Food Network Holiday 2026 Programming Announced
The Food Network Holiday 2026 lineup has been announced, featuring a packed slate of programming to delight and inspire viewers all season long. The festivities kick off with the fan-favorite series Holiday Baking Championship and the return of Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking.
Those will be followed by the seasonal spinoff Tournament of Champions: All-Star Christmas, hosted by Guy Fieri. Then new series Sweet Deceit rolls out special holiday episodes, and this year, it’s Team Bobby Flay vs. Team Brooke Williamson for a fresh take on Beat Bobby Flay: Holiday Throwdown.
FOOD NETWORK HOLIDAY 2026 PROGRAMMING
HOLIDAY BAKING CHAMPIONSHIP
The Food Network Holiday 2026 programming begins on Monday, November 2nd at 8 pm ET/PT with the premiere of Holiday Baking Championship. Host Jesse Palmer welcomes twelve bakers to Santa’s Village, the bustling campus at the North Pole where holiday magic is serious business.
Throughout the season, the bakers must prove they have the creativity, skill, and teamwork needed to support the big boss himself. Every challenge is designed to help Santa and his operation succeed, from creating festive treats to solving delicious holiday dilemmas.
The competition begins with a team-building phase inspired by Santa’s belief that great things happen when people work together, and the bakers are divided into the Elf Squad and the Reindeer Crew. But once the teams dissolve, the competition becomes every baker for themselves.
Judges Duff Goldman, Kardea Brown and Molly Yeh decide which talented baker will earn the title of Holiday Baking Champion and win $25,000.
HARRY POTTER: WIZARDS OF BAKING
Ready your wands for a new season of the magical fan-favorite series, Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking, premiering Wednesday, November 4th, at 8 pm ET/PT. Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the iconic first film in the series, the new season introduces a tournament twist with four teams of three, each representing one of the four Hogwarts Houses – Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin.
Comprised of returning competitors, each team will feature cake artists, bakers, and pastry chefs who have previously proven their talent and passion for Harry Potter, though none has ever lifted the Wizards of Baking Cup in victory.
Also new this season, hosts James and Oliver Phelps (Fred and George Weasley) are joined by two new “Ministers of Baking,” cake royalty Duff Goldman and celebrated pastry chef Sarah Mountain, who will judge the teams’ showpieces and determine which House will earn the trophy and a once-in-a-lifetime VIP trip to Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo – The Making of Harry Potter (also known as Harry Potter Studio Tour Tokyo).
Throughout the season, teams will face challenges inspired by themes from the Harry Potter books and films, including the Chamber of Secrets, the Dark Arts, the Weasleys, and the ever-present battle between Good vs. Evil, and viewers can look forward to seeing more famed locations from the Harry Potter films such as the Quidditch pitch, the Burrow, the Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom, Ollivander’s Wand Shop, Hagrid’s Hut, the Chamber of Secrets, the Hogwarts Courtyard, and the Ministry of Magic.
TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS: ALL-STAR CHRISTMAS
The ultimate holiday present returns Sunday, November 8th at 8 pm ET/PT when Guy Fieri combines everyone’s favorite culinary competition with the most wonderful time of the year in Tournament of Champions: All-Star Christmas. Thirty-two jingle-bell-rockstar chefs are teaming up as duos to make both sweet and savory dishes in a one-of-a-kind holly jolly tournament.
These chefs will try to sleigh the competition all for a shot at the $100,000 prize and some seriously sweet charity cash. With festive flavors, fierce battles, and enough Christmas spirit to stuff a stocking, the holidays have never been this delicious.
Competing teams include Jet Tila and Alex Guarnaschelli; Ashley Holt and Britt Rescigno; Tobias Dorzon and Kenny Gilbert; Marcel Vigneron and Hung Huynh; Kevin Lee and Shota Nakajima; Dale Talde and TJ Obias; Mei Lin and Alex Stupak; Sara Bradley and Nini Nguyen; Stephanie Izard and Damaris Phillips; Gabe Bertaccini and Zac Young; Aaron May and Adam Sobel; Grace Pak and Rocco DiSpirito; Curtis Stone and Mitzi Reyes; Brian Malarkey and Carlos Anthony; Stephanie Boswell and Aarti Sequeira; and Molly Coen and Chayil Johnson.
Each week, Hunter Fieri and commentators Tiffani Faison and Justin Warner provide insight into each team’s strategy.
SWEET DECEIT
In holiday episodes of the baking game show Sweet Deceit, premiering Monday, November 16th at 9 pm ET/PT, host Josh Peck challenges teams of three competitors to search for deceptive, hyper-realistic sweets hiding in plain sight in real-world holiday-themed locations.
Josh hilariously commands the on-screen hijinks, leading contestants through four rounds as they try to identify masterfully disguised sweets created by world-class cake artists.
As the rounds escalate in difficulty, the teams work together to determine what is cake and prove it with their teeth by biting into their best guess, all in pursuit of a total prize of up to $12,000. The cheer-filled episodes feature locations including a cozy cabin, a festive ice rink, Santa’s workshop and more.
Across the season, Josh is joined by a rotating group of elite cake artists specializing in edible illusions, including Jose Barajas, Jonny ‘Jonny Cakes’ Manganello, Andrew Fuller, Ashley Holt, April Julian and Liz Marek.
BEAT BOBBY FLAY: HOLIDAY THROWDOWN
Beat Bobby Flay: Holiday Throwdown returns with a twist on Tuesday, November 17th at 8 pm ET/PT, and this season, it’s Team Bobby Flay vs. Team Brooke Williamson as the culinary icons host the ultimate holiday party with festive food, outrageous games, and fierce competition.
In this girls-vs.-guys battle, Brooke joins forces with chefs Antonia Lofaso and Ayesha Nurdjaja, while Bobby teams up with chefs Michael Voltaggio and Michael Jenkins.
Each week, eager guests arrive ready to join the teams to celebrate, but as the cocktails flow, holiday traditions are put to the test, team pride takes over, and the party quickly spirals into an all-out culinary showdown.
Guests include Gabe Bertaccini, Maneet Chauhan, Adrienne Cheatham, Leah Cohen, Tiffani Faison, Viet Pham, Damaris Phillips, Marcus Samuelsson, Jet Tila, Bryan Voltaggio, Geoffrey Zakarian and Claudette Zepeda.
