Food Network‘s cooking reality series that has been accompanying many of us during the cozy holiday season called Holiday Baking Championship is all set to bring delicious recipes and tough competition to our television screens this year as well.
Airing its first episode around the time of Thanksgiving and continuing till Christmas, this show has maintained its holiday energy for nine years now, bringing a brand new tenth season our way with the show drowning in the seasonal holiday spirit.
While the background set of the reality show and the overall vibe screams cozy and warm, the tough competition, the urge to win, and the ever-present pressure are no different from any other reality show out there. Fans know already that the series is divided into two parts, what the makers of the show call pre-heat and main-heat rounds.
The pre-heat has the participants on the show make the cutest, prettiest pastries that should solely be based on the holiday season. The winner of this first round always gets an advantage, though it changes all the time, for that surprise element within the show.
The main round dials the difficulty level of the competition up to eleven, with the participants being asked to prepare some more unique sweets, continuing with the set holiday themes. Things don’t just follow the will of the bakers, as the makers continue to throw more twists and challenges in their way.
With the worst baker being sent home, the three that bake the sweetest and tastiest confections get to stand at the top positions, competing for the winner’s title. The show aired its tenth season on November 6th, 2023, where we got to witness the participants making coffee drinks inspired by cinnamon rolls, and it was torturous knowing that we couldn’t smell the baked goods through our screens.
The show has its familiar faces, including Carla Hall, Duff Goldman, and Nancy Fuller, who are back on the show to taste all of that mouth-watering baked stuff and judge them based on which one makes their mouths water more, we guess.
The return of the show has officially marked the start of the holiday season, and we couldn’t be more excited. But before you go, let us tell you all about the host of this show and all you need to know about him.
Who hosts the Holiday Baking Championship?
The reality show has been airing since 2014 and is currently airing its tenth season. Clearly, this fan-loved show had to be hosted and led by someone who is passionate about food and loves talking just as much.
With the first three seasons of Holiday Baking Championship being hosted by Bobby Deen, a chef and a famous personality, the fourth season had the makers looking for a new face, and guess who that new face ended up being.
If you’ve followed the show, then you already know that star host, famous television personality, and former NFL quarterback player Jesse Palmer ended up being cast as the show’s new host, replacing Bobby Deen forever.
Start of Palmer’s Television Career
Known to have played for the New York Giants and the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League, Jesse left the game and the CFL in early 2007, after which he immediately kickstarted his career as a television personality.
Fans saw him first in The Bachelor back in 2004 when he was still playing as a quarterback, and it was quite the talk of the town. While his relationship with Jessica Bowlin did not last for long after the show, he did make a return to the reality series during its twenty-sixth season, this time as a host.
After this appearance, the number of times we saw him hosting random seasons of shows from the The Bachelor family is something we would rather not discuss.
Hosting Shows & the Holiday Baking Championship
In the early 2000s, we saw Palmer as one of the commentators for the games, and in 2007, he was featured on the NFL Network as an analyst as well. After announcing his retirement from the field in 2007, he turned to join Fox and ESPN to kickstart his broadcasting career as an analyst for college football games.
Since then, he has hosted several programs and even been invited as a guest as the analyst for different game shows on different programs. His constant appearance on our screens made him a familiar face and trained him to be one of the best in the field.
Moving on from his role as an analyst, Palmer’s next challenge was to be a proper host for several shows under the Food Network banner. Starting with Spring Baking Championship, Food Truck Face Off, Bakeaway Camp, Holiday Baking: Gingerbread Showdown, and finally, Holiday Baking Championship, Jesse Palmer was everywhere.
Hosting Holiday Baking Championship
Revealing himself to be a “big-time foodie,” Palmer mentioned during one of his interviews that hosting the Holiday Baking Championship and being with the show long term was a dream job for him, gushing over the fact that he was constantly surrounded by good food for a good ten days of shooting.
Joining the show almost three seasons late, Palmer has become the face of the show, and he loves every moment of it. Continuing with his seven-year-long journey with the show, Jesse is back to host the tenth season of the reality competition series, bringing to us harsh food battles topped with wintery holiday vibes!
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