Holiday Baking Championship

"Holiday Baking Championship" is a Food Network series that has been aired every year for the last seven years. It consists of both professional bakers and home bakers competing until one ultimately is crowned the winner of the season. And, like the title of the show suggests, it's about holidays...particularly Christmas and a bit about Thanksgiving and Hanukkah. Each week, one baker is declared the winner (though they actually win nothing until the final round) and a loser who is sent home.

I have enjoyed the show but have noticed something. In season three, I noticed that the judges were NOT getting along well. In particular, Nancy seemed to disagree with everyone....but more often with Lorraine. My daughter and I definitely noticed some tension here....though in later seasons it looked as if all fences were mended and everyone appeared happier. I really PREFER it that way and consider season three an aberration, though I did see a bit of this in season two as well. Still enjoyable...and more so when the judges seemed more unified and less argumentative.

This is the same boring show re-skinned each season of the yea with the same cast trying to call it something different. There is nothing new behind it why it still airs and is funded is beyond me.

Yuck. I don't know why the judges pick certain contestants to just obsess over. They will absolutely miss the mark and the judges just go on and on about how they are so amazing as if you should look past all the major flaws due to a huge bias. The host is also like the cheesiest guy you'll ever see. It's like the high school quarterback who burnt out 20 years ago trying desperately to stay relevant. I could go on this show with no experience and make it further than trained chefs since the judges obviously have no sense of taste and are blind to all flaws if they like the contestant. Such a shame how downhill food network has gone.

Don't care for Bobby Dean hosting. I never warmed up to Duff ever since I saw him baking something years ago and licking his fingers and then serving what he was making. Not sure if the animosity with Lorraine and Nancy is real or just for show. Adds nothing. I did like the later host a lot better than Bobby.

I dug through the entire "cast and crew" section of this page and couldn't find anything about the writers. I know these shows are supposed to be "unscripted" but I'm sure Jesse isn't making up his bad puns on the fly. There has to be a script for the introduction he does in every episode, and it's weird that the writers aren't listed here. Maybe they want to protect the illusion that this is all spontaneous?

I like the show overall but I do think it's a bit unfair that the final results aren't cumulative - someone who has done outstanding work, week after week, should not lose to a less-talented person due to merely having one small mistake during the final competition. The best person doesn't always win, unfortunately.