Is it really the most wonderful time of the year if there isn’t at least one reality TV competition incorporating awkward holiday themes? Food Network’s Holiday Baking Championship embraces this annual tradition with its “Office Christmas Party” episode, airing Monday, December 2. Host Jesse Palmer, presides over the festivities, which, yes, apparently involve an “ice luge,” because nothing screams “corporate holiday gathering” like a block of rapidly melting ice funneling questionable beverages.
The episode’s pre-heat challenge forces contestants into the tense camaraderie of collaborative baking, tasking them with constructing caramel and chocolate desserts. It’s always fascinating to witness which bakers thrive under pressure and who crumbles like a poorly executed gingerbread house. The stakes, as always, are high: continued participation in the competition, along with the validation of judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman, and Nancy Fuller.
The main heat turns its attention to boozy trifles, that layered dessert requiring a delicate balance of textures and flavors. Each baker is assigned a liqueur and challenged to infuse their trifle with a unique personality. Will someone craft a trifle embodying the spirit of a passive-aggressive coworker or a micromanaging boss? The possibilities, while horrifying in real life, are at least entertainingly disastrous in a baking context.
Holiday Baking Championship airs Mondays at 8/7c on Food Network.
