Holiday Baking Championship
The 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", and "Wedding Cake 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; usually cookies or small  cakes. The themes could be as broad as Hanukkah or New Years to something specific like creating a Christmas cookie tree or baking desserts inspired by a Christmas song. 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. (Ex: Getting to swap ingredients/flavors or getting ten minutes of help from a special guest baker). The second round is the "Main Heat" where the contestants get more time than the first round to create a larger confection  (in size or quantity) 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. (Ex: In "Signs of the Season", they were told to make cookies in addition to their festive bundt cakes.) The winner of the "Main Heat" advances to the next episode while the baker with the worst dish is eliminated. The three 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. Cake Baker Duff Goldman (famously known for his popular former Food Network show "Ace of Cakes") and Pastry Chef Nancy Fuller (host of current Food Network show "Farmhouse Rules") serve as permanent judges of the show. Lorraine Pascale (a former UK model) was a judge for the first six seasons. For season seven, Carla Hall replaced Pascale on the judges' panel, joining Fuller and Goldman.