On location in Hawaii, four sculpting gurus transform over one hundred pounds of produce into tropical sculptures that rise above five feet. Using a variety of fruits and vegetables, the competitors try to carve, peel, and slice their way to a $10,000 prize. The competitors face tough conditions as they carve their fruit in the sweltering Hawaiian heat, but the real test will be moving the final sculptures, which weigh upwards of 300 pounds.
COMPETITORS:
Kacie Chatuparisoot
Chef/Owner De Royale, LLC
Boulder, Colo.
James Parker
Owner – Veggy Art
Chantilly, Va.
Lert Seeboonruang
Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas – Sous Chef/Garde Manger
Las Vegas, Nev.
Douglas St. Souver
Douglas' Culinary Carvings
Davisburg, Mich.
Judges:
Laurent Branlard
Executive Pastry Chef - Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotel
Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Patrick Coston
Pastry Chef – The Art of Chocolate
New York, N.Y.
Nicholas Lodge
Co-Founder – International Sugar Art Collection
Norcross, Ga.
Food Network Challenge travels to Hawaii where five renowned chefs compete in a Hawaiian luau using their own unique interpretations of traditional luau cuisine.
Food Network Challenge follows 43 grill teams from all over the southeast United States who have come to Magnolia, Ark., to prove that they have the chops to take top prize at the annual World Championship Steak Cook-off. $2500 is at stake, but it’s the bragging rights that competitors are really vying for. Each team wants to say they came, they grilled, and they cooked the number one rib eye around.
COMPETITORS:
Alcoa a.k.a Chicken Griddles
David McWilliams – Team Leader
Magnolia, Ark.
Bankcorp South a.k.a Steak Busters
Mike Waters – Team Leader
Magnolia, Ark.
Beech Creek Farms
Hayden Franks – Team Leader
Magnolia, Ark.
Farmer’s Bank and Trust a.k.a. Flame Broiled & Taste CO.
Jeff White – Team Leader
Magnolia, Ark.
The Taste of South Texas Barbeque
Steven Clark – Team Leader
Van Vleck, Texas
Judges:
Ed Hornyak
Executive
Performance Food Group
Cabot, Ark.
Chuck Lange
Executive Director
Arkansas Sheriff’s Association
North Little Rock, Ark.
Mark Pryor
U.S. Senator, Arkansas
Washington D.C.
Jeremy Reeves
Sous Chef – Best Impressions
Benton, Ark.
Garland "Buddy" Rich
Welder
Jefferson, Texas
Claude "Tubby" Smith
Executive Vice President
Arkansas Cattleman’s Association
Little Rock, Ark.
From Universal Orlando Resort in Florida, Food Network Challenge competitors decorate cakes inspired by four of the most popular cartoons in animation history. Watch as Scooby-Doo squares off against Popeye; and Betty Boop's "boo boop be do" goes against the charm of Curious George. All's fun in cartoons and cakes, until you throw a $10,000 prize into the mix--and four top cake artists who don't like to lose.
COMPETITORS:
Linda Bassett
Cake name: Betty Boop and Her Friends Go Swimming
Wynn Las Vegas Cake Artist
Las Vegas, Nev.
Norman Davis
Cake name: Curious George
The Sweet Life
Annandale, Va.
Mike McCarey
Cake name: Scooby Doo and the Mummy's Curse
Mike’s Amazing Cakes
Redmond, Wash.
Bronwen Weber
Cake name: Popeye's Sailorman Swing
Frosted Art Bakery
Dallas, Tex.
Bronwen's Cakes
Judges:
Marina Sousa
Just Cakes
Monterrey Bay, Calif.
Susan Stockton
Vice President Culinary Production
Food Network Kitchens
New York, N.Y.
Kerry Vincent
Wedding Cake Designer/Hall of Fame Sugar Artist
Tulsa, Okla.
This Challenge gives the heart-pounding excitement of a horserace a Food Network twist. Five Guinness World Records are on the line inside the home of movie magic, Universal Studios, and not one, but two competitors are going head to head in each event to see who can flip, carve, crack, peel or scoop their way into the record books. From pumpkins to pancakes, onions to oysters, you've never seen food move this fast!
COMPETITORS:
Mitch Cohen
More Dough Corp.
Bayshore, N.Y.
Thomas Majoch
Burlington, Vt.
Onions
Sherise Jones
Idaho-Eastern Oregon Onion Committee – Marketing Director
Boise, Idaho
www.bigonions.com
Oyster Shucking
Patrick McMurray
Starfish Oyster Bed and Grill
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Scott Stiles - Present US Champion
San Antonio, Tex.
Pancakes
Steve Hamilton
Owner of Chris Cakes
Louisburg, Kans.
Pumpkin Carving
Russ Leno
Sleepy Hallow
Everett, Wash.
Fastest Foods
Judges:
Stuart Claxton
Guinness World Records
New York, N.Y.
Steve Jayson
Universal Resorts
Ten international pastry teams have come to Phoenix, Ariz., for the World Pastry Team Championship to prove who the best of the best is in a two-day culinary marathon. Team USA has taken first in the past two championships and they're aiming for a three-peat. But Team France and Team Japan plan on dethroning the reigning champs. A win here means taking home the $50,000 prize and the achievement of a lifetime.
TEAMS:
Italy
Captain: Silvio Bessone
Team Member: Lucio Forino
Team Member: Roberto Rinaldini
Manager: Biagio Settepani
Judge: Leonardo Di Carlo
Japan
Captain: Koichi Izumi
Team Member: Masaaki Hayashi
Team Member: Shuji Muto
Manager: Kanjiro Mochizuki
Judge: Makoto Kato
Mexico
Captain: Thomas Trevethan
Team Member: Jose Polanco Pech
Team Member: Barbaciano Kavil Chan
Manager: Oscar Ortega
Judge: Margarita Vin
Poland
Captain: Janusz Profus
Team Member: Pawel Malecki
Team Member: Maciej Pieta
Manager: Adam Sowa
Judge: Jaroslaw Zbaliszyn
Russia
Captain: Elena Medvedeva
Team Member: Alexander Ilyukhin
Team Member: Andrey Polovinkin
Manager: Elena Shramko
Judge: Igor Bukharov
Singapore
Captain: Lim Kim Wah
Team Member: Then Chui Foong
Team Member: Alex Yen Hing Long
Manager: Steven Ong
Judge: Kenny Kong
South Korea
Captain: Mun-Sung Choi
Team Member: Kyung-Whan Byun
Team Member: Myung-Ju Sung
Manager: Chang-Hyun Ahn
Judge: Young-Teag Jung
Switzerland
Captain: Rolf Murner
Team Member: Thomas Schwarzenberger
Team Member: Gerald Saudan
Manager: Franz Ziegler
Judge: Adrian Bader
USA
Captain: Laurent Lhuillier
Team Member: James (Jim) Mullaney
Team Member: David Ramirez
Manager: Laurent Branlard
Judge: Stanton Ho
One culinary dream team tries to break the Guinness World Record for the Tallest Popcorn Sculpture. They have only four weeks to figure out how to make 5,000 pounds of popcorn stand over 16 feet tall. Then, in the heart of Disneyland, they'll have just one day to carve and decorate one of the biggest icons in the world: Mickey Mouse.
COMPETITORS:
Ewald Notter
Sugar Artist
Orlando, Fla.
Douglas St. Souver
Carver
Davisburg, Mich.
Doug Ganhs
Carver
Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.
Judges:
Stuart Claxton
Guinness World Records
New York, N.Y.
Bill Gorlin, P.E., S.E., SECB
M.G. McLaren, P.C. Consulting Engineers
West Nyack, N.Y.
Randy Wojick
Disney Entertainment Division
Seafood lovers, prepare to be tantalized! In this edition of Challenge, 20 top seafood chefs from around the U.S. have brought their A-game and fresh fish from their home states down to the Big Easy for a chance to be crowned King of American Seafood. There's something for everyone from everywhere: from Shrimp and Grits, to Crispy Chesapeake Soft Shell Crab, to Tropical Red Snapper. The dishes are so delectable you'll wonder how the judges can pick a winner (and how they can pack away that much food!). Watch this one with a bib on.
COMPETITORS:
Naomi Everett – Alaska
Settler’s Bay Lodge
Anchorage, Alaska
John Hamme – Alabama
Ariccia Restaurant
Auburn, Ala.
John Nye – California
King’s Fish House
Costa Mesa, Calif.
Tim Recher – Maryland
Wyndham Baltimore Inner Harbor Hotel
Bel Air, Md.
Robert St. John – Mississippi
Purple Parrot Café
Hattiesburg, Miss.
Justin Timineri – Florida
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Tallahassee, Fla.
Tim Thomas – Georgia
Ocean Forest Club
Brunswick, Ga.
Judges:
Donna Florio
Southern Living Magazine
Birmingham, Ala.
William T. Hogarth
Director – NOAA Fisheries
Silver Spring, Md.
Shawn McLain
Spring Magazine
Chicago, Ill.
Julia Rutland
Coastal Living Magazine
Birmingham, Ala.
Susan Spicer
Bayona Magazine
New Orleans, La.
John Besh
Master of Ceremonies
New Orleans, La.
Six of the world's best cake decorators design Culinary themed cakes with the grand prize of $10,000 and the honor of having the winning cake showcased at the first-ever Food Network Awards.
TEAMS:
Team 1
Marina Sousa
Owner, Just Cake
Monterey Bay, Calif.
Courtney Clark
Mini Challenge Winner, Detroit Jazz Festival
Saline, Mich.
Dawn Nemec
Marina's Assistant
La Selva Beach, Calif.
Team 2
Bronwen Weber
Executive Chef, Frosted Art Bakery
Dallas, TX
Orlando Serrano
Mini Challenge Winner, Taste of Chicago
Roeser's Bakery
Chicago, Ill.
Jennifer Bartos
Bronwen's Assistant
Austin, TX
Team 3
Colette Peters
Owner, Colette's Cakes
New York, N.Y.
Linda Shonk
Mini Challenge Winner, Indy 500
Sweet Art Inc.
Indianapolis, Ind.
Mark Ramsdell
Colette's Assistant
Bethesda, Md.
Judges:
Mark O'Connor
VP of Marketing for Food Network
New York, N.Y.
Bruce Seidel
Senior VP Special Productions for Food Network
New York, N.Y.
Susan Stockton
Senior VP Food Network Kitchens
New York, N.Y.
This competition is broken into two categories: The Beef Burger and the Alternative Burger (a burger made of anything besides beef). In each competition, five amateur cooks compete to grill the best burger. The winner of the beef burger competition takes home $50,000 while the alternative winner earns $10,000.
Five of the world’s top pastry chefs make the world’s finest chocolates that you can not only eat, but wear. Each competitor designs an evening dress made out of chocolate for a chance to win $10,000. If they want to stay in the running to win their dress has to make it on to a live model and through a real runway show. This competition pushes each chef’s creative limit as they not only test their chocolate skills, but also their sewing and fashion design knowledge.
Five cake decorators design wedding cakes specifically for a couple they meet a night before the competition. The winning cake not only earns $10,000 but is actually served at the couples' wedding the following evening.
Over 80 top cake decorators travel from all over the world to compete in one of the world's premier wedding cake competitions. A cash prize and industry bragging rights are at stake.