| Cake Wars | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Starring | Jonathan Bennett, Ron Ben-Israel, Waylynn Lucas, Richard Ruskell |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 55 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Chris Losnegard |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | Food Network |
| Release | June 29, 2015 (2015-06-29) – March 27, 2017 (2017-03-27) |
Cake Wars is an American reality competition series that was first broadcast on June 29, 2015,[1] aired on Food Network. Jonathan Bennett hosted the competition, where four bakers face off to have their cakes featured in a special event, in addition to a $10,000 prize. Star pastry chefs Waylynn Lucas, Ron Ben-Israel and Richard Ruskell judge which cakes are worthy of headlining parties for pop culture media such as The Simpsons, The Sound of Music, DC Comics, and more. The first and fifth seasons of the show ran for eight episodes and later seasons of the show ran for thirteen episodes. There was also an annual Christmas-themed spin-off of the show called Cake Wars: Christmas, which made its debut the same year as Cake Wars.[2]
It was announced on December 2, 2015, that Cake Wars was renewed for a second season. The new season featured themes that included Star Wars, Dr. Seuss, and Willy Wonka cakes.[3]
The show is almost identical to Cupcake Wars, except that the contestants design their creations out of regular cakes instead of cupcakes and there are two rounds instead of three. The first round is called "Batter Up," and the contestants are required to choose a certain number of ingredients that go with the episode's theme. One contestant is eliminated after the first round, and in the second round (called "Cake Off"), each of the teams is given two more assistants to help them make their biggest creations and improve any mistakes they may have made in the first round. Before the winner is announced, one person of the three remaining contestants is eliminated, and the winner is chosen from the two remaining contestants.
The show invites cake bakers from all over the United States to compete. Each episode is centered on the theme or event; past themes include a birthday party for baby hippo from the Los Angeles Zoo, a party for the forty-fifth anniversary of the classic film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and a film festival, etc.
Just like in Cupcake Wars, almost every episode of Cake Wars has three judges (some have four judges), two of whom are permanent judges. The guest judge(s) is usually someone who has something to do with the event for the episode, or at least someone who fits in with the theme of the episode. All the judges have the opportunity to constructively critique the cake competitors after each round of battle. The three permanent judges are:
| No. | Title | Theme/Event | Guest judges | Air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Simpsons" | Event celebrating the success of The Simpsons | Matt Selman, show writer | June 29, 2015 |
| 2 | "DC Comics" | Opening of a new DC Comics headquarters | Dan DiDio, Jim Lee, and Geoff Johns, artist, executive editor, and writer, respectively | July 6, 2015 |
| 3 | "The Knot" | theknot.com wedding | Samantha Carisch and Taylor Sinclair (couple) | July 13, 2015 |
| 4 | "Nintendo" | Promotional event for Wii U's Super Mario Maker video game | Krysta Yang, Assistant Manager of Public Relations for Nintendo of America | July 20, 2015 |
| 5 | "Hello Kitty" | Launch of Hello Kitty's North American tour | Katherine McNamara, actress | July 27, 2015 |
| 6 | "LEGO" | LEGO flagship store event | Michael McNally, Senior Director of Brand Relations for The Lego Group | Aug 3, 2015 |
| 7 | "The Sound of Music" | 50th anniversary of The Sound of Music | Angela Cartwright and Kym Karath, actresses from the film | Aug 10, 2015 |
| 8 | "Girl Scouts" | 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts' Gold Award | Katherine Hightower, Girl Scouts | Aug 17, 2015 |
| No. | Title | Theme/Event | Guest judges | Air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Christmas: Ultimate Christmas Lights" | Inspired by Frozen and Christmas lights | Chris Buck, film director | Nov 9, 2015 |
| 2 | "Christmas: Who's Coming Down the Chimney?" | Inspired by ugly Christmas sweaters | Chanda Bell and Christa Pitts, founders of The Elf on the Shelf | Nov 16, 2015 |
| 3 | "Christmas: Santa's New Ride" | Inspired by Christmas elves and Santa's sleigh | Joy Cho, founder and creative director for Oh Joy! | Nov 23, 2015 |
| 4 | "Christmas: Holiday Song" | Inspired by outer space and Christmas carols | Devin Ratray, actor who played Buzz in Home Alone | Nov 30, 2015 |
| 5 | "Christmas: Charlie Brown Celebrates" | 50th anniversary of A Charlie Brown Christmas | Lindsey Schulz, author and granddaughter of Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz | Dec 7, 2015 |
| 6 | "Christmas: Ultimate Gingerbread House" | Inspired by snow globes and gingerbread houses | Monica Potter, actress | Dec 14, 2015 |
| No. | Title | Theme/Event | Guest judges | Air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Star Wars" | Release of Disney Infinity 3.0, which focuses on the Star Wars franchise | John Vignocchi, VP of Development for Disney Infinity | Jan 11, 2016 |
| 2 | "Dr. Seuss" | Post-humous publication of What Pet Should I Get?byDr. Seuss | Susan Brandt, President of Dr. Seuss Enterprises | Jan 18, 2016 |
| 3 | "Kung Fu Panda 3" | Release of Kung Fu Panda 3 | Alessandro Carloni and Jennifer Yuh Nelson, film directors | Jan 25, 2016 |
| 4 | "Minecraft" | Event celebrating the success of Minecraft | Lydia Winters, Brand Director for Minecraft | Feb 1, 2016 |
| 5 | "Valentine's Day" | Wine tasting event for Valentine's Day | Jonathan Grahm, chocolatier | Feb 8, 2016 |
| 6 | "Shark Lagoon" | Aquarium of the Pacific's Shark Lagoon nights | Luke Richmond, Creative Arts & Science Education Supervisor at the Aquarium of the Pacific | Feb 15, 2016 |
| 7 | "Shrek" | 15th anniversary of Shrek | Gina Shay, film producer | Feb 22, 2016 |
| 8 | "Party Animals" | First birthday celebration for Rosie the hippo at Los Angeles Zoo | John Lewis, Director of the Los Angeles Zoo | Feb 29, 2016 |
| 9 | "Sesame Street" | Celebrating the 46th season of Sesame Street | Carol-Lynn Parente, Executive Producer of Sesame Street and Cookie Monster | Mar 7, 2016 |
| 10 | "Willy Wonka" | 45th anniversary of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory | Paris Themmen, actor who played Mike Teevee | Mar 14, 2016 |
| 11 | "Archie" | 75 years of Archie comics | John L. Goldwater, CEO of Archie Comics | Mar 21, 2016 |
| 12 | "Dinosaurs" | Event at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County "World of Dinosaurs" exhibit | Jesse Daniel, Supervisor of Floor Interpretation at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County | Mar 28, 2016 |
| 13 | "Alice in Wonderland" | 65th anniversary of Disney's Alice in Wonderland | Mike Gabriel, Production Designer and filmmaker at Walt Disney Animation Studios | April 4, 2016 |
| No. | Title | Theme/Event | Guest judges | Air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Captain America" | 75th birthday of Captain America | Stephen Wacker, VP of Animation at Marvel Entertainment | June 6, 2016 |
| 2 | "Spongebob" | Nickelodeon event celebrating SpongeBob SquarePants | Tom Kenny, voice of SpongeBob | June 13, 2016 |
| 3 | "Charlie Brown's All-Stars" | 50th anniversary of Charlie Brown's All Stars! | Lindsey Schulz, author and granddaughter of Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz | June 20, 2016 |
| 4 | "How to Train Your Dragon" | Celebrating the success of How to Train Your Dragon | Art Brown and Doug Sloan, executive producers of Dragons: Race to the Edge | June 27, 2016 |
| 5 | "Emoji" | Event celebrating emojis | Gedeon Maheux, co-founder of The Iconfactory | July 11, 2016 |
| 6 | "Cobra's Curse" | Grand opening of Busch Gardens Tampa Bay's new ride Cobra's Curse | Brian Morrow, VP of Theme Park Experience at Busch Gardens | July 18, 2016 |
| 7 | "Beauty and the Beast" | 25th anniversary of Disney's Beauty and the Beast | Paige O'Hara, voice of Belle | July 25, 2016 |
| 8 | "Halo" | 2016 Halo World Championships | Larry "Major Nelson" Hyrb, Director of Programming for Microsoft | Aug 1, 2016 |
| 9 | "Madeline" | 75th anniversary of Madeline | Kate Clark, founder of Yottoy | Aug 8, 2016 |
| 10 | "Jelly Belly" | Event celebrating Jelly Belly | Lisa Rowland Brasher, Jelly Belly CEO | Aug 22, 2016 |
| 11 | "Paddington" | 90th birthday of Michael Bond, who wrote the Paddington Bear series | R.W. Alley, Paddington illustrator | Aug 22, 2016 |
| 12 | "Where's Waldo" | Event celebrating the Where's Waldo? animated series | Brian Robinson, Head of Creative Design and Development for DreamWorks Animation | Aug 29, 2016 |
| 13 | "Garfield" | 40th birthday of Garfield | Gregg Berger, voice of Odie | Sep 5, 2016 |
| No. | Title | Theme/Event | Guest judges | Air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Christmas: Santa's Makeover" | Inspired by Christmas gifts and Santa Claus | Megan Nicole, singer-songwriter and actress | Nov 14, 2016 |
| 2 | "Christmas: How the Grinch Stole Christmas" | 50th anniversary of How the Grinch Stole Christmas! | Susan Brandt, President of Dr. Seuss Enterprises | Nov 21, 2016 |
| 3 | "Christmas: The Nutcracker" | Inspired by The Nutcracker | Tamera Mowry, actress and host of The Real | Nov 26, 2016 |
| 4 | "Christmas: Animals Celebrate Christmas Too" | Inspired by animals | Yolanda Gampp, cake artist and host of How to Cake It | Dec 5, 2016 |
| 5 | "Christmas: Santa's Workshop" | Inspired by Santa's workshop | Jackie Sorkin, candy artist and television personality | Dec 12, 2016 |
| 6 | "Christmas: Ultimate Christmas Front Yard" | Inspired by Christmas cards and Christmas yard decorations | Kristi Yamaguchi, Olympic gold medalist in figure skating | Dec 19, 2016 |
| No. | Title | Theme/Event | Guest judges | Air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Powerpuff Girls" | Event celebrating The Powerpuff Girls, featuring the reboot | Amanda Leighton, Kristen Li, and Natalie Palamides, voice actresses of Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup | Sep 12, 2016 |
| 2 | "Wonder Woman" | 75th anniversary of Wonder Woman | Nicola Scott, comic book artist | Sep 19, 2016 |
| 3 | "The Addams Family" | 80th anniversary of The Addams Family | Kevin Miserocchi, Director of the Tee and Charles Addams Foundation | Oct 10, 2016 |
| 4 | "Magic" | Event celebrating magic | Mat Franco, magician | Oct 17, 2016 |
| 5 | "Trolls" | Release of DreamsWorks Animation's film Trolls | Walt Dohrn and Mike Mitchell, film directors | Oct 24, 2016 |
| 6 | "Transformers" | Event celebrating Transformers | Simon Waters, Senior VP of Global Brand Licensing for Hasbro | Oct 31, 2016 |
| 7 | "Rugrats" | 25th anniversary of Rugrats | E. G. Daily, voice of Tommy Pickles | Nov 7, 2016 |
| 8 | "Space Jam" | 20th anniversary of Space Jam | Bill Farmer, voice of Sylvester, Yosemite Sam, and Foghorn Leghorn in the film | Nov 7, 2016 |
| 9 | "Rose Bowl" | Inspired by the Rose Bowl Game | Lawrence Jackson, former NFL player and 2008 Rose Bowl champion with USC | Dec 26, 2016 |
| 10 | "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" | Event celebrating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot | Mae Whitman and Greg Cipes, voice actors of April O'Neil and Michelangelo, respectively | Jan 2, 2017 |
| 11 | "Happy Feet" | Happy Feet 10th anniversary celebration at the Aquarium of the Pacific | Luke Richmond, Creative Arts & Science Education Supervisor at the Aquarium of the Pacific | Jan 16, 2017 |
| 12 | "Monopoly" | Event celebrating Monopoly | Rebecca Hollander, Monopoly Brand Director at Hasbro | Jan 23, 2017 |
| 13 | "Roald Dahl" | 100th birthday of Roald Dahl | Chloe Dahl, Roald Dahl's granddaughter | Jan 30, 2017 |
| No. | Title | Theme/Event | Guest judges | Air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Champs: Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!" | Dr. Seuss' 113th birthday and the 20th anniversary of the Read Across America campaign | Susan Brandt, President of Dr. Seuss Enterprises | Feb 12, 2017 |
| 2 | "Champs: The Avengers" | Release of volumes 2 and 3 of Avengers: Monsters Unleashed | Stephen Wacker, VP of Animation at Marvel Entertainment | Feb 19, 2017 |
| 3 | "Champs: Shrek" | 10th anniversary of Shrek the Third | Fernanda Abarca, DreamsWorks animator | Feb 26, 2017 |
| 4 | "Champs: LEGO" | Event celebrating LEGO | Amanda Santoro, Senior Manager of Brand Relations at The Lego Group | Mar 5, 2017 |
| 5 | "Champs: Pokemon" | Event celebrating Pokémon | Elvin Gee, Marketing Manager for Pokémon | Mar 19, 2017 |
| 6 | "Saban's Power Rangers" | Release of Power Rangers | Becky G, actress who played the Yellow Ranger | Mar 20, 2017 |
| 7 | "Champs: Disney Princesses" | Event celebrating Disney Princesses | Brittney Lee, visual artist at Walt Disney Animation Studios | Mar 26, 2017 |
| 8 | "Smurfs: The Lost Village" | Release of Smurfs: The Lost Village | Kelly Asbury, director of the film | Mar 27, 2017 |
| No. | Title | 4th place | 3rd place | 2nd place | 1st place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Simpsons" |
|
|
|
|
| 2 | "DC Comics" |
|
|
|
|
| 3 | "The Knot" |
|
|
|
|
| 4 | "Nintendo" |
|
|
|
|
| 5 | "Hello Kitty" |
|
|
|
|
| 6 | "LEGO" |
|
|
|
|
| 7 | "The Sound of Music" |
|
|
|
|
| 8 | "Girl Scouts" |
|
|
|
|
| No. | Title | Eliminated | Winner: Stocking Stuffer | Winner: Santa's Mega Challenge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Christmas: Ultimate Christmas Lights" |
|
|
|
| 2 | "Christmas: Who's Coming Down the Chimney?" |
|
|
|
| 3 | "Christmas: Santa's New Ride" |
|
|
|
| 4 | "Christmas: Holiday Song" |
|
|
|
| 5 | "Christmas: Charlie Brown Celebrates" |
|
|
|
| 6 | "Christmas: Ultimate Gingerbread House" |
|
|
|
| No. | Title | 4th place | 3rd place | 2nd place | 1st place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Star Wars" |
|
|
|
|
| 2 | "Dr. Seuss" |
|
|
|
|
| 3 | "Kung Fu Panda 3" |
|
|
|
|
| 4 | "Minecraft" |
|
|
|
|
| 5 | "Valentine's Day" |
|
|
|
|
| 6 | "Shark Lagoon" |
|
|
|
|
| 7 | "Shrek" |
|
|
|
|
| 8 | "Party Animals" |
|
|
|
|
| 9 | "Sesame Street" |
|
|
|
|
| 10 | "Willy Wonka" |
|
|
|
|
| 11 | "Archie" |
|
|
|
|
| 12 | "Dinosaurs" |
|
|
|
|
| 13 | "Alice in Wonderland" |
|
|
|
|
| No. | Title | 4th place | 3rd place | 2nd place | 1st place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Captain America" |
|
|
|
|
| 2 | "Spongebob" |
|
|
|
|
| 3 | "Charlie Brown's All-Stars" |
|
|
|
|
| 4 | "How to Train Your Dragon" |
|
|
|
|
| 5 | "Emoji" |
|
|
|
|
| 6 | "Cobra's Curse" |
|
|
|
|
| 7 | "Beauty and the Beast" |
|
|
|
|
| 8 | "Halo" |
|
|
|
|
| 9 | "Madeline" |
|
|
|
|
| 10 | "Jelly Belly" |
|
|
|
|
| 11 | "Paddington" |
|
|
|
|
| 12 | "Where's Waldo" |
|
|
|
|
| 13 | "Garfield" |
|
|
|
|
| No. | Title | Eliminated | Winner: Stocking Stuffer | Winner: Santa's Mega Challenge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Christmas: Santa's Makeover" |
|
|
|
| 2 | "Christmas: How the Grinch Stole Christmas" |
|
|
|
| 3 | "Christmas: The Nutcracker" |
|
|
|
| 4 | "Christmas: Animals Celebrate Christmas Too" |
|
|
|
| 5 | "Christmas: Santa's Workshop" |
|
|
|
| 6 | "Christmas: Ultimate Christmas Front Yard" |
|
|
|
| No. | Title | 4th place | 3rd place | 2nd place | 1st place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Powerpuff Girls" |
|
|
|
|
| 2 | "Wonder Woman" |
|
|
|
|
| 3 | "The Addams Family" |
|
|
|
|
| 4 | "Magic" |
|
|
|
|
| 5 | "Trolls" |
|
|
|
|
| 6 | "Transformers" |
|
|
|
|
| 7 | "Rugrats" |
|
|
|
|
| 8 | "Space Jam" |
|
|
|
|
| 9 | "Rose Bowl" |
|
|
|
|
| 10 | "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" |
|
|
|
|
| 11 | "Happy Feet" |
|
|
|
|
| 12 | "Monopoly" |
|
|
|
|
| 13 | "Roald Dahl" |
|
|
|
|
| No. | Title | 4th place | 3rd place | 2nd place | 1st place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Champs: Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!" |
|
|
|
|
| 2 | "Champs: The Avengers" |
|
|
|
|
| 3 | "Champs: Shrek" |
|
|
|
|
| 4 | "Champs: LEGO" |
|
|
|
|
| 5 | "Champs: Pokemon" |
|
|
|
|
| 6 | "Saban's Power Rangers" |
|
|
|
|
| 7 | "Champs: Disney Princesses" |
|
|
|
|
| 8 | "Smurfs: The Lost Village" |
|
|
|
|
