Holiday Baking Championship Season 8 episode 1 recap: New holiday gifts

The Food Network kitchen is full of new bakers and Holiday Baking Championship Season 8 episode 1 had a few unexpected twists mixed into those sweet treats. Are these changes a welcome gift to the bakers, or did someone get placed on the naughty list too early?

After crowning a Halloween Baking Championship winner, the next set of bakers have stepped into a winter wonderland. While the judging panel, Duff Goldman, Nancy Fuller and Carla Hall, join Jessie Palmer at the table, the new set of twelve bakers have a tall task ahead of them. Even before the first challenge was revealed, the bakers had a new twist to unwrap.

Before the pre-heat, Jessie explained that there is a potential that a baker could earn immunity. Any baker who wins both the pre-heat and the main heat in a single episode will earn immunity for the next episode. To say that this twist is huge is an understatement.

Looking back at recent seasons, this situation happened several times. Sometimes bakers go on a winning streak.

But, the bigger question is, could a baker earn immunity straight into the finale? Does the promise of immunity disappear as the group gets smaller? There are many questions swirling around in the mixer.

Still, the whole point of this idea is for a baker not to just blow off the pre-heat. Although that idea rarely happens, it does add the pressure to Holiday Baking Championship Season 8. It seems that the merry is served with a side of mischief.

What happened in the Holiday Baking Championship Season 8 episode 1 preheat?

For the first challenge, the bakers had to create two doughnuts. The fall and winter doughnuts needed to bring the flavor and visually represent the challenge. Yes, the bakers got thrown straight into the fryer.

But, it was interesting that the majority of bakers choose to do two different styles of doughnuts, like a baked and a fried doughnut. The bakers who executed the duality well earned praise.

It was clear which bakers rose to the top. Philippe, Jody and Adam were all top choices. Not only did the doughnuts bring the flavor, the décor earned Nancy’s Holiday Baking Championship seal of approval.

What was interesting about these doughnuts was that each one was unique and contrasted the other flavor. Beyond being well-executed, the visual was impressive to say that it was the complete package is an understatement.

In the end, Adam earned the pre-heat win. His doughnuts captured those family moments in Vermont. More importantly, the flavors earned high praise. From the pumpkin butter filling to the dusting of sugar, his doughnuts set the bar high for the first Holiday Baking Championship Season 8 episode 1 challenge.

Did the Holiday Baking Championship Season 8 episode 1 main heat keep the doctor away?

While apple might have challenged pumpkin this year, the Holiday Baking Championship Season 8 episode 1 looked to get to the core of the fall flavor. More importantly, it offered a twist on the classic pairing of apples and cheese. Forget that traditional pie, there are other desserts baking in the oven.

In addition, the main heat twist had the bakers including honey into their desserts. Although not a terrible twist, the honey flavor needed to come through in a single bite.

As Adam’s advantage for winning the pre-heat, he was able to switch his cheese with any other baker. Although it appeared that there were duplicate cheeses in the kitchen, Adam decided to swap his Havarti with Jose’s brie.

Although Jose was not excited about the cheese switch, it did prove to be a good one for him. His Havarti cream was a huge hit with the judges. Even though his Napoleon used pre-made pastry dough, the delicate dessert was picture perfect. From the sprig of rosemary to that cheese cream, it earned him a high praise.

Overall, there was a clear divide between top bakers and the bottom bakers. Unfortunately, unlike previous seasons, there was no skating onto round two. A few simple mistakes lead to holiday disappointment.

Like the pre-heat, there was another twist in the competition. In Holiday Baking Championship Season 8 episode 1, two bakers were eliminated. Whether this twist is due to the new immunity clause or potentially former bakers returning, Food Network fans will have to wait and see. Still, two bakers didn’t even get a change to showcase their dessert skills.

The bottom three bakers were Shayla, Nancy and Naomi. While the judges look primarily at the main heat to determine the elimination, these bakers had issues in the pre-heat, too. To say that these bakers might want a holiday re-do is an understatement.

Nancy missed the mark on her dessert because of flavor. Since this challenge was about apple and cheese, pine nuts should not be the predominate flavor. Although there were good elements to her dessert, it didn’t capture the challenge. If it was a pine nut challenge, the outcome might have been different.

For Shayla, she had execution issues. While using a pre-made pastry dough isn’t necessarily an instant issue, under-baking the pastry is a huge problem. That double negative does not make a positive.

In addition, Shayla had underbaked apples. Although her concept of a holiday palm tree was cute, the dessert was a fall. Unfortunately, that palm tree did not offer any protection from the Food Network judges’ comments.

Lastly, Naomi had a quite unusual cake. Granted, the visual was a big improvement from the pre-heat, the reality is that her cake had an unpleasant texture. By incorporating the cheese into the batter, the cake became overly dense. Experimenting with new ideas does not always reap rewards.

In the end, the two bakers eliminated from Holiday Baking Championship Season 8 episode 1 were Shayla and Nancy. Their two desserts were not up to par. Maybe they can get a baking do-over in the future.

Although the desserts are always the focus of Holiday Baking Championship, the immunity twist could change the outcome. Given that change, could other twists become part of the challenge?

Like other culinary competitions, could eliminated bakers earn their way back into the challenge? Since Food Network needs to keep these baking food television shows fresh, there are a variety of ways to keep it exciting beyond the flavors.

What did you think of Holiday Baking Championship Season 8 episode 1? Can you predict the ultimate winner based on the first episode?