Food Network Challenge Season 9, Episode 1: Food Magicians

Sesame Street Cakes

60 min

Fashion Cakes

Four cake artists will make cakes inspired by the fall collection of Stacey Bendet's fashion line, Alice + Olivia. What the competitors don't know is that fashion models with no culinary experience will assist them in making their cakes.

60 min

Chocolate Wonders

Four top pastry chefs put their artist eye on interpreting the most awe-inspiring world wonders in chocolate. They can be ancient or modern, man-made or natural. But the chef that can do justice to their source will take home ten thousand dollars and a gold medal.

60 min

Amazing Pie Championship

60 min

Giant Gingerbread

Two teams of three pastry chefs face off to build six feet tall gingerbread houses. Not only do they have to make the houses stand tall in just eight hours, the teams have to decorate the houses in the holiday spirit. The winning team will take home ten thousand dollars and a gold medal.

60 min

Edible Cities

They say Rome wasn't built in a day. But at Challenge, two teams of pastry chefs have just eight hours to create an entire city out of chocolate, sugar and cereal treats. That means the skyline, the buildings and the life within the city. The team that best captures the spirit of their chosen city will earn ten thousand dollars and a gold medal.

Cereal Bridges 2

Four top pastry chefs have eight hours to outwit physics by engineering world famous bridges in rice cereal treats. The first Cereal Bridges Challenge proved that a tall order. The question is: can these four build the bridges better and stronger than the first time around? The winning competitor will take home ten thousand dollars and a gold medal.

Fantasy Vacation Cakes

A cruise offers a variety of ways to build a unique vacation experience to suit each individual. In that spirit, four top pastry chefs will make cakes inspired by the fun, food, and relaxation that each person enjoyed on their four-day cruise to the Bahamas on Carnival Cruise Lines. However, there is a competition at the end of this cruise, and only one competitor can take home the ten thousand dollar grand prize. So, the pastry chefs must also do their research while on board so they can deliver a winning cake. The cakes must include at least three elements from the cruise experience.

60 min

Thanksgiving Family Feast

Four families face off in the Challenge kitchens to prove that their Thanksgiving traditions trump all. They have six hours to tell their Thanksgiving story in food and wow the judges. The winning family will take home ten thousand dollars.

Giant Gingerbread

60 min

Sugar Adventures

Four top pastry chefs face off to create amazing sugar showpieces inspired by four classic adventure novels. The competitor that best captures in sugar the heart-stopping moments of these riveting stories wins ten thousand dollars and a gold medal.

Newlywed Cakes

Four cake artists are assisted by four newly married husbands. Their challenge is to create a custom "newlywed cake" for the new brides. The judges will pick the best cake. The twist is that in order to unlock the $10,000, at the end of the challenge, the bride must be able to identify which cake was designed exclusively for her. If she gets it wrong, then the competitor who made the best cake cannot win. The bride whose cake places second must then figure out which cake is hers. The match game continues until one lady picks the right cake.

60 min