Food Network premiered a new season of a baking competition this week. But the show wasn’t the same as what usually airs this time of year. The network seemingly replaced Spring Baking Championship with something else. But even worse, two popular stars were unexpectedly dropped. Fans demand answers amid the confusing changes. Keep reading for all the details.
Spring Baking Championship Not On Schedule, Other Show Airs Instead
Baking fans look forward to the Spring Baking Championship on Food Network every year. Jesse Palmer promoted the return of the show on March 16. However, it’s not the same show viewers were expecting. The Spring Baking Championship, which has aired since 2015, was replaced with Ultimate Baking Championship.
“In the skills challenge, I ask the 10 remaining chefs to reinvent a classic, recognizable dessert, such as strawberry shortcake or s’mores, by giving it a modern, science-driven twist,” Jesse Palmer wrote about the format. The chefs then had to make a layered mousse cake to impress judges Duff Goldman and Amaury Guichon.
Fans were confused why there were only two judges.
Fans Demand Answers After 2 Food Network Stars Dropped
Nancy Fuller and Kardea Brown are regular presences on Food Network’s various baking competition shows. Nancy Fuller often appears on Holiday Baking Championship and Spring Baking Championship. Kardea Brown controversially replaced Valerie Bertinelli on Kids Baking Championship. She also co-hosts the new show Baking Championship: Next Gen with Duff Goldman.
However, neither were on Ultimate Baking Championship and fans aren’t having it. They took to Reddit to share their thoughts on the unexpected absences.
- “It’s a much higher level of competition than the usual baking shows. The judges need to be professionals.”
- “I stopped watching after the first episode. I miss Kardea, Nancy and the original Spring Baking show.”
- “They need higher level judges for the higher level of competition. You want Nancy complaining about lack of alcohol when these guys are making masterpieces?”
- “This is a totally different show. Different concept, higher skilled bakers or cake artists is what I would call them. They need judges who are used to these types of competitions.”
- “They were not “dropped”. It’s very common that new hosts and judges come with new shows.”
- “all of the Food, and other Discovery networks are cost cuting to make them more attractive to investors. I bet the guest judges cost a ton less than the others on the judging panels do.”
The Ultimate Baking Championship premiered on Food Network on March 9. New episodes are every Monday. Tell us in the comments what you think about the changes.
Jennifer Havener grew up in a small town in Upstate New York. She earned her B.A in Writing & Literature from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. She always knew watching reality TV shows and soap operas, particularly ‘Days of Our Lives’, would come in handy someday. When she’s not writing, she’s playing with her dogs, Lola and Ruger
