ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 With a swirl of passion fruit, a flash of tropical color and a mission to put Brazilian pastry on the map, Jean Carlos turned the set of Food Network\u2019s \u201cHoliday Baking Championship\u201d into his own kitchen \u2014 dazzling judges and viewers and earning a Brazilian community award in Orlando.<\/p>\n
Contestant Jean Carlos Araujo, portrait, as seen on Holiday Baking Championship, Season 12. (\u00a9 2025 Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. or its subsidiaries and affiliates. All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n
Carlos, who has worked as a pastry chef for 10 years, said his passion for baking began in Brazil watching holiday cooking shows. \u201cI started my career there watching TV shows … and I would get very inspired,\u201d he said. \u201cI said, I need to do something like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the Food Network competition, 12 bakers face weekly tests that evaluate both flavor and presentation. \u201cEvery single week we have a challenge to deliver our decoration and flavor from the holidays,\u201d Carlos said. \u201cI\u2019m here to win. I\u2019m here to take this title with me. I\u2019m here to take the money.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carlos said he intentionally incorporated Brazilian ingredients and techniques into his desserts, using tropical fruit flavors and traditional treats to set his work apart. Judges responded positively, he said, and his efforts also earned recognition from Orlando\u2019s Brazilian community.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was awarded with a Brazilian award here in Orlando,\u201d Carlos said. \u201cI\u2019m very glad to represent all the Brazilian pastry community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Working on television, Carlos said, differs sharply from cooking in his own kitchen.<\/p>\n
\u201cCooking in my own kitchen or at work and on TV is totally different. The pressure is on, especially because you have to cook under a clock,\u201d he said, describing a moment when he faced the judges for the first time. \u201cMy legs was literally shaking.\u201d<\/p>\n
For part of the competition, contestants were split into two teams \u2014 Nice versus Naughty \u2014 and Carlos said teamwork helped keep morale high.<\/p>\n
\u201cMe and my teammates have a really strong bond,\u201d he said. \u201cWe always checking with each other every single dessert to make sure our team will survive until the finale.\u201d<\/p>\n
Contestant Jean Carlos Araujo, baking process, as seen on Holiday Baking Championship, Season 12. (\u00a9 2025 Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. or its subsidiaries and affiliates. All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n
Carlos encouraged aspiring bakers to persevere.<\/p>\n
\u201cNever give up … You need to believe in yourself. You need to trust in the things you can do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Representing Brazil on an international platform, Carlos said, was especially meaningful.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing the only Brazilian on the show representing my country, it\u2019s very special for me,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to show to the world what Brazil is able to do in pastry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Viewers can watch \u201cHoliday Baking Championship\u201d on Food Network on Mondays at 8 p.m., or stream episodes the next day on HBO Max or Discovery+.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2025 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 With a swirl of passion fruit, a flash of tropical color and a mission to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":71591,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[41103,41101,41104,41097,28,22628,41098,41100,1335,139,41105,141,140,41099,41102],"class_list":{"0":"post-71590","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-orlando","8":"tag-baking-competition","9":"tag-brazilian-flavors","10":"tag-brazilian-ingredients","11":"tag-brazilian-pastry","12":"tag-florida","13":"tag-food-network","14":"tag-holiday-baking-championship","15":"tag-jean-carlos","16":"tag-orange-county","17":"tag-orlando","18":"tag-orlando-brazilian-community","19":"tag-orlando-headlines","20":"tag-orlando-news","21":"tag-orlando-pastry-chef","22":"tag-tropical-desserts"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71590","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71590"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71590\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}