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Halloween Baking Championship is back with another ghostly season.
The show is set to premiere on September 12, at 9 pm ET on Food Network. The eight-episode journey will take place in a haunted hotel and will be hosted by John Henson. Joining the contestants on this spookily delicious journey will be judges Stephanie Boswell, Carla Hall, and Zac Young.
The synopsis of the show reads:
"On this season of HALLOWEEN BAKING CHAMPIONSHIP, host John Henson is the caretaker of a haunted hotel and will be welcoming the competitors to an eight-week stay, unless their baked goods fail to impress the judges, in which case they will have to "check out" and take the elevator to the mysterious 13th floor from which guests never return."
The 12 bakers competing for the haunted trip and a cash price of $25,000 are Marcus Brackett, Jill Davis, AJ DeDiego, Kristi Descher, Justin Dominguez, Lola Forbes, Margarita Garcia, Alexey Ivanov, Zac Mercer, Lauren Rogers, Maricsa Trejo, and Blayre Wright.
The fresh batch of bakers competing in the Halloween Baking Championship Season 8
This season, the bakers are set to spend eight weeks at a haunted hotel in the latest installment of the Halloween Baking Championship. In order to get through to the scary journey, they must keep their eye on the $25,000 prize and the all-expense paid trip that awaits the winner.
Let’s find out who is in the race to be the next baking champion.
AJ DeDiego
A home-baker from Atlanta, Georgia, AJ loves making cream puffs and says that he likes them "bloody" for Halloween.
The 26-year-old also does special order cakes that he makes in his own kitchen.
Kristi Descher
The pastry chef from LA claims to love the gory aspect of Halloween that she plans on incorporating into her desserts on the Halloween Baking Championship. Descher is also a culinary instructor with a "dark internal soul" who might just present eyeball-themed desserts.
Justin Dominguez
The San Antonio baker is a master of daunting desserts. Justin is a bakery owner and cake artist who likes his cakes to act like a jumpscare by turning people’s darkest nightmares into sweet things they can eat.
Marcus Brackett
This self-taught baker loves for this work to stand out. His over-the-top decorations and finishes are an outlet that lets his creativity flow freely.
Marcus has the discipline to win the show, which can be credited to his work as a culinary specialist for the U.S. Navy.
Blayre Wright
Blayre Wright is the owner of 'Flourette Sweet,' a Manheim-based wedding cake shop that specializes in Halloween-inspired wedding cakes. Her bakery is named after her two grandmothers Flora and Loretta and the baker hopes to make them proud and win the show for them.
Jill Davis
This Halloween Baking Championship contestant has cakes running in her veins. Jill has been baking since her early teens. Jill began decorating cakes with her mother early on and it was her mother, who was the one who taught her all she knows about the craft. Jill currently owns a bakery in Michigan.
Lola Forbes
Lola is the chef and co-owner of Spooky’s Swirls, a horror-themed bakery in Arizona. She likes to make all types of scary decorative desserts and specializes in gluten-free sweets. The bakery doubles as a museum for spooky movies and has props and costumes on the storefront.
Margarita Garcia
The pastry chef from Columbia lives in Florida. She likes to describe herself as a witch who uses herbs to make potions. The Halloween Baking Championship baker believes in the potential and benefits of the ingredients that nature presents her with and tries to incorporate those elements into her frightening desserts.
Alexey Ivonov
This Halloween Baking Championship contestant will scare the judges with three-dimensional cakes. Alexey specializes in 3D cakes and customized cakes that can cause heart attacks, both by the looks and the taste of it.
Zac Mercer
Zac is a baker with a little bit of sass is from Colorado, which is also where he owns a bakery. He is also a drag performer and likes to incorporate the glamor and entertainment of drag shows in his cooking classes.
This baker has been baking his own life and absolutely loves every minute of it.
Lauren Rogers
The Washington-based bakery owner is on a mission to make her grandmother proud by competing to win the Halloween Baking Championship. She specializes in specialty cakes and makes one cake per hour every Saturday.
Maricsa Trejo
The Texas-based baker is also the owner of La Casita Bakeshop - one of the most prominent fixtures inf North Texas. She was a James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Baker earlier this year.
During a conversation with The Dallas Morning News, she spoke about her time on the show and said:
"I feel like after my James Beard nomination, I was nervous that I wouldn’t be taken seriously if I lost or did the show to begin with. I’m happy I did it and was able to make myself proud."
The Halloween Baking Championship will be available to stream on Discovery+ and will premiere on September 12, at 9 pm ET on the Food Network.
