Courtesy Food Network
Lamb's team, the Holidazers, includes Tammy Varela, a cake and sugar artist from Georgia, as well as Los Angeles-based cake artist Piper Guy.
Local cake artist Brad Lamb returns to Food Network this Sunday, November 7, appearing in the season premiere of Holiday Wars. The episode airs at 8 p.m. and sees Lamb competing alongside teammates.
Courtesy Brad Lamb
One of Lamb's creations
Lamb’s cakes were recently featured on the network’s Road to Halloween Wars, and he previously appeared on the Food Network Challenge in January 2020.
Lamb says he’s delighted to be competing on one of Food Network’s biggest shows. Holiday Wars hosts nine teams that compete to impress the judges and progress to the next round. Teams are issued a different challenge each week, taking on a variety of holiday themes.
The show’s producers selected Lamb to appear on Holiday Wars after a series of auditions and interviews. He joined up with his team, The Holidazers, for filming in Park City, Utah. The Holidazers also includes Georgia-based cake and sugar artist Tammy Varela and Los Angeles–based cake artist Piper Guy.
“I got super lucky,” Lamb says. “They're amazing ladies, and we're best friends now. They're both super talented and so nice. We had a blast together.”
One of Lamb's responsibilities on the team was bringing his cake-sculpting skills to the table. “We work so well together,” he says. “Each of us had our own little things we were working on, and then at the end we came together and really put out an amazing piece that we're all very proud of.”
The Holidazers were tasked with a “Reindeer Replacement” challenge. “We had to come up with an idea of if there weren't reindeers who would compete to be Santa’s new reindeers,” he says. “That was a really cool challenge.”
Courtesy Brad Lamb
Starry, starry....cake?
To progress in the contest, the team’s creations must impress the show’s judges. “They judge you on your artistic ability, and it's a tasting challenge, so it all has to be edible,” Lamb says. “It has to be larger than life—just a cool edible art piece.”
One team is eliminated each week until two teams remain to go head-to-head in the season finale.
Lamb is currently a cake artist for Heaven Scent Bakery in O’ Fallon, Missouri, as well as Wedding Wonderland in Florissant. (He was previously at New Day Gluten Free Cafe & Bakery, which closed last December.) His skills include sculpted cakes and painted cakes, as well as small pastries and macarons.
As if he’s not busy enough, Lamb is also building up his own online cake studio, Belle Reine Confections. Orders are currently placed via Belle Reine’s Facebook page or by emailing bradleyraelamb@gmail.com. Customers tell Lamb their ideas, submit photos to illustrate what they’re envisioning, and start a dialogue. “It's more for the crazy, out-of-the-box cakes that are probably a little bit more expensive but definitely one-of-a-kind,” Lamb says. “It’s just something that I can really put my artistic stamp on.”
