FOOD NETWORK'S "BEST BAKER IN AMERICA" RETURNS AS NINE PROFESSIONAL BAKERS COMPETE FOR CASH PRIZE AND BRAGGING RIGHTS

New Season Premieres Monday, May 13th at 9pm ET/PT

Scott Conant Returns to Host, Alongside Judges Jason Smith and Marcela Valladolid

NEW YORK - April 4, 2019 - Nine professional bakers battle it out on the new season of Best Baker in America, premiering Monday, May 13th at 9pm ET/PT. Food Network's Scott Conant returns to host, tasking the bakers over seven episodes with challenges designed to put their baking skills and technical proficiency to the test for a chance to walk away with $25,000 and the coveted title. During each episode the bakers must create elegant and delicious baked goods through two rounds - a Skills Challenge that tests their mastery of the essential technical skills of baking, followed by a Master Challenge that tests the bakers' prowess working with specific flavors and ingredients. Returning judges, Jason Smith and Marcela Valladolid, are joined by special guest pastry experts each episode, including Florian Bellanger, Elizabeth Chambers, Valerie Gordon, Shinmin Li, Nancy Silverton, Sherry Yard and Zac Young, to determine which baker possesses the artistry and creativity needed to earn the grand prize and be crowned Best Baker in America!

"Proving to be the Best Baker in America takes a mixture of skill, imagination and determination," said Courtney White, President, Food Network. "These tremendously talented bakers have their work cut out for them, as they are pushed outside their comfort zone to whip up beautiful and delicious baked goods to impress an all-star lineup of prestigious bakers for the $25,000 prize."

The nine bakers gather in the season premiere to begin their first challenge, having to create perfect mini-Princess Cakes. For the second challenge, the bakers must produce a spectacular Royal Baby Celebration cake for 100 people, using elderflower and lemon as the featured flavors. After the judges deliberate, one baker will be eliminated. Other episodes during the season feature the bakers making miniature versions of pastry classics, presenting the judges with smashable desserts using coconut as the featured flavor, and creating a flaming Bombe Alaska. Don't miss all the fun throughout the season, culminating in a 4th of July-themed baking challenge to crown the newest winner of Best Baker in America!

Meet the newest batch of bakers and see photos of their creations at Food Network.com/BestBakerinAmerica. Plus, get Jason Smith's best baking tips, along with exclusive content from Scott Conant, Marcela Valladolid, Jason Smith and the guest judges. Follow the baking action using #BestBakerinAmerica.

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FOOD NETWORK (www.foodnetwork.com) is a unique lifestyle network, website and magazine that connects viewers to the power and joy of food. The network strives to be viewers' best friend in food and is committed to leading by teaching, inspiring, empowering and entertaining through its talent and expertise. Food Network is distributed to nearly 100 million U.S. households and draws over 46 million unique web users monthly. Since launching in 2009, Food Network Magazine's rate base has grown 13 times and is the No. 2 best-selling monthly magazine on the newsstand, with 13.5 million readers. Food Network is owned by Discovery, Inc., a global leader in real life entertainment spanning 220 countries and territories; the portfolio also includes Discovery Channel, HGTV, TLC, Investigation Discovery, and OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.