By Lori Fredrich Senior Food Writer, Dining Editor, Podcast Host Published Dec 10, 2022 at 12:01 PM

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 Educators Credit Union, 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. 

Kimberly hall and her team
Kimberly Adams works on an element for the team's cake.(Photo: Food Network)
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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.

Lori Fredrich Senior Food Writer, Dining Editor, Podcast Host

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 each and every dish. She’s had the privilege of chronicling these tales via numerous media, including OnMilwaukee and in her book “Milwaukee Food.” Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. 

When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or recording the FoodCrush podcast, 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.