Plot Synopsis

Hosted by John Henson (Seasons 3-5, 7-9), Carla Hall (Season 6), Jeff Dunham (Season 2) and Richard Blais (Season 1), HALLOWEEN BAKING CHAMPIONSHIP is an elimination culinary competition series that follows seven bakers who create creepy crawly confections, as they vie for the $25,000 grand prize. Each hour-long features two rounds. In the pre-heat challenge, one contestant can win a special advantage they can use in the main heat challenge, where they must impress three judges -- or risk being sent home.

Season 1 competitors are: Ashlee Prisbrey (age 36; Salt Lake City), a self-taught baker and stay-at-home mom, who got into baking while spending a year in Japan, where she couldn't find American baked goods; Audrey Alfaro (35; Spokane, WA), who developed a love for adventure and the outdoors early on while growing up in Alaska; Erin Cooper (33; Owings Mills, MD), who earned her degree in baking and pastry from Baltimore International College, and she now works for Sodexo Stevenson University; Jason Hisley (26; Baltimore, MD), who earned a bachelor's degree in baking and pastry from Johnson & Wales after learning to bake at a young age from his grandmother; Jennifer Petty (45; West Covina, CA), who runs a baking business from home after baking for family, friends and neighbors; Rudy Martinez (45; New York, NY), who started baking to find solace from his busy job as a server at a restaurant and now runs Man Bakes Cake from his home; and Scott Breazeale (45; Plymouth, MI), a trained pastry chef, who enjoys putting a savory spin on his treats and is the executive sous chef for the Detroit Lions football team.

Food Network premiered the second season of HALLOWEEN BAKING CHAMPIONSHIP on Monday, October 3, 2016 at 9pm ET/PT. Throughout the five-week competition, comedian and ventriloquist Jeff Dunham and his sidekick, Walter, challenge the bakers' abilities to create creepy crawly confections for judges Damiano Carrara, Carla Hall and Sandra Lee. Only one baker with the most impressive treats will win the title of Halloween Baking Champion and take home the grand prize of $25,000. Each week, the bakers face tough challenges from making bite-sized monster morsels, to wickedly-decadent desserts stuffed with trick-or-treat candies, as well as creepy clown cake-pops and goodies of ghostly graveyards. In the season opener, "Monsters, Monsters, Monsters," seven bakers must create creepy bite-sized monster treats in the pre-heat. For the main heat, zombies attack as the bakers are faced with whipping up a zombie dessert that makes the judges hungry for a bite. After one competitor is eliminated, the remaining six bakers advance. Then, one additional baker is sent home in the next three episodes until the last three bakers must impress the judges with their spellbinding sweets, as they face the ultimate challenge in the grand finale -- baking, designing and decorating a haunted "gingerdead" house.

Season 3 of HALLOWEEN BAKING CHAMPIONSHIP premiered on Monday, September 25, 2017 at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network. Comedian John Henson hosts, as the contestants' baking abilities and imaginations are put to the test in two rounds of difficult confectionary challenges, from trick-or-treat candy-filled cookies to scream puffs (a scary take on the traditional cream puff), and from glow-in-the-dark desserts to Jack-O-Lantern Cakes. The one who survives the twists of the competition and whose sweets put a spell on judges Carla Hall, Lorraine Pascale, and Zac Young, will take home the grand prize of $25,000 and the title of Halloween Baking Champion! Halloween Baking Championship contestants include: Jasmin Bell (Seattle, WA), Cliff Butler (Austin, TX), Tyler Davis (St. Louis, MO), Jonathan Elias (Birmingham, MI), Andrea Kratville (Sonora, CA), Dina Melendez-Bonnet (Brooklyn, NY), Jessica Scott (San Diego, CA), Ray Vizcaino (San Diego, CA). In each of the six hour-long episodes, the contestants will need to cause quite a fright with freaky, yet tasty, Halloween desserts. On the first episode, the bakers must show off their decorating skills in the pre-heat challenge as they make a dozen Halloween-themed cookies from scratch, such as ghosts, skulls, coffins, spider webs and more. But, the twist is that the bakers must stuff them with traditional trick-or-treat candies. One contestant will win a special advantage in the main heat challenge, where they need to make a sublime dessert with ooey-gooey fruit-flavored slime that oozes out when cut. A surprising twist in the challenge will be hard to swallow for one contestant who will be sent to the graveyard of the competition, never to return. The frightful fun continues all season long with creepy challenges and bewitching baked goods that will leave audiences howling for more!

The fourth season of HALLOWEEN BAKING CHAMPIONSHIP premiered on Monday, September 24, 2018 at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network. Comedian John Henson, along with judges Carla Hall, Lorraine Pascale, and Zac Young test the skills of eight talented bakers as they show off their creepiest, scariest skills over six episodes with bone-chilling challenges. From spider web desserts to towering confections of terror, only one will frighten the competition for a chance to be featured in Food Network Magazine as the winner of HALLOWEEN BAKING CHAMPIONSHIP, along with the $25,000 grand prize! The eight Season 4 bakers include: Andrew Fuller (De Moines, IA); Lyndsy McDonald (Sarasota, FL); Jamal Lake (West Palm Beach, FL); Brenda Villacorta (New York, NY); Brian Fishman (Oceanside, NY); Cicely Austin (Anderson, SC); Steven Vargas Jr. (Houston, TX); and Michelle Honeman (Beaverton, OR). In the season opener, "Hidden Halloween Horrors," the competition begins with a deliciously difficult pre-heat as the eight Halloween bakers weave spider web desserts with creatures trapped inside. In the main heat, wily witch hunter John Henson challenges the bakers to create melting desserts that reveal a Halloween item inside.

Season 5 of HALLOWEEN BAKING CHAMPIONSHIP premiered on Monday, September 23, 2019 at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network, immediately following a six-hour marathon (3-9pm) of encore episodes. Judges Carla Hall, Katie Lee and Zac Young, join host John Henson to test the skills of eight talented bakers who must show off their skills over six episodes with terrifyingly delicious challenges. From skeleton desserts to monster madness, only one baker can frighten the competition for a chance to win the $25,000 grand prize and to be featured in Food Network Magazine. Fans that can't get enough of the scary competition, go behind the scenes with the digital companion series, Halloween Baking Championship: Extra Sweet. Spend a day with the judges as they are transformed into otherworldly creatures, and watch the crew build the sets and prep the pantry for the season's creations. In the season opener, "Halloween Invasion," John kicks off the competition by revealing all the skeletons in his family's closet to inspire the eight bakers as they make scary skeleton desserts. The main heat is monster madness as the bakers conjure up monster-under-the-bed creations. Contestants include: Brittany Lombard (Pastry Cook, Bronx, NY); Jess Eddy (Bakery Owner, Hartland, WI); Jessica Brockway (Bakery Owner, Seattle, WA); Jocelyn Jung (Bakery Owner, San Diego, CA); Julie Montgomery (Pastry Instructor, Toronto, Canada); Karl Fong (Bakery Owner, Hercules, CA); Peter Tidwell (Bakery Owner, Provo, UT); and Sheldon Taylor-Timothy (Home Baker, Toronto, Canada).

Food Network premiered the sixth season of HALLOWEEN BAKING CHAMPIONSHIP on Monday, September 14, 2020 from 9-11pm ET/PT. Hosted by Carla Hall, the competitors nerves and skills are tested like never before as they bake their way through a haunted house brimming with challenges through seven episodes. Judges Stephanie Boswell and Zac Young join Carla to determine whose devilishly delicious desserts earn $25,000 and the title of Halloween Baking Champion. In the season opener, "House of Haunts," the 10 competitors meet host Carla Hall and get their first challenge: haunted house cakes. Then they play the dagger game for the chance at a key reward before Carla and judges Stephanie Boswell and Zac Young give their verdict. Competitors for Season 6 include: Brian Bosch (event designer/baker; Santa Ana, CA); Holly Braddock (executive pastry chef; Myrtle Beach, SC); Tamara Brown (Season 2 finalist; Los Angeles, CA); Aaron Clouse (executive pastry chef; Columbus, OH); Edward Cunningham (equipment operator/baker; Chicago, IL); Michael Gaddy (pastry chef; Dade City, FL); Nerwan Khalife (bakery owner; Bronx, NY); Renee Loranger (executive pastry chef; Mississippi Gulf Coast); Michelle Lee (sous chef; Monterey, CA); and Sinai Vespie (executive pastry chef; Mishawaka, IN).

Season 7 of HALLOWEEN BAKING CHAMPIONSHIP premiered on Monday, September 13, 2021 from 9-11pm ET/PT on Food Network. This season pays tribute to 1980s classic slasher movies, with host John Henson. Ten bakers compete for a chance to take home $25,000, but there's a serial killer on the loose at Camp Devil's Food Lake, taking out bakers one by one -- and only their baking skills will help them survive. Each week the bakers must create killer cakes, creepy cupcakes, and more, to showcase their skills in challenges that pay homage to quintessential horror films. Judges Stephanie Boswell, Carla Hall and Zac Young determine whose devilishly delicious desserts earn $25,000 and the title of Halloween Baking Champion! In the two-hour season opener, "Welcome to Camp Devil's Food Lake," the competitors tackle "cereal killer" pies and mega cakes in hope of impressing the judges. The 10 competitors in Season 7 are: Paul Allicock (Miami, FL); Megan Baker (Minneapolis, MN); Wes Dills (Austin, TX); Anirudh Mamtora (Cherry Hill, NJ); Sherelle Morrison (Indian Land, SC); Nicole Proske (Miami, FL); Guillermo Salinas (Jackson, MS); Adina Schaefer (Los Angeles, CA); Steven Sechoka (Boston, MA); and Ashley Wong (Fremont, CA).

HALLOWEEN BAKING CHAMPIONSHIP returned for its eighth season on Monday, September 12, 2022 at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network. Host John Henson is the caretaker of a haunted hotel and welcomes the competitors to an 8-week stay, unless their baked goods fail to impress the judges, in which case they will have to "check out." Judges Stephanie Boswell, Carla Hall and Zac Young determine which baker earns the title of Halloween Baking Champion and an all-expense trip to the 10 most haunted hotels in America. In the two-hour season opener, "Welcome to Hotel Henson," no body part is safe when host John Henson welcomes 12 Halloween hopefuls to check into Hotel Henson and asks them to do a little detective baking by creating faces out of pie. Then, it's "blood in blood out" as they try to impress judges Stephanie Boswell, Zac Young and Carla Hall with blood spatter cakes. The 12 competitors in Season 8 are: Marcus Brackett (Rockville, MD); Jill Davis (Owosso, MI); AJ DeDiego (Atlanta, GA); Kristi Descher (Valencia, CA); Justin Dominguez (San Antonio, TX); Lola Forbes (Mesa, AZ); Margarita Garcia (Miami, FL); Alexey Ivanov (Brooklyn, NY); Zac Mercer (Denver, CO); Lauren Rogers (Olympia, WA); Maricsa Trejo (Richardson, TX); and Blayre Wright (Lancaster, PA).

Season 9 of HALLOWEEN BAKING CHAMPIONSHIP debuted on Monday, September 11, 2023 from 9-11pm ET/PT on Food Network. John Henson returns to host, along with judges Carla Hall, Stephanie Boswell and Zac Young. In the two-hour season opener, John welcomes a dozen bakers to the Henson & Sons Carnival, where they're ready for the ride of their lives. First, they must layer a "tarot-misu" depicting the carnival's untimely demise. Then, the bakers scare up a new carnival mascot by designing creepy clown cakes. The 12 competitors in Season 9 are: Christa Aylward (Dublin, OH); Chad Conklin (Dayton, OH); James Cox (Chicago, IL); Stacy Day (Nashville, TN); Mandi Del Toro (San Antonio, TX); Adesuwa Elaiho (San Antonio, TX); Hollie Fraser (Port Moody, British Columbia); Phoebe Martinson (Olympia, WA); Ryan McCord (Nashville, TN); Shefali Patel (Coppell, TX); Dan Pivovar (Onalaska, WI); and Mike Yu (Napa, CA).

The tenth season of HALLOWEEN BAKING CHAMPIONSHIP debuted on Monday, September 16, 2024 from 9-11pm ET/PT on Food Network. Each week, host John Henson chairs the chaos as the bakers battle it out in two heats, and for the first time, a chance at immunity is on the line. Judges Stephanie Boswell, Carla Hall and Zac Young decide who will earn the title of Halloween Baking Champion. Season 10 takes on steampunk vibes, with 10 talented bakers from across the country create awe-inspiring desserts inspired by the haunted science lab known as "Henson Laboratories." The 10 competitors in Season 10 are: Hollie Rivera (Winnipeg, MB); Aaron Davis (Surprise, AZ); Manny Martinez (San Antonio, TX); Carly Robertson (Lehi, UT); Joel Gonzalez (Scottsdale, AZ); Lillian Chng (San Diego, CA); Megan Aucone (Sayreville, NJ); Samantha Santiago Torres (Chicago, IL); JL Hinojosa (Austin, TX); and Thierry Aujard (Norristown, PA).
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On Monday, October 28, 2024 at 9pm ET/PT, Food Network premiered "The Past Comes Back to Haunt You," the Season 10 finale of HALLOWEEN BAKING CHAMPIONSHIP. The final bakers -- Aaron, Joel, Manny & Hollie -- take on two very difficult challenges inspired by the past -- all leading up to a time-traveling monster mash! In the Dissection Lab, John Henson works on some gross anatomy, and he asks the bakers to create desserts with gummy hearts that will be "dissected" by judges Carla Hall, Zac Young and Stephanie Boswell. Then in the Quantum Physics Lab, John hops into a time machine and journeys to the ancient past for inspirations like medieval vampires and early aliens for time travel cakes. The best baker heads into the future with the Halloween Baking Championship title and the $25,000 prize!