''Great Chocolate Showdown'' is a Canadian cooking competition television series that airs on

Food Network Canada Food Network is a Canadian exempt discretionary specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. Based on the U.S. cable network of the same name, It broadcasts programming related to food, cooking, cuisine, and the food industry. History ...

, later renamed

Flavour Network Flavour Network (formerly known as Food Network) is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. It broadcasts programming related to food, cooking, cuisine, and the food industry, including competi ...

, themed around chocolate baking and

confections Confectionery is the art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two broad and somewh ...

. The show is carried in the United States by

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

Network. The first season of the series officially premiered on February 4, 2020, with judges Steven Hodge,

Anna Olson Anna Olson (born May 4, 1968) is an American pastry chef. She was previously the host of Food Network Canada's '' Fresh with Anna Olson'', ''Sugar (Canadian TV series), Sugar'' and ''Kitchen Equipped'' and ''Bake with Anna Olson''. She is curre ...

, and Cynthia Stroud. Episode 1, ''"The World Needs S'more People Like You"'', received a nomination for a

Canadian Screen Award The Canadian Screen Awards () are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media ( web series) productions. Given annually by the Academy ...

in the category of "Editing in a reality or competition program or series". The second season premiered on February 22, 2021, while the third season debuted on March 1, 2022, retaining the same cast of judges. In May 2022, the CW renewed the series for a fourth season, which premiered on August 5, 2023. The show features

product placement Product placement, also known as embedded marketing, is a marketing technique where references to specific brands or products are incorporated into another work, such as a film or television program, with specific promotional intent. Much of t ...

from

Purdy's Chocolates Purdys Chocolatier is a Canadian chocolatier, confectionery manufacturer, and retail operator. The company is based in Vancouver, British Columbia on the west coast of Canada. From its 57,000 square-foot (5,295 m2) factory, Purdys produces a v ...

, which is the "official chocolate sponsor" of the show. Some challenges are presented by a representative of the company.

Format

Each season begin with 10 amateur home bakers. After each episode, a contestant is eliminated, until a finale episode to determine the season winner. Episodes typically consist of two challenges: an initial "Technique Test" and a "Chocolate Elimination Challenge". Winners of the skills challenge receive either immunity from elimination, or an advantage in the elimination round. Season winners receive a grand prize of $50,000.

Season 1

Contestants

Source: * Fadi Odeh – Austin, Texas * Casey Hallen – Rye, New York * Craig Taylor – Vancouver, British Columbia * Andrew Keen – Falls Church, Virginia * Renu Mathew – Olds, Alberta * T. Lawrence-Simon – Somerville, Massachusetts * Venessa Liang – Saskatoon, Saskatchewan * Katie Rochin – Montreal, Quebec * Trinity Andrew – Los Angeles, California * Kathy Choffe — Aurora, Ontario

Episodes

Elimination Table

^†The baker(s) that won in the first round.

Season 2

Contestants

Source: * Sheldon Taylor-Timothy, 30 – Rehabilitation Assistant and

Bouncer A bouncer (also known as a door supervisor) is a type of security guard, employed at licensed or sanctioned venues such as bars, nightclubs, cabaret clubs, strip clubs and casinos. A bouncer's duties are to provide security, to check legal ag ...

, Toronto, Ontario * Richard Martemucci, 56 –

Retiree A pensioner is a person who receives a pension, most commonly because of retirement from the workforce. This is a term typically used in the United Kingdom (along with OAP, initialism of old-age pensioner), Ireland and Australia where someone of p ...

, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania * Tam Truong, 42 – Real Estate

Appraiser An appraiser (from Latin ''appretiare'', "to value") is a person that develops an opinion of the market value or other value of a product, most notably real estate. The current definition of "appraiser" according to the Uniform Standards of Profes ...

* Latice Williams, 37 – Dental

Office Manager Office management is a profession involving the design, implementation, evaluation, and maintenance of the process of work within an office or other organization, in order to sustain and improve efficiency and productivity. Office management is ...

, McKinney, Texas * Jujhar Mann, 21 – Student, Surrey, British Columbia * Raphael Nishida, 32 – Commercial Operations Manager * Saudat (Sabby) Atta, 25 – IT Manager, Vancouver, British Columbia * Abbey White, 34 – Retail Operations Specialist * Atikah Mohamed, 35 – Campus Administrator, Toronto, Ontario * Ginny Lepp, 59 –

Civil Servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

, Toronto, Ontario

Episodes

Season 3

Contestants

Source: * Amber Horn, 43, Bartender, Las Vegas, Nevada * Bri Brown, 33, Office Manager, Detroit, Michigan * Connie Kazan, 42, Stay-at-home Mom, Dearborn, Michigan * Evan Morgan-Newpher, 31, Zoo Guest Services Manager, Tulsa, Oklahoma * Gavan Knox, 44, Stay-at-home Dad, Scarborough, Ontario * Ian Frias, 28, Finance Manager, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan * Lexi Christiansen, 24, Model, Vancouver, British Columbia * Maile Crewdson, 35, Stay-at-home Mom, Maui, Hawaii * Shyam Rethinavelu, 34, Fashion Stylist, San Francisco, California * Vince Driver, 31, Freelance Artist, Atlanta, Georgia

Episodes

Season 4

Contestants

* Timothy Eford, 35, Police Detective, Atlanta, Georgia * Mike Casner, 38, Emergency Physician, Chicago, Illinois * Charli Coakley, 43, Music Teacher, Jacksonville, North Carolina * Ashlee Pridgen, 33, Medical Assistant, Baltimore, Maryland * Jayln "Raplheal" Williams, 27, Retired U.S. Army Soldier, Fayetteville, North Carolina * Meredith Bridges, 35, Stay-at-home Mom, Temple, Texas * Donna Kim, 50, Props Builder, Langley, British Columbia * Emma Lee Young, 23, Health Records Clerk, Coquitlam, British Columbia * Ally Hrbachek, 30, Stay-at-home Mom, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan * Kristen Washington, 23, Food Delivery Driver, Jackson, Mississippi

Episodes

International broadcasts

In January 2021,

picked up the series for broadcast in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It premiered on the channel on January 29, 2022. The third season premiered on August 11, 2022. The fourth season premiered on August 5, 2023. In

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, it premiered on the

Lifestyle Food Lifestyle Food (stylised as Lifestyle FOOD) is an Australian pay-TV food channel, solely dedicated to food, wine and restaurant society. The channel is a subsidiary of Lifestyle, which runs 24 hours a day on the Foxtel. On 19 September 2016, ...

channel on November 11, 2021. In

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

the programme is aired on ViuTV6.

References

{{Food Network (Canada) series 2020s Canadian reality television series 2020 Canadian television series debuts Canadian English-language television shows Cooking competitions in Canada Reality cooking competition television series Food Network (Canadian TV channel) original programming Chocolate culture Television series by Corus Entertainment

Format

Season 1

Contestants

Episodes

Elimination Table

Season 2

Contestants

Episodes

Season 3

Contestants

Episodes

Season 4

Contestants

Episodes

International broadcasts

See also

References