Meet the Teams Competing on The Big Bake: Halloween

Posted on September 16, 2019 by Food Network Editors

The Big Bake: Halloween is an over-the-top baking competition series in which teams of three talented bakers compete to create the most spectacularly spooky cake displays.

Meet the bakers who will be competing for the $10,000 prize and bragging rights each week. Good luck, bakers!

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Team Family Matters from Moncton, NB

Team Family Matters is led by Gonzuela Bastarache, owner of KupKake Tree. Gonzuela started making cakes for her son, Josh because she was not able to afford them. She started her cake business, KupKake Tree in 2009 where it flourished for six years. Gonzuela is known for her larger-than-life cakes with unique sculpting. The tallest cake she has made was six feet tall and required six people to carry it! Gonzuela’s teammates are Jessie Arsenault, her sister-in-law, baker and flavour master, and Josh Bastarache, her son, who adds structural support and electronics.
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Team Cake Power from New York, NY

Kate Sullivan is known for her hyper-real conceptual art projects that are super delicious. She began to bake for fun, around 26 years ago creating cakes for friends and family and loved being able to express herself and her affection for others, often in chocolate. She officially launched a cake business as LovinSullivanCakes in 2004, developing customized, sculptural cakes. Today her business is called Cake Power and she collaborates with clients to create bold, unique works of cake art by hand. Kate also teaches a cake course at the International Culinary Institute. Kate’s teammates are Sara Porter, who runs her own cakery and is an expert at baking and decorative flowers, and Cynthia Hsu whose carving, sculpting, baking and filling skills are out of this world!
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Team Baking Brits from Cornwall, UK

Team leader Christine Jensen is the top tier cake designer in the UK. She and her husband Phil operate a custom cake studio known for using structural flair with a touch of mechanics. Whether it is a levitating Yoda cake or a Thunderbird cake that stood on four legs, they love to push their creativity in every aspect of their work. Christine has made cakes for some of the biggest events in the UK, including one where Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles were guests of honour. Christine’s teammates are Phil Jensen, her husband and cake engineer, and Natalie Porter, renowned cake-maker, sugar flower machine, and author.
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Team Sweet Chaos from Aroma, CA

Julie Conrad’s baking journey began after her kids went off to college. She and her husband Mike own a custom cakery that they operate out of their home. Julie started with basic Wilton cake classes and now travels all over the U.S. to take classes from world-renowned instructors to upgrade her skills. She has also been chosen to teach at the California Cake Camp 2019. She may be a late-bloomer in the cake world, but with 10 years of professional baking experience under her belt, she is a strong competitor and has the skills to prove it. Julie’s teammates are Mandy Popejoy, who makes wedding cakes and her husband Michael, who handles structural, electrical, and movement.
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Team Just Cakes from Abbotsford, BC

Team leader Raveena Oberoi started her cake business as a side-hustle in university. After graduating, she attended a three-month pastry arts program at Ecole Bellouet Conseil in Paris and a year later she opened her storefront, Just Cakes, at the young age of 23. They are known for their clean custom cakes, incredible pastry work and “Cake in a Jar” which is rolling out in grocery stores in British Columbia. For Raveena, having fun in the workplace is key so you can catch her cracking lame dad jokes while she’s working. Raveena’s teammates are Madison Clarke, her baking wizard with a strong design aesthetic, and Whitney Shellenberg, her right-hand woman and head cake decorator.
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Team Taste Buds’ from Conception Bay South, NL

Aaron McInnis was taught to bake at a young age by his mother. Team leader Aaron used his baking skills to support himself through University by selling cakes. Eight years ago he opened a bakery, however he decided to close the doors and bring the bakery into his home to be more present with his family. Aaron is the only person known in the St. John’s, N.L. area for making 3D cakes and is becoming well-known through appearances on the Food Network U.S., as well as contributing features in American Cake Decorating magazine. Aaron’s teammates are Juanita Tobin and Catherine Sansome, who are both cake bakers and decorators.
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Team Cake Force from Haverhill, MA

Team Cake Force is headed by Erin Erler. Erin is well known in Massachusetts for her baking and decorating skills. She began baking when she found out her son had a severe nut allergy and she now owns a nut-free bakery that she’s been running for nine years. Erin has an impressive client list, including many Boston sports teams and celebrities like Adam Sandler and Conan O’Brien. She is not afraid to add extra elements to her cakes like moving parts, dry ice, or a giant tank cake that can shoot confetti! Erin’s teammates are Christine Barton, her right hand woman who specializes in strong intricate details and sculpting and Cindy Ngar, owner of her own cakery.
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Team Artsy Rebels from Aurora, ON

Antonella Cellini is a self-taught baker who got her start in 2002 after she created her niece’s birthday cake. Over the next two years, she closed her furniture business, became a stay-at-home mom and continued to make cakes for family and friends. In 2011, Antonella opened a custom cake studio called Artsy Baker. Antonella’s company is the first in Canada to sell its own brand of fondant in grocery stores. Her self-described baking style is innovative, sassy and gutsy. She aspires to grow her company to become the largest cake company in Canada...then the world! Antonella’s teammates are Maddy Amar and Elena Risteska, both cake decorators.
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Team Tres Amigos from Seattle, WA

Team leader Kevin Moulder started from the bottom and now he’s here! Working at a grocery store, Kevin’s big break came when his bakery manager was desperate for a cake decorator and Kevin was thrown in, having zero experience. He fell in love with the craft and put himself through culinary school. Now he owns Cubes Baking Co. where he is known for being artistic, creative and able to translate familiar flavours into refined and beautiful cakes. Kevin’s biggest cake was a golf course the size of 25 sheet cakes that included a golf ball that rolled down the course to make a hole in one! Kevin’s teammates are Brett Siebern, an amazing cake sculptor and fondant worker, and Mayra Sibrian, who specializes in baking.
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Team Epic Confections from Orillia, ON

Mark Robillard is a self-taught cake designer who also hosts his own YouTube channel, Epic Confections, where he teaches people to make “epic” cakes every week, such as an epic rainbow mountains spewing chocolate ganache and a Dr. Pimple Popper cake that has over seven million views. He has incorporated LED lights into his cakes as well as bubbles, dry ice and sparklers. Mark is a big personality and makes everyone he’s around feel good, whether it’s in the kitchen or not! Mark’s teammates are Mandy Bourgouin, a cake decorator and Mark’s former boss, and Elenor Roxas, a cake decorator and Mark’s current boss.
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Team Texas Trio from Lubbock, TX

Right out of high school Tasha Teel started working as a personal chef, but like most people, she hated having to wait until the end of a meal for the best part – dessert! She fell in love with the pastry side of life and opened her bakery in 2010. Since then she’s created massive cakes over five-feet tall that include many different intricate details and fun elements. She’s even made a local mascot cake that involved smoking guns! Tasha’s teammates are Ben Teel, her husband, and Mackenzie Townsend, her co-worker.
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Team Pastry Punks from Port Coquitlam, BC

Hollie was born in Australia has been baking all of her life. Her father was a baker and she remembers eating fondant at his bakery when she was a child. She is trained in both culinary arts and patisserie. Her bakery, Punk Rock Pastries, is known for their crazy 3D sculpted cakes and airbrushing techniques that bring realistic texture and depth. Hollie may look intimidating, but under all the ink and hair dye, she’s a baker at heart. In the kitchen, she’s the boss and likes things done her way! Hollie’s teammates are Alicia Banbury, who is a human recipe book and one of the best bakers Hollie knows, and Elise Allen, a fellow Aussie and an amazing chef in her own right.
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