Snuggle up with some holiday cheer as OnMilwaukee shares stories of everything merry and bright in the spirit of the season.
The OnMilwaukee Ho Ho Holiday Guide is brought to you by Harley-Davidson Museum and MolsonCoors.
The holidays are just around the corner, and that means it’s time for cookies, cakes and sweet treats of all stripes.
It’s also time to cheer on Milwaukee's hometown baking champ, Kimberly (Hall) Adams, who will be competing in “The Big Bake: Holiday” episode 13, which airs on Monday, Dec. 12 at 10 p.m. CST on Food Network and Discovery+.
In each episode of this larger than life baking competition, three professional baking teams have five hours to design, bake and decorate a grand-scale cake creation based on a particular theme. In Episode 13, host Brad Smith makes sure the baking teams are on their best behavior as they create cakes inspired by Santa's (in)famous “Naughty or Nice” list for judges Ron Ben-Israel, Eddie Jackson and Danni Rose.
This episode marks the eighth Food Network baking competition for Adams, who owns Signature Sweets, 3801 N. Oakland Ave. in Shorewood.
Adams will be competing on a team with two other Food Network all-stars, Hemu Basu of Texas and Joel Gonzalez of Arizona, with the hope of bringing home the $10,000 prize.
“During the episode, we had to create a five foot tall cake with the theme ‘Naughty or Nice’,” says Adams. “So of course, we picked naughty.”
Along with its theme, the cake was also required to have a dynamic element, which Adams was assigned to create for the competition.
“It was so fun to think of something that would really impress the judges,” she says. “And we took it a step further by adding a second interactive element especially for the judges.”
Fans who’d like to cheer Adams on are invited to come to a watch party for the “Holiday: Naughty or Nice” episode, which will be held on Monday, Dec. 12 from 9 p.m. to midnight at The Mecca Sports Bar & Grill, 1134 Vel R. Phillips Ave.
As a passionate champion of the local dining scene, Lori has reimagined the restaurant critic's role into that of a trusted dining concierge, guiding food lovers to delightful culinary discoveries and memorable experiences.
Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with every dish. Lori is the author of two books: the "Wisconsin Field to Fork" cookbook and "Milwaukee Food". Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2024, Lori was honored with a "Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch" award by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or planning for TV and radio spots, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.
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