The Ultimate Baking Championship

1 season available

Jesse Palmer hosts a high-stakes celebration of baking artistry; sixteen of America's most elite pastry chefs must innovate and execute at the highest level as they compete to win $50,000 and the title of Ultimate Baking Champion.
Improvisation & Personal Inspiration
S1 E1

Host Jesse Palmer tasks 16 top pastry chefs with crafting an elevated plated dessert in their signature style inspired by their assigned flavor and texture profile; judges Duff Goldman and Sherry Yard decide who makes it to the next round.

Modern Masterpieces
S1 E2

Host Jesse Palmer asks the 10 remaining chefs to reinvent a classic dessert with a modern twist; to impress judges Duff Goldman and Amaury Guichon, the bakers must craft a geometric layered mousse cake inspired by an assigned conceptual theme.

Pastry Cream Classics
S1 E3

Palmer challenges the nine chefs to face off in a showdown that tests their mastery of pastry cream. Each chef must present their own interpretation of Boston cream pie, coconut cream pie, or Italian rum cake to judges Duff Goldman and Shinmin Li.

The Pastry Shop
S1 E4

Palmer divides the eight chefs into teams to craft laminated dough pastries worthy of display in a world-class pâtisserie case; each baker creates one sweet and one savory pastry for their team, hoping to impress judges Duff Goldman and Bryan Ford.

Innovation
S1 E5

Jesse Palmer challenges the seven remaining chefs to find inspiration in grab-and-go gas station snacks; the bakers create their own interpretation of a classic dessert, like an opera cake or a Sachertorte, for judges Duff Goldman and Zac Young.

Mastery of Chocolate
S1 E6

Jesse Palmer tasks the bakers with creating a visually stunning chocolate sculptural piece along with a complementary baked element; chocolatier Amaury Guichon joins Duff Goldman to judge the chefs' technical precision and creative storytelling.

Mastery of Sugar
S1 E7

Jesse Palmer challenges the chefs to craft a large-format dessert with a decorative sugar element that embodies their assigned element, earth, air, fire, water, or space; Duff Goldman and Jacques Torres judge the striking sugar showpieces.

The Deep Freeze
S1 E8

Jesse Palmer asks the remaining four chefs to create arctic-themed cakes with a frozen layer; the top two chefs move on to the finale, and the bottom two chefs battle in a sudden-death round, hoping to impress judges Duff Goldman and Molly Yeh.