (2006)
* How'd That Get on My Plate? (2008)
* Iron Chef America (2005–18)
* The Next Iron Chef (2007–12)
* Party Line with the Hearty Boys (2005–06)
* Paula's Best Dishes (2008–13)
* Paula's Home Cooking (2002–12)
* Paula's Party (2006–08)
* Private Chefs of Beverly Hills (2009–11)
* Rachael Ray's Tasty Travels (2005–09)
* Road Tasted (2006–08)
* The Secret Life of... (2002–08)
* Sara's Secrets (2002–07)
* Secrets of a Restaurant Chef (2008–12)
* Sugar Rush (2005–07)
* Ten Dollar Dinners (2009–12)
* Throwdown! with Bobby Flay (2006–10)
* Trivia Unwrapped (2003–2004)
* Tyler's Ultimate (2003–10)
* Ultimate Recipe Showdown (2008–10)
* Unwrapped (2001–11)
* What Would Brian Boitano Make? (2009–10)
* Will Work for Food (2009)

2010s debuts|

* 24 Hour Restaurant Battle (2010–11)
* $24 in 24 (2012)
* Aarti Party (2010–11)
* America's Best Cook (2014)
* BBQ Blitz (2015)
* Best Baker in America (2017–21)
* The Best Thing I Ever Made (2011–13)
* Bobby Flay's Barbecue Addiction (2011–14)
* Brunch @ Bobby's (2010–15)
* Cake Wars (2015–17)
* Chef Wanted with Anne Burrell (2012–13)
* Chopped After Hours (2015-17)
* Clash of the Grandmas (2015–16)
* Cutthroat Kitchen (2013–17)
* Dessert First with Anne Thornton (2010–11)
* Dessert Games (2017)
* Food Court Wars (2013–14)
* Food Network Star Kids (2016)
* Guilty Pleasures (2015–16)
* Heat Seekers (2011–12)
* I Hart Food (2017)
* Iron Chef Gauntlet (2017–18)
* Iron Chef Showdown (2017)
* Kid in a Candy Store (2010–11)
* Kids BBQ Championship (2016–17)
* Kitchen Casino (2014)
* Kitchen Sink (2016–17)
* Mystery Diners (2012–16)
* Patricia Heaton Parties (2015–16)
* Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off (2012–14)
* Restaurant: Impossible (2011–23)
* Restaurant Express (2013)
* Restaurant Stakeout (2012–14)
* Rewrapped (2014)
* Southern at Heart (2013–16)
* Sweet Genius (2011–13)
* Top 5 Restaurants (2015–16)
* Trisha's Southern Kitchen (2012–22)
* Unwrapped 2.0 (2015)
* Valerie's Home Cooking (2015–23)
* Worst Bakers in America (2016–19)

2020s debuts|

* Amy Schumer Learns to Cook (2020)

Pilots and specials

* The Big Waste (2012)
* Cookie Wars (2019)
* Kids Halloween Baking Championship (2016)
* Rebel Eats (2013)

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