List of Holiday Baking Championship episodes

This is a list of episodes for the Food Network cooking competition series Holiday Baking Championship. The series has been presented by Bobby Deen (seasons 1–3) and Jesse Palmer (seasons 4+) and judged by Nancy Fuller (seasons 1+), Duff Goldman (seasons 1+), Lorraine Pascale (seasons 1-6), and Carla Hall (seasons 7+).

Season 1
There were 8 professional and home bakers competing in a 6-episode baking tournament. One person was eliminated every week until the final episode where the final three compete in a single, all-day round for the grand prize of $50,000.

Contestants

 * 1st – Erin Campbell, Baker and Manager from Palmdale, California
 * 2nd/3rd – Bill Lipscomb, Culinary Instructor from Atlanta, Georgia
 * 2nd/3rd – Naylet Larochelle, Home Baker & Psychologist from Miami, Florida
 * 4th – Terra Nelson, Culinary Instructor from Louisville, Kentucky
 * 5th – David Bondarchuck, Caterer from Denver, Colorado
 * 6th – Dante Marasco, U.S. Navy Cook from Annapolis, Maryland
 * 7th – Punky Egan, Certified Master Baker from Madison, Wisconsin
 * 8th – Stephanie Hart, Bakery Owner from Chicago, Illinois

Elimination Table

 * (WINNER) This baker won the competition.
 * (RUNNER-UP) This baker was a finalist.
 * (ELIM) This baker was eliminated.
 * (IN) This baker never had the best dish or the worst.
 * (HIGH) This baker had one of the best dish.
 * (WIN) This baker had the best dish in the main challenge.
 * ‡ This baker had the best dish in the pre-heat challenge.
 * (LOW) This baker was last to be called safe.

Season 2
There were 10 contestants competing in an 8-episode baking tournament. In this season there's mid-round twists in several of the second rounds (in the form of an extra ingredient the contestants had to add to their confection). One person was eliminated every week until the final episode where the final three compete for the grand prize of $50,000.

Contestants

 * 1st – Maeve Schulz, Bakery Owner from San Diego, California
 * 2nd/3rd – Adalberto Diaz, Pastry Chef & Instructor from Salt Lake City, Utah
 * 2nd/3rd – Steve Konopelski, Chef and Inn Co-Owner from Denton, Maryland
 * 4th – Haley Miller, Bakery Owner from Beaver Dam, Kentucky
 * 5th – Melody Larsen, Head Pastry Chef from Mesa, Arizona
 * 6th – Padua Player, Executive Pastry Chef from Washington, D.C.
 * 7th – Briana Johnson, Social Worker & Home Cook from Dallas, Texas
 * 8th – Susan Steffan, Bed & Breakfast Owner from Galena, Illinois
 * 9th – John Marasco, Firefighter in Thousand Oaks, California
 * 10th – Joe Settepani, Pastry Sous Chef from Staten Island, New York



Elimination Table

 * (WINNER) This baker won the competition.
 * (RUNNER-UP) This baker was a finalist.
 * (WIN) This baker had the best dish in the main challenge.
 * ‡ This baker had the best dish in the pre-heat challenge.
 * (HIGH) This baker had one of the best dishes.
 * (LOW) This baker was last to be called safe.
 * (ELIM) This baker was eliminated.

Season 3
There were 9 contestants competing in a 7-episode baking tournament. One person was eliminated every week until the final episode where the final three compete for the grand prize of $50,000. At the end of this season, there was a Holiday Baking Championship special episode where the three past season winners competed against three child bakers from the Kids Baking Championship.

Contestants

 * 1st – Jason Smith, Cafeteria Manager from Grayson, Kentucky
 * 2nd/3rd – Cheryl Storms, Bakery Owner from Oakland, California
 * 2nd/3rd – Shawne Bryan, Executive Pastry Chef from Miami, Florida
 * 4th – Matt Marotto, Executive Pastry Chef from Guttenberg, New Jersey
 * 5th – Amber Croom, Pastry Chef from Vail, Colorado
 * 6th – Vincenzo Vaccaro, Bakery Owner from Queens, New York
 * 7th – Patti Curfman, Bakery Owner from Stayton, Oregon
 * 8th – Maddie Carlos, Bakery Owner from Anoka, Minnesota
 * 9th – Keli Fayard, Executive Pastry Chef from Charlotte, North Carolina

Episodes
Kids Baking Championship "fan favorite" contestants (Jackson Fujimori from season 1 and Matthew Merrill and Jane Haviland from season 2) vs. the three Holiday Baking Championship winners (season 1 winner Erin Campbell, season 2 winner Maeve Schulz-Rochford, and this season's winner Jason Smith). They competed for a chance at $10,000.

Elimination Table

 * (WINNER) This baker won the competition.
 * (RUNNER-UP) This baker was a finalist.
 * (WIN) This baker had the best dish in the main challenge.
 * ‡ This baker had the best dish in the pre-heat challenge.
 * (HIGH) This baker had one of the best dishes.
 * (LOW) This baker was last to be called safe.
 * (ELIM) This baker was eliminated.

He later went on to win season 13 of Food Network Star.

Season 4
As with the previous season, 9 contestants competed in a 7-episode baking tournament. One person was eliminated every week until the final episode where the final three compete for the $50,000 grand prize. There was an additional special episode that aired on Christmas Day bringing up runner-up contestants from previous seasons for a one-episode showdown.

Contestants

 * 1st – Jennifer Barney, Bakery Owner from La Crosse, Wisconsin
 * 2nd/3rd – Stephany Buswell, Pastry Arts Instructor from Santa Cruz, California
 * 2nd/3rd – Joshua Livsey, Executive Pastry Chef from Boston, Massachusetts
 * 4th – Ian Barthley, Culinary Arts Teacher from Upper Marlboro, Maryland
 * 5th – Amy Strickland, Stay-at-home mom from Lake City, Florida
 * 6th – Andra Chisholm, Head Baker, Daytona State College, from Daytona Beach, Florida
 * 7th – Aristo Camburako, Executive Chef from Kansas City, Missouri
 * 8th – Pablo Colon Sanchez, Executive Pastry Chef from Atlanta, Georgia
 * 9th – Aveed Dai, Home Baker from Chicago, Illinois



Episodes
Six runner-up competitors from previous season finales returned to battle it out for a chance to win $10,000 (They were paired up into teams of two representing their respective seasons: Bill Lipscomb and Naylet Larochelle from season 1, Steve Konopelski and Adalberto Diaz from season 2, and Cheryl Storms and Shawne Bryan from season 3).

Elimination Table

 * (WINNER) This baker won the competition.
 * (RUNNER-UP) This baker was a finalist.
 * (WIN) This baker had the best dish in the main challenge.
 * ‡ This baker had the best dish in the pre-heat challenge.
 * (HIGH) This baker had one of the best dishes.
 * (LOW) This baker was last to be called safe.
 * (ELIM) This baker was eliminated.

Season 5
As with the previous season, 9 contestants competed in a 7-episode baking tournament where one contestant was sent home every week until the final three remain. However unlike previous seasons, the prize money has been halved this year; the winner gets $25,000 as well as a spot in Food Network Magazine and their own video on foodnetwork.com.

Contestants

 * 1st – Douglas Phillips, Baking and Pastry Instructor from Ayer, Massachusetts
 * 2nd/3rd – Lerome Campbell, Pastry Chef from Naples, Florida
 * 2nd/3rd – Sarah Lucia Tafur, Bakery Owner from Miami, Florida
 * 4th – Chantal Thomas, Bakery Owner from Windsor, Connecticut
 * 5th – Dan Raymond, Pastry Shop Owner from Castleton, New York
 * 6th – Julia Perugini, Self-taught Baker from Maricopa, Arizona
 * 7th – Sherry Clarke, Home Baker from East Lyme, Connecticut
 * 8th – Nolan Schooley, Pastry Chef from Sanford, Michigan
 * 9th – Jamie Decena, Executive Pastry Chef from Chula Vista, California



Episodes
The judges (Nancy, Duff, and Lorraine) also served as hosts. The contestants were: Maeve Rochford from season 2, Jason Smith from season 3, and Jen Barney from season 4 of Holiday Baking Championship, Jordan Pilarski from season 3 and Nacho Aguirre from season 4 of Spring Baking Championship, and Michelle Antonishek from season 2 of Halloween Baking Championship.

Elimination Table

 * (WINNER) This baker won the competition.
 * (RUNNER-UP) This baker was a finalist.
 * (WIN) This baker had the best dish in the main challenge.
 * ‡ This baker had the best dish in the pre-heat challenge.
 * (HIGH) This baker had one of the best dishes.
 * (LOW) This baker was last to be called safe.
 * (ELIM) This baker was eliminated.



Contestants

 * 1st – Melissa Yanc, Bakery Owner from Healdsburg, California
 * 2nd - Jennifer Clifford, Pastry Chef from Moultonborough, New Hampshire
 * 3rd - Sarah Wallace, Bakery General Manager from Boston, Massachusetts
 * 4th – Geoffrey Blount, Baking and Pastry Arts Instructor from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
 * 5th – Dwight Penney, Executive Pastry Chef from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
 * 6th – Janet Letendre, Home Bakery Owner from Malakwa, British Columbia
 * 7th – Cedrick Simpson, Pastry Chef from Atlanta, Georgia
 * 8th – Kobe Doan, Home Baker from Boston, Massachusetts
 * 9th – Maria Short, Bakery Owner from Hilo, Hawaii
 * 10th – Devon Maciver, Home Baker from Claremont, California

Elimination Table

 * (WINNER) This baker won the competition.
 * (RUNNER-UP) This baker was a finalist.
 * (WIN) This baker had the best dish in the main challenge.
 * ‡ This baker had the best dish in the pre-heat challenge.
 * (HIGH) This baker had one of the best dishes.
 * (LOW) This baker was last to be called safe.
 * (ELIM) This baker was eliminated.

Season 7
12 bakers enter the kitchen to compete for the $25,000 prize, a chance to be featured on the Food Network Kitchen app, and the title of Holiday Baking Champion. New this year, the bakers will be ranked on the "Naughty or Nice" list after each challenge. The lowest ranked baker after each main heat will be eliminated from the competition. However, in the first episode of the season, the lowest ranked baker after the first pre-heat was eliminated.

Contestants

 * 1st - Julianna Jung, Home Baker from Champaign, Illinois
 * 2nd/3rd - Lorenzo Delgado, Pastry Chef from Miami, Florida
 * 2nd/3rd - Megan Rountree, Bakery Owner from Keller, Texas
 * 4th - Eva Roberts, Bakery Owner from Spokane, Washington
 * 5th - Lashonda Sanford, Bakery Owner from Newport News, Virginia
 * 6th - Jon Buatti, Bakery Owner from Auburn, New Hampshire
 * 7th - Jamaal Nettles, Pastry Chef from Atlanta, Georgia
 * 8th - Kess Eshun, Pastry Chef and Bakery Owner from Frisco, Texas
 * 9th - Jeffrey Gray, Home Baker from Atlanta, Georgia
 * 10th - Aubrey Shaffner, Pastry Chef from Baltimore, Maryland
 * 11th - Kristina Stephenson, Pastry Chef from Spokane, Washington
 * 12th - Jonathan Peregrino, Pastry Chef from Detroit, Michigan

Episodes
This was hosted by judges Duff Goldman, Nancy Fuller, and Carla Hall. They offered a behind-the-scenes look at the set where Holiday Baking Championship is filmed and discussed topics relating to this season such as: their favorite and least favorite desserts up to this point, the road to the finale with the finalists and their strengths/weaknesses, their relationships with each other on and off set, how they went about the whole elimination process of picking the least successful baker, and also showed a small sneak peek of the finale at the end.

Elimination Table

 * (WINNER) This baker won the competition.
 * (RUNNER-UP) This baker was a finalist.
 * (WIN) This baker had the best dish in the challenge.
 * (IN) This baker did well enough to continue in the competition. Also included in the baker's rank in that round on the "Naughty or Nice list."
 * ‡ This baker had the best dish in the pre-heat challenge and had an advantage in the main heat.
 * (SAFE) This baker did not need to complete in this round and was into the next round.
 * (HIGH) This baker had one of the best dishes.
 * (LOW) This baker was last to be called safe.
 * (ELIM) This baker was eliminated.

Additionally bakers were ranked in every round, both preheat and main heat, of every episode on the "Naughty or Nice List"

Season 8
12 bakers enter the kitchen to compete for the $25,000 prize, a chance to be featured in Food Network magazine, and the title of Holiday Baking Champion. Duff Goldman, Nancy Fuller, and Carla Hall return to judge with Jesse Palmer hosting.

New this year: in the first 5 weeks, if any baker won both the Preheat and Main Heat in the same week, they would be immune from elimination the following week and Jesse Palmer sometimes gave the bakers non-spoken indicators of when time starts, such as when a christmas tree on set lit up in episode 1 or he chopped a log in episode 2. The lowest ranked baker after each main heat will be eliminated from the competition. However, at the end of the first episode, there was a double elimination with two bakers being sent home.

Contestants

 * 1st- Adam Monette, Culinary Arts Instructor from Saint Albans, VT
 * 2/3rd - Sabrina Coombs, Executive Pastry Chef from Atlanta, GA
 * 2/3rd- Jody O'Sullivan, Pastry Chef/Instructor from Boston, MA
 * 4th- Jose Marchan, Pastry Chef from Cleveland, OH
 * 5th - Richard Akers-Barrows, Pastry Cook from Dorchester, MA
 * 6th - Marilyn Santos McNabb, Pastry Chef from Chicago, IL
 * 7th - Neomie Eliezer, Head Pastry Chef from Cherry Hill, NJ
 * 8th - Philippe Costa, Home Baker from Seaside, CA
 * 9th - Jennifer Hood, Dietitian/Home Baker from Winston-Salem, NC
 * 10th - Naomi Mwangi, Home Bakery Owner from McKinney, TX
 * 11th - Shayla Daniels, Pastry Chef from Odessa, FL
 * 12th - Grace Lapsys, Pastry Chef from Albuquerque, NM



Episodes






Elimination Table

 * (WINNER) This baker won the competition.
 * (RUNNER-UP) This baker was a finalist.
 * (ELIM) This baker was eliminated.
 * (IN) This baker never had the best dish or the worst.
 * (HIGH) This baker had one of the best dish.
 * (WIN) This baker had the best dish in the main challenge.
 * ‡ This baker had the best dish in the pre-heat challenge.
 * (LOW) This baker was last to be called safe.

Contestants

 * 1st- Dru Tevis, Corporate Pastry Chef from Rehoboth Beach, DE
 * 2nd- Aishia Martinez, Pastry Cook from Hoboken, New Jersey
 * 3rd/4th-Aaron Davis, Cake Decorator from Surprise, AZ
 * 3rd/4th- Jessica Wang, Pastry food stylist from Los Angeles, CA
 * 5th- Bill Makin, Home Baker from Brooklyn, NY
 * 6th- Zakiya Newton, Pastry Chef and Home bakery Owner from Gotha, FL
 * 7th-Harshal Naik, Pastry Chef from Bedford, PA
 * 8th-Kristen Weidlien, Executive Pastry Chef from Staten Island, NY
 * 9th- Christine Herelle-Lewis, French Pastry Chef from New York, NY
 * 10th- Sumera Syed, Home Baker Entrepreneur from Dallas, TX
 * 11th- Antoine Hopkins, Pastry Chef from Philadelphia, PA
 * 12th -RaChelle Hubsmith, Home Baker from Salt Lake City, UT

Elimination Table

 * (WINNER) This baker won the competition.
 * (RUNNER-UP) This baker was a finalist.
 * (ELIM) This baker was eliminated.
 * (IN) This baker did not have the best dish or the worst dish.
 * (HIGH) This baker had one of the best dishes.
 * (WIN) This baker had the best dish in the main challenge.
 * ‡ This baker had the best dish in the pre-heat challenge.
 * (LOW) This baker was last to be called safe.

Contestants

 * 1st- Ashley Landerman, Executive Bakery Owner from New Braunfels, Texas
 * 2/3/4th- Kevin Conniff, Pastry chef from Alberta, Canada
 * 2/3/4th- Thoa Nguyen, Bakery Owner from Englewood, Colorado
 * 2/3/4th- Justine Rota, Home Bakery Owner from Whitman, Massachusetts
 * 5th- Sharrod Mangum, Executive Pastry Chef from Atlanta, Georgia
 * 6th- Javier Trujillo, Pastry Chef from Chicago, Illinois
 * 7th- Josh Juarez, Hotel Banquet Cook from Austin, Texas
 * 8th-Greg Ballenger, Home cook from Dallas, Texas
 * 9th-Bert Alvarado, Pastry chef from Las Vegas, Nevada
 * 10th- Jennifer Carey, Bakery Owner from Brooklyn, New York
 * 11th- Alex Jacks, Home Baker from Portland, Oregon
 * 12th- Ali Kenis, Bakery Owner from Ventura, California

Christmas in July (2019)
Four bakers and self-professed holiday fanatics, competed in a special summer episode of Holiday Baking Championship where the winner got $10,000. The host was Jesse Palmer and the judges were the same as always: Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman, and Lorraine Pascale.

Contestants

 * 1st – Alessandro Caria, Home Baker from Windermere, Florida
 * 2nd/3rd/4th – TyNesha Hills, Pastry Chef from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
 * 2nd/3rd/4th – Jonathan Ramirez, Bakery Owner from Fredericton, Canada
 * 2nd/3rd/4th – Jennifer Jacobs, Bakery Owner from Clearwater, Florida