Cake Wars
Cake Wars is an American reality competition series that was first broadcast on June 29, 2015,[1] aired on the cable TV channel Food Network, and reran on Discovery Family. 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 things 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]
| 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 |
| Release | |
| Original network | Food Network |
| Original release | June 29, 2015 – March 27, 2017 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The show is almost identical to Cupcake Wars, except that the contestants make their creations out of regular cakes instead of cupcakes and there are two rounds instead of Cupcake Wars usual 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.
It was announced on December 2, 2015, that Cake Wars was for a second season. The new season featured themes that included Star Wars, Dr. Seuss, and Willy Wonka cakes.[3]
Theme
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.
Judges
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:
- Ron Ben-Israel:[4] Owner of Ron Ben-Israel Cakes in New York City and the former host of Sweet Genius (Seasons 1–3).
- Waylynn Lucas: With voice actress-turned-baker, Nancy Truman, Waylynn Lucas is the co-founder/co-operator of "Fonuts," a healthier spin on the traditional coffee-and-donut shop. In the "Sound of Music" episode, Amy Berman filled in for Waylynn.
- Richard Ruskell: Award-winning cake baker and decorator (Starting from Season 4).
Episode guide
| Season | Episode # | Premiere Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | June 29, 2015 | "The Simpsons" |
| 1 | 2 | July 6, 2015 | "DC Comics" |
| 1 | 3 | July 13, 2015 | "The Knot" |
| 1 | 4 | July 20, 2015 | "Nintendo" |
| 1 | 5 | July 27, 2015 | "Hello Kitty" |
| 1 | 6 | August 3, 2015 | "LEGO" |
| 1 | 7 | August 10, 2015 | "The Sound of Music" |
| 1 | 8 | August 17, 2015 | "Girl Scouts" |
| 2 | 1 | January 11, 2016 | "Star Wars" |
| 2 | 2 | January 18, 2016 | "Dr. Seuss" |
| 2 | 3 | January 25, 2016 | "Kung Fu Panda 3" |
| 2 | 4 | February 1, 2016 | "Minecraft" |
| 2 | 5 | February 8, 2016 | "Valentine's Day" |
| 2 | 6 | February 15, 2016 | "Shark Lagoon" |
| 2 | 7 | February 22, 2016 | "Shrek" |
| 2 | 8 | February 29, 2016 | "Party Animals" |
| 2 | 9 | March 7, 2016 | "Sesame Street" |
| 2 | 10 | March 14, 2016 | "Willy Wonka" |
| 2 | 11 | March 21, 2016 | "Archie" |
| 2 | 12 | March 28, 2016 | "Dinosaurs" |
| 2 | 13 | April 4, 2016 | "Alice in Wonderland" |
| 3 | 1 | June 6, 2016 | "Captain America" |
| 3 | 2 | June 13, 2016 | "SpongeBob" |
| 3 | 3 | June 20, 2016 | "Charlie Brown's All-Stars" |
| 3 | 4 | June 27, 2016 | "How to Train Your Dragon" |
| 3 | 5 | July 11, 2016 | "Emoji" |
| 3 | 6 | July 18, 2016 | "Cobra's Curse" |
| 3 | 7 | July 25, 2016 | "Beauty & the Beast" |
| 3 | 8 | August 1, 2016 | "Halo" |
| 3 | 9 | August 8, 2016 | "Madeline" |
| 3 | 10 | August 22, 2016 | "Jelly Belly" |
| 3 | 11 | August 22, 2016 | "Paddington" |
| 3 | 12 | August 29, 2016 | "Where's Waldo" |
| 3 | 13 | September 5, 2016 | "Garfield" |
| 4 | 1 | September 12, 2016 | "Powerpuff Girls" |
| 4 | 2 | September 19, 2016 | "Wonder Woman" |
| 4 | 3 | October 10, 2016 | "The Addams Family" |
| 4 | 4 | October 17, 2016 | "Magic" |
| 4 | 5 | October 24, 2016 | "Trolls" |
| 4 | 6 | October 31, 2016 | "Transformers" |
| 4 | 7 | November 7, 2016 | "Rugrats" |
| 4 | 8 | November 7, 2016 | "Space Jam" |
| 4 | 9 | December 26, 2016 | "Rose Bowl" |
| 4 | 10 | January 2, 2017 | "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" |
| 4 | 11 | January 16, 2017 | "Happy Feet" |
| 4 | 12 | January 23, 2017 | "Monopoly" |
| 4 | 13 | January 30, 2017 | "Roald Dahl" |
| 5 | 1 | February 12, 2017 | "Champs: Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss" |
| 5 | 2 | February 19, 2017 | "Champs: The Avengers" |
| 5 | 3 | February 26, 2017 | "Champs: Shrek" |
| 5 | 4 | March 5, 2017 | "Champs: Lego" |
| 5 | 5 | March 19, 2017 | "Champs: Pokémon" |
| 5 | 6 | March 20, 2017 | "Saban's Power Rangers" |
| 5 | 7 | March 26, 2017 | "Champs: Disney Princesses" |
| 5 | 8 | March 27, 2017 | "Smurfs: The Lost Village" |
See also
References
- TV News Desk (28 May 2015). "Food Network to Premiere CAKE WARS, 6/29". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
- "Cake Wars". Retrieved 8 April 2016.
- Pena, Jessica (2 December 2015). "Cake Wars: New Season Coming to Food Network in January". tvseriesfinale.com. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
- "Ron Ben-Israel Bio". Food Network. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
