Interview: Andrew Fuller Reveals the Tricks and Treats Behind 'Halloween Wars' and 'Sweet Deceit'

Cake artist Andrew Fuller, who specializes in eerily lifelike baking creations, doesn’t just celebrate Halloween on October 31. “Halloween is me 365,” he says. “I truly do live it. I am no poser when it comes to all of that.”

And we certainly believe him. Andrew's love of Halloween extends from his elaborate aesthetic to his favorite treat: candy corn, preferably eaten straight from a brown paper bag because, as he points out, that’s how Norman Bates eats it in Psycho. “It just feels like it's the Halloween energy,” he says.

This spooky season, Andrew has a front-row seat to some of the most elaborate and imaginative Halloween creations on television as a judge on Food Network's Halloween Wars. He’s also putting his own skills to work as a cake artist on Sweet Deceit, a new Food Network competition that challenges contestants to identify real cakes hiding in plain sight. Food Network caught up with Andrew to talk about both shows, what he looks for in a great Halloween creation and the art of making something edible look almost too real to believe.

In Conversation With Andrew Fuller

On Halloween Wars

Food Network: Halloween Wars is now in Season 16. What keeps people coming back to the show?

Andrew Fuller: In my opinion, and clearly in so many people's opinion, Halloween Wars is the holy grail of cake shows. To this day, the show is fresh, and they keep changing it up. If you're a cake artist and you want to do a competition show, you want to be on Halloween Wars. For viewers, it's such a weird world that you don't see anywhere else.

Food Network: As a judge on Halloween Wars, how hard is it to sit back and watch people create instead of making something yourself?

Andrew: It's funny because part of me is like, "I want to jump in and help them out." But the other part is like, "No, I've been in the competition world already." It's kind of enjoyable to watch other people sweat a little bit!

Food Network: What’s the biggest mistake you see these contestants make?

Andrew: If something starts to go wrong with the team and the communication starts to break down, that's when you’re in trouble. If you can't recover from something that’s gone wrong, and you just start to spiral out, you're never going to come back from it. It’s important to be comfortable with the fact that you're going to make a mistake. Knowing how to pivot is so important, too. It’s how you're going to get through it.

Food Network: What’s the hardest everyday object you’ve seen someone successfully turn into a Halloween Wars creation?

Andrew: Anything with moving parts. Whenever there’s a moving element with a cake, if it’s functional and it works, it’s really successful. This season in particular, without giving too much away, there was one situation with a rocking chair and a zombie’s legs that had to be very difficult to create. I don’t know if I could have done it.

Food Network: These teams put so much heart and soul into their creations. How hard is it to give them criticism when they’re so proud of their work?

Andrew: Honestly, I think this was my biggest hurdle. As a person who’s been on the competition side, I know how it feels. You think if you get eliminated, your life is over. If you win, your life is just beginning. And that may not be true, but when you’re there, that’s the terror. So telling them, when they’re so proud of their work, that they didn’t measure up to what they think they did is really hard for me. But my job is to find the imperfections, and I try to do it with a little humor and also with a genuine critique that can help them on their next piece.

Food Network: Did the level of all-star talent from this season create extra pressure this season?

Andrew: Halloween Wars is all about the bragging rights. Everyone is so seasoned and so professional, and that puts a lot of pressure on everyone. And the egos are huge. These people are cutthroat — it’s all about winning. It was intense. I was really happy to be on the judging side!

Food Network: At one point this season, a Halloween Wars team member walked away from the show, saying the competition was too stressful. Another had to take a timeout due to anxiety. As a judge, what are you thinking about during these moments?

Andrew: As a person who has been a competitor, I’ve wanted to walk off [a show] before. There’s so much pressure. As a judge, my immediate reaction is, "Did I go too far? Did I push them too hard? Did I say something that made them break down and destroy the team’s camaraderie?" Seeing what happened to a few of the contestants made me reassess myself: Am I encouraging them while also pushing them to work harder?

Food Network: The time limits on Halloween Wars are incredibly tight. Do the teams get to do any prep work or discuss their ideas beforehand, or is it truly a “Here you go”?

Andrew: They get general ideas of what the concept or challenge might be for the episode, and they have several plans in place for what the possible theme can be, but they really do have to work as a team to come up with their creations and [make] them in these tight amounts of time. Having a strategy is a really good way to get themselves ahead of the competition. For example, if they need to turn something into a zombie, they know how to do it this way. If they need to turn it into a Dracula, they can do it that way. It’s funny because you watch from home and you’re like, “I could have done that. I absolutely could have done that.” Myself included. And then you’re there, and you’re like, “Oh, four hours is not enough time to do anything.”

Food Network: You’re tasting a lot of sweets during the competition. What happens to your palate and your energy level by the end of the day?

Andrew: I feel like the first people who have their tasting definitely have an advantage because [as a judge] you’re getting all those different spices and flavors. Then, you get toward the end of the day, and it’s like, “sugar, sugar, sugar.” You definitely crash. Give me chips and queso all day long, but I get overloaded on sweets pretty easily. Everybody thinks it’s the dream to get to taste all these amazing, tiny, beautiful little bites that are so unique and creative. But you fill up pretty fast. We need a spit bucket by the end!

Food Network: With all the talent on the Halloween Wars set, did you ever find yourself picking up new tips or tricks?

Andrew: I wish I could say I’m here to teach them everything, but we’re dead if we’re not learning, right? I’m all about taking tips from these people. There are some legends on the show. This season I saw things I’ve never seen on other shows before, and I’m like, “I’m gonna save that one and give it a try at home. And I’m never gonna let them know if I fail!”

Food Network: Viewers see the teams on Halloween Wars cheering each other on, even while competing against each other. How great was it to see everyone rally around people who were struggling?

Andrew: I think that was the moment on the show where I actually got a little choked up and emotional. Even though they all want to win, they do care about each other. It was really cool to see, and I’ve not seen that on a cake show before.

Food Network: And when one team has to say goodbye after being eliminated, you can see the other team is truly upset, even though they’re competitors. What’s that moment like for you?

Andrew: There are a lot of tears. There were times when I had to turn to the producers and say, “Can I go up and give them a hug?” Because I felt so bad saying goodbye. It’s like saying goodbye to family who lives on the other side of the country and not knowing when you’re going to see them again.

On Sweet Deceit

Food Network: During Is It Cake?, you were trying to fool the judges. On Sweet Deceit, you’re building cakes designed to trick the players. What was that like?

Andrew: It’s a weird dynamic because on Is It Cake?, I’m very angry when [the judges] get it right. But on Sweet Deceit, these people win money if they guess the cake right, and I get bragging rights if they don’t. It’s tough because I don’t want people to find my cakes, ever, but I also want the team to get a little bit of money. You really have to balance that.

Food Network: Were you ever worried someone was going to crack a tooth biting into one of the fake items?

Andrew: The devil inside of me has to be honest with you and say no, only because it would make great television! I'm sure the network would have covered any dental expenses should anything have happened. [Laughs.] So, I mean, part of me was really looking forward to that moment.

Food Network: Do you worry about the cakes falling apart under the stage lights?

Andrew: Yeah, that’s a huge fear. I gotta tell you, we were filming on some hot days with no air conditioning in some of the spaces we were in. But there are a lot of things structurally you can do to help keep things together. You don’t want to fill that cake with buttercream; you want to fill it with ganache. I would never cover a cake in fondant because it’s just too fragile — instead, I’d use modeling chocolate. And if something’s molded in particular, making sure there’s a nice, thick wall of chocolate there will give it its own personal structural integrity.

Food Network: You have a very colorful style. If you had to describe your look in three words, what would they be?

Andrew: Chaotic, quirky and unserious. I just feel like we’ve gotten too homogenized and too muted as a society, at least in terms of color and everything … We need more happiness and whimsy in the world.

Food Network: Sweet Deceit host Josh Peck joked that the only thing that scares you is buying clothing off the rack. Do you have a personal shopper?

Andrew: No. In fact, on Halloween Wars [I did] have a wardrobe, but I was like, “No, no, no. I’m coming in with my own stuff, and that’s just all there is to it.” I need to show up with a look. It’s kind of like the show Traitors. People tune in for Alan Cumming’s looks, and I’m basically the Alan Cumming of the Food Network.

Food Network: Do you have a favorite Halloween costume?

Andrew: When I was a kid, it was a clown outfit. And I think it's because of a few things. One, my mom kind of hobbled it all together because we didn't have a ton of money when I was growing up, and so she had to, you know, grab from different things. But two, I was terrified of clowns as a kid, and I think turning into a clown for Halloween brought me out of my shell. And now I love clowns.

Food Network: What’s your favorite way to celebrate Halloween, and have you ever thrown a Halloween party that didn’t go as planned?

Andrew: A lot of times I’ll go to theme parks that have haunted attractions and things like that. Sometimes I’ll turn those into a meet-and-greet. As for a Halloween disaster, one year we turned our house into a carnival. We put carnival games in the backyard and covered the ground in hay so it felt like you were at an old Dust Bowl-era carnival. But it [the party] got a little too big for us. We don’t have a huge house, and let’s say it got overloaded. Then, a chandelier came crashing down above our dining table and took the power out. And I was like, “Party’s over, guys. We’re done. We’re done. We’re done.” I’m not young enough to not care about that anymore.

How to Watch Halloween Wars and Sweet Deceit

New episodes of Halloween Wars premiere on Food Network Sunday nights at 9|8c starting September 13 and will be available to stream the next day on HBO Max. Sweet Deceit premieres on Food Network Monday nights at 10|9c starting October 5 on Food Network and will also be available to stream the next day on HBO Max. Head to Food Network’s social platforms for exclusive behind-the-scenes clips, wow-worthy cakes and more, using #HalloweenWars and #SweetDeceit.