''Cupcake Wars'' is an American

reality competition Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

series that premiered on December 27, 2009, on cable television network

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ...

. The show, which is based on creating unique and professional-style

cupcake A cupcake (also British English: fairy cake; Hiberno-English: bun) is a small cake designed to serve one person, which may be baked in a small thin paper or aluminum cup. As with larger cakes, frosting and other cake decorations such as frui ...

s, was hosted by

Justin Willman Justin Willman (born July 11, 1980) is an American magician, comedian, producer, and television personality. He is the creator and star of '' Magic for Humans'' on Netflix. The third season of Magic for Humans was released on May 15, 2020. He ...

and later hosted by Jonathan Bennett. The show is similar to successful ''

Chopped Chopped can have the following meanings: * Chopped and screwed Chopped and screwed (also called screwed and chopped or slowed and throwed) is a music genre and technique of remixing music that involves slowing down the tempo and deejaying. It ...

'' cooking show aired on the same network, in that it starts with four contestants who are eliminated one-by-one in three rounds, with the winning team receiving $10,000 and the opportunity to be featured in an upcoming event. Each team consists of a

chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...

and a

sous-chef A sous-chef is a chef who is second in command in a kitchen; the person ranking next after the head chef, usually the more hands on manager with regards to training staff and organising the kitchen. Duties and functions The sous-chef has many re ...

Rounds

Each round takes about a third of the completed episode. The first round lasts 45 minutes in competition and is focused around

taste The gustatory system or sense of taste is the sensory system that is partially responsible for the perception of taste (flavor). Taste is the perception produced or stimulated when a substance in the mouth reacts chemically with taste receptor ...

. Contestants must create a

with unusual ingredients related to a theme – for example, a date-night theme might require contestants to incorporate various

aphrodisiacs An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases sexual desire, sexual attraction, sexual pleasure, or sexual behavior. Substances range from a variety of plants, spices, foods, and synthetic chemicals. Natural aphrodisiacs like cannabis or cocain ...

, such as

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not al ...

basil Basil (, ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' , also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" refers to the variety also kno ...

, dark chocolate, or champagne. The second round lasts 75 minutes in competition and is based on both taste and

presentation A presentation conveys information from a speaker to an audience. Presentations are typically demonstrations, introduction, lecture, or speech meant to inform, persuade, inspire, motivate, build goodwill, or present a new idea/product. Presenta ...

. Contestants must make three different types of cupcakes of their own choice with a unique presentation that relates to the theme. The third and final round is the most challenging, where the remaining two teams make 1,000 cupcakes in two hours. Each team must feature improved versions of the four cupcakes they made in the first two rounds and must showcase them on an elaborately constructed display. Both the cupcakes and the display must remain consistent with the episode's theme. Each team receives the assistance of four baking assistants and one carpenter in completing the round. This is the only round that the judges do not taste the cupcakes at the judge's table, and instead, the judges taste them at the display.

Themes

The show invites cupcake bakers from all over the United States to compete. Each episode is centered on a theme or event; past themes include a

Seaworld SeaWorld is an American theme park chain with headquarters in Orlando, Florida. It is a proprietor of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, animal theme parks, and rehabilitation centers owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment (one park will be ...

birthday party for an

orca The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only Extant taxon, extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black ...

, a "match-making"

aphrodisiac An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases sexual desire, sexual attraction, sexual pleasure, or sexual behavior. Substances range from a variety of plants, spices, foods, and synthetic chemicals. Natural aphrodisiacs like cannabis or cocain ...

party, an ''

Ace of Cakes ''Ace of Cakes'' is an American reality television show that aired on the Food Network. The show focused on the daily operations of Duff Goldman's custom cake shop, Charm City Cakes, in Baltimore, Maryland; including small-business ownership, wor ...

'' 100th episode celebration, "Survival of the Fittest" theme, an autism charity event, a golf tournament, and a film festival.

Judges

There are three judges in the series, with two of them serving as permanent judges: *

Candace Nelson Candace Nelson (born May 8, 1974) is an Indonesian-born pastry chef and judge on the television series ''Cupcake Wars'' and '' Sugar Rush''. Early life Nelson grew up in Indonesia. Baking runs in her family, as her French-American grandmother ...

, founder of

Sprinkles Cupcakes Sprinkles Cupcakes is a bakery chain established in 2005. It is considered the world's first cupcake bakery. History In 2002, Candace Nelson and her husband Charles Nelson, both investment bankers, visited Candace's sister in New York and trie ...

, the world's first cupcake bakery (in episode 7 of season 7, Bobbie Lloyd, Chief Baking Officer of

Magnolia Bakery Magnolia Bakery is a chain of bakeries founded in New York City. The first location opened in 1996 at 401 Bleecker Street, on the corner of West 11th Street in the West Village neighborhood of Manhattan. The bakery is known for its desserts, e ...

filled in for Nelson) * Florian Bellanger,

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dire ...

French

pastry chef A pastry chef or pâtissier (; the French female version of the word is pâtissière ), is a station chef in a professional kitchen, skilled in the making of pastries, desserts, breads and other baked goods. They are employed in large hotels, bi ...

* The third, rotating judge, is a special guest and is associated with the event in which that episode's winning cupcakes are to be served. Nelson and Bellanger usually give the bakers technical critiques on the methods, amounts, and ingredients they use, while the guest judges' critiques are usually much more subjective, based on whether or not they liked the cupcakes.

Episodes

References

External links