Mmm … can you smell it? The sweet aroma of cinnamon rolls baking in the oven, or is it the pumpkin-spiced latte you're sipping? For the preheat, host Jesse Palmer asks the bakers to combine two of the fall season's best treats and make seasonal coffee drink cinnamon rolls. Then, the bakers roll right into the main heat with a fall-themed yule log that Jesse calls Thanksgiving Swiss Rolls. In the end, judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Nancy Fuller decide which baker is rolling home.
It's the season finale, and the last five bakers face three challenges. Christmas Eve is filled with so much excitement and so many gifts, and the sweetest gift of all is a plate of cookies for Santa. For the final preheat, host Jesse Palmer wants the bakers to upgrade those cookies by making macaron wreaths for judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Nancy Fuller! The bottom two bakers battle it out to see who makes it to the final main heat by taking on a stocking-stuffed eclairs challenge. Then, its “All aboard!” as the remaining four bakers make showstopping, championship-worthy holiday train cakes with actual trains running through them! In the end, a Holiday Baking Champion is crowned and takes home $25,000!
In the season five premiere of The Next Food Network Star, the 10 finalists are immediately thrown into their first challenge. They head to Food Network Kitchens and are greeted by the selection committee (Iron ChefBobby Flay and Food Network executives Bob Tuschman and Susie Fogelson), who inform the finalists that they’ll be split into two teams and catering Food Network’s "Sweet 16" party.
The teams are tasked with creating delicious dishes and serving tables packed with Food Network stars like Giada De Laurentiis, Alton Brown, Duff Goldman, Sunny Anderson and Masaharu Morimoto, and also Access Hollywood co-host Nancy O’Dell! The first finalist is then eliminated.
In the season premiere of Chefs vs. City, chefs Aaron Sanchez and Chris Cosentino jump right into their first challenge and hit the streets of New York City to battle fellow Food Network stars Claire Robinson of 5 Ingredient Fix and Food 2’s Kelsey Nixon of Kelsey & Spike Cook. During five intense challenges, the teams take on a taste-test at Dylan’s Candy Bar before heading to Russ & Daughters, a culinary landmark in New York City. To wrap up the extreme challenges, the teams heads to The Brick Lane Curry House to devour the hottest dish in the world.