In the eighth season of Food Network’s “Holiday Baking Championship,” three New England chefs compete to present the judges with their best festive creations.
Twelve top holiday bakers come together to vie for $25,000, a feature in Food Network Magazine, and the title of Holiday Baking Champion. “The Bachelor” host Jesse Palmer presents alongside judges and culinary experts Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman, and Carla Hall.
Among the competitors this season: Richard Akers-Barrows, who has lived in Dorchester since 2003, is Team Pastry lead for the Langham Hotel but has also worked for Marriott Hotels and the Ritz Carlton. Jody O’Sullivan is from Ireland originally but currently lives in Wollaston and is an instructor at Cambridge School of Culinary Arts and Bunker Hill Community College. Adam Monette, from St. Albans, Vt., has worked as a culinary instructor at the Northwest Career and Technical Center for the past 10 years.
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In the first episode of the series, where contestants made seasonal doughnuts and apple and cheese desserts, the judges sent two competitors home. However, no one from the New England scene was booted and the trio will head into the second episode with high spirits.
In the two-hour second episode, titled “Yule Be Merry,” the competitors are whipping up boozy desserts for the judges in the pre-heat, and wrestling with five styles of Yule Logs in 10 flavor combinations for the main. At the end of the episode, another baker will have to leave the show, leaving a total of nine contestants.
The show airs Monday, Nov. 8, at 8 p.m. on the Food Network.
Riana Buchman can be reached at riana.buchman@globe.com.