Holiday Baking Championship continues without Duff Goldman as Stephanie Boswell steps in as judge

The Holiday Baking Championship will not be seeing judge Duff Goldman anymore. 

Duff Goldman is the judge of the show along with Nancy Fuller and Kardea Brown. 

Goldman is featured on various programs on the Food Network.

Ace of Cakes, the Baking Championship series, Cake Masters, and more are some of these shows. 

Goldman will not take part in the semifinal or final episode, according to a report in The Sun on December 15, 2025. 

As reported by the aforementioned publication, he will be replaced by Stephanie Boswell. 

Duff Goldman was not present for the last segment of December 8 episode of The Holiday Baking Championship 

Goldman was also not seen in the last part of the December 8th episode of The Holiday Baking Championship. 

In the episode, the bakers presented a platter of Christmas cookies, sufganiyot, and rugelach to the judges. 

In the blind taste test, Goldman tried the dessert and gave his judgement.

But when the time came for the announcement of the results, Goldman was not present with Nancy and Kardea. 

Jesse Fulmer stated on the show:

“Bakers your dessert platters were gorgeous and we gorged on them. And guess what? your treats put Duff in such a Christmas spirit that he left early to go to a Chrismukkah party. There will be leftovers for us, I guess.” 

Stephanie Boswell mentioned more about the semi-finals episode on her personal Instagram. 

She stated:

“​Host Jesse Palmer just detonated a kitchen bomb: TEAMS ARE OUT! Six bakers go rogue and face a terrifying triple-threat challenge of vintage horrors!"

She further continued:

“Judges Nancy, Kardea, and I decide who moves on and who goes home to eat a tragic can of fruit cocktail.” 

The episode will also see a twist in the format of the show. 

The teams were divided into Team Nice and Team Naughty in the competition. 

In the teaser for the upcoming show, Jesse shows up in a retro outfit. 

He states:

“Welcome to the semi-finals Naughty and Nice bakers. And guess what? That is the last time, I am going to say this. Because as of this moment, no more teams. You are on your own now. Thank your former teammates for helping you get this far.” 

He then directed them to their new aprons. 

The contestants are excited as Tarek states:

“My new baking identity, everything I do, ‘I am’ doing it.” 

The teaser concludes with Chase saying:

“It smells like semi-finals.” 

Duff Goldman shared about the opening of his first restaurant on Instagram. 

He shared the news with a lengthy post on December 9, 2025 on his personal Instagram account.
Goldman stated:

“Dudes! I have finally opened my first restaurant! I was raised in delicatessens. I’ve been eating and roasting brisket my whole life and now you can come try my food!” 

He revealed the name of the restaurant, which is Duff’s Deli and Market. 

Goldman’s restaurant is in Atlanta airport, and in his post he invited his followers to grab some food while catching a flight. 

He wrote:

“You know at some point you will be connecting through Atlanta and when you do you’re gonna be hungry. And sure you can grab a burger or chicken ceaser wrap sold in a bookstore, OR, you can get a hot pastrami and a bowl of matzoh ball soup. Or a chopped bbq brisket sandwich. Or a bowl of my award winning Texas chili. Or a sliced brisket on rye with tiger sauce. And that’s not all! You can also grab a bagel and shmear, a lox platter, an authentic Jewish deli black and white cookie, and even a cake jar from @charmcitycakes!” 

He concluded by hoping that people will “come by!” 

Stay tuned for more such updates.