Cupcake Wars! Q&A with Candace Nelson: Revenge of the Confectionaries

By now you may or may not be aware of the upcoming series on the Food Network entitled Cupcake Wars! This series pits cupcake makers against the clock, zany ingredients but most of all, themselves, in a battle of supremacy to see who will win the prize of $10,000 and the opportunity to have their cupcakes featured at a Hollywood event.

The show begins with four contestants who are then knocked off round by round until only two are left in a showdown to see whose cupcake will reign supreme.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of participating in a Q&A conference call with Candace Nelson, judge on the show and founder of Sprinkles Cupcakes (the world’s first cupcake bakery.) In the call, Candace talks about what she looks for in a winning contestant, the cupcake craze, and…tobacco cupcakes. Yikes.

Winning contestants
Now, of course a winning cupcake must, first and foremost, taste great. But when it comes down to winning, the contestant must show that they firmly grasped the challenge at hand. No half-steps, contestants must boldly step into the true spirit of the challenge. While judging the show, Candace has seen a lot of contestants who try to play it safe {as seen on Sunday night with the contestant with the Vanilla, Red Velvet and Lemon trio of banality. Really?} Of course, if you make an amazing cupcake, that’s really simple, you’re going to get great points. But what is really amazing is when a contestant steps out of her comfort zone and surprises the judges.

On cupcake combinations
Each week the contestants are challenged to be creative with their cupcakes. This week, at a Sea World event, the contestants work with ingredients from the sea. But as to one of the most disgusting-sounding cupcake creations on the show… let’s just say it involves tobacco.

On Cupcake Wars
Candace sees this show as a vehicle to showcase the booming cupcake industry. Five years ago, while opening her shop, people thought opening a cupcake shop was insane. But today, the cupcake industry is booming and this show is a reflection of that. But this show really shows how competitive the world of cupcakes has become. With the various challenges, you see plenty of raw emotion from contestants who want to make it in the cupcake business. They have a lot riding on this competition; it’s pretty heartfelt.

Cupcake Wars
Premise:
Cupcake designers face off in a series of rounds that test their inventiveness, decoration skills, and pure stamina. After all, the final showdown involves a display of 1,000 cupcakes! That’s a lot of batter. (Yes, I’m corny.)

For fans of:
Chopped and Food Network Competitions

While I’m not completely sold on this show I’m willing to give it a try. If not for the amazing name, and my love of cupcakes, then because I think the challenges offer the contestants the chance to do something really great. So I’ll stick around… at least until I see the tobacco cupcake.

Tuesdays at 9/8c on Food Network.

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Photographs courtesy of Food Network and Electric Artists.