Texarkana Gazette

Spooks and sweets

Food Network’s October lineup is filled with seasonal treats

- By Andrew Warren

The spookiest month of them all has arrived, and Food Network is really getting into the spirit this year. In the leadup to the ghoulishly scary Halloween night at October’s close, television’s culinary destinatio­n is pulling out all the stops throughout the month with a lineup that’s packed to the brim with holiday-themed content.

The big returning show is Food Network’s seasonal favorite, “Halloween Wars,” which is back for a sixth spooktacul­ar season, along with host Jonathan Bennett (“Mean Girls,” 2004) to oversee the competitio­n.

Premiering Sunday, Oct. 2, the annual month-long event showcases six teams competing to win the $50,000 prize. They don’t plan to trick-or-treat for that cash, though. Instead, they’re building massive, elaborate and beautiful Halloween-themed displays that are works of art in their own right.

Of course, these displays of culinary art also have to be edible — this is a cooking competitio­n, after all. The culinary pros on each team work cakes, fondants, spun sugar and icing in ways that most amateurs can only dream of.

“Halloween Wars” may be the big kid out trick-or-treating this year, but it sure isn’t the only one. Premiering the next night, Monday, Oct. 3, is a new season of “Halloween Baking Championsh­ip,” hosted by renowned ventriloqu­ist Jeff Dunham. Later in the week, Wednesday, Oct. 5, four favorite contestant­s from “Kids Baking Championsh­ip” reunite for another shot at a $10,000 prize in “Kids Halloween Baking Championsh­ip.”

As if that weren’t already enough Halloween content to scare anyone, the week is capped off with “All-Star Halloween Spectacula­r,” airing Saturday, Oct. 8. Some of HGTV, Food Network and Travel Channel’s biggest stars and personalit­ies team up for a spooky haunted house challenge in the heart of Las Vegas.

With most of these competitio­ns running through the month and more holiday hijinks still to come, October is going to be a stuffed month on Food Network. “Halloween Wars” kicks off all the spooky fun Sunday, Oct. 2.

 ??  ?? Don Mancini, Shinmin Li and Jonathan Bennett as seen in “Halloween Wars”
Don Mancini, Shinmin Li and Jonathan Bennett as seen in “Halloween Wars”

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