Spooky Halloween Cooking Shows Are Returning To Food Network
When a new season first peaks its head through the proverbial curtain with a gust of wind or an unseasonably warm day, it never fails to dominate small talk (maybe you'll hear the phrase "time is a flat circle" more than once) and stir us from our routines. This time of year, the last stretch of summer is preparing to give way to shorter days and darker nights, which can only mean one thing: The spooky season is upon us.
Some may celebrate by fetching their sweaters and socks from storage, busting out their collection of decorative gourds, and queuing up their annual screening of "Hocus Pocus." Others might head straight to their nearest candy aisle, pumpkin patch, or apple farm to ring in the Halloween spirit with all manner of sweet treats. And others yet will go to great measures to freak out their party guests with dry ice machines and prosthetic limbs. If you fall into any of these camps, you might be excited to learn that Food Network has a slew of creepy, kooky, and altogether spooky Halloween programming on deck this year.
Halloween Baking Championship, Halloween Wars, and more will return for 'Ghostober'
Together with Discovery+ and Travel Channel, Food Network is welcoming back "Ghostober" with new and returning programs that ooze the Halloween spirit, Variety reports. That includes a new season of "Halloween Baking Championship" (premiering September 12), which will see host John Henson ushering skilled bakers into his haunted mansion to impress the judges in an eight-week challenge — lest they be banished to the 13th floor by way of a scary elevator. Last year's season saw fierce competition from the likes of Miami-based pastry chef Paul Allicock and Mississippi's Renee Loranger, the latter of whom took home the $25,000 prize.
The network is also bringing a new season of "Halloween Wars" (premiering September 18), whose previous episodes were a blast, according to celebrity judge Aarti Sequeira's exclusive interview with Mashed. "The set itself is incredible," she said. "There are tons of little crannies and little details, the gravestones, the cobwebs." This year's season could be extra spooky, courtesy of paranormal investigator Zak Bagansand.
Fans can also look forward to new episodes of the jack-o'-lantern extravaganza that is "Outrageous Pumpkins" (premiering September 25) and a Halloween-themed "Kids Baking Championship" (premiering October 17) with returning host Duff Goldman and newcomer Maneet Chauhan, who's previously worked with tiny chefs on "Chopped Junior," per Food Network. Finally, a new series called "Halloween Cookie Challenge," hosted by with Rosanna Pansino and Jet Tila, will hit the screen on Monday, September 26.