Who are all the Holiday Baking Championship season 12 competitors? Details explored

Holiday Baking Championship season 12 is set to air exclusively on Food Network, starting Monday nights at 8|7, on November 3. The show has introduced a new rule, as this year the bakers will be divided into two groups: Team Naughty versus Team Nice. There will be eight episodes in Season 12, airing weekly. The finale is on Monday, December. 22. 

Duff Goldman, Nancy Fuller and Kardea Brown are back as judges, while beloved host Jesse Palmer will be returning as well.

The winner will take home $25,000 prize and will also be featured in the Food Network magazine. As viewers can see, Palmer says in the newly released trailer, 

“Join us in the Christmas village where naughty meets nice, in the most exciting season ever.”

 

Holiday Baking Championship season 12: Meet the contestants

 

Let us know all about the competitors, a little bit of their backstory and the story behind where they come from, where their baking expertise lies and more.

Violet Zoner

The 21-year-old Violet Zoner is a newly graduated pastry student of the Culinary Institute of America, as she hails from Ithaca, New York.

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Daniel Gray

The father of two is the owner of a bakery called Uncle Cheesecake that is in High Point, North Carolina.

While talking about his baking career, Gray said how he found himself complaining about there being no good cheesecake in his area, and all of a sudden, he was “opening up a bakery and making all types of desserts.”

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Camrey Smith

The owner of Halcyon Patisserie said that she definitely feels like she is on the right team.

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Alyx Abreu 

Abreu is a pastry chef in New Orleans who comes from a large Latin family, as she revealed how Christmas growing up was a big celebration for her. 

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Ashleigh Wright

Wright is a Frisco, Texas-based executive pastry chef for the Dallas Cowboys who calls herself “a little bit of a dictator in the kitchen”, as she further explains, 

“I'm laser-focused on my goals."

 

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Erin Luttrell

Luttrell is a chef and pastry consultant who comes from Kansas City, Missouri. The mother of two kids said, 

“I'm always wandering around trying to clean up the mess.”

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Nico Alkalay

Alkalay came to the United States from Tel Aviv, Israel, when he was just 2 years old. Nico is now the owner of his own home bakery in Denver, as it specialises in French-style patisserie.

While talking about his baking, Nico explained how he likes to infuse his creations with more global flavours. 

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Charles Zimmerman

As an executive pastry chef at a country club in Charlottesville, Virginia, Charles has worked at multiple Michelin-star restaurants, including Per Se and The French Laundry, while also working as a chocolatier.

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Jeanna 'Gia' Barnes 

Barnes and her two sons own a bakery in Troy, Alabama, named BSweet Dessert Boutique.

"I'm the sneaky naughty one, They'll be putting powdered sugar in the mixing bowl, and I'll walk by and turn it on."

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Chase Maus

The baker and yoga teacher from Santa Fe, New Mexico, works at Paloma Restaurant in Santa Fe.

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Jean Carlos

Born and raised in Brazil, Carlos is an executive pastry chef in Orlando, Florida. Jean has talked about his passion, saying, 

 "I wake up every single day thinking about baking," said Jean, as he describes himself as friendly and outgoing.”

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Tarek Husseini

Husseini is a home baker based in St. Louis. He was one of the finalists on Kids Baking Championship when he was 13. As he said, 

"I was a hot mess," Tarek said. "But now I'm better. Hindsight is 20/20 … I'm ready for redemption."

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Stay tuned for more updates.