Does Anybody Actually Eat Those Scary Halloween Wars Cakes?

Halloween is just around the corner, and Food Network's Halloween Wars competition series is back for an all-new season. If you've never seen the show, you can probably guess what it's about based on this article's header image: seasoned bakers and sugar artists compete to create edible Halloween-themed cake displays, some of which are downright bone-chilling. But what happens to those elaborate confections once the cameras stop rolling? Distractify did some digging to find out.

One possibility is that the show's crew enjoys the fruits of the contestants' labor. Distractify cites one anonymous Quora user who, in 2012, asserted that leftover cupcakes from Cupcake Wars are either donated to charitable organizations or eaten by "hardworking cast and crew." And, per The Kitchn, the crew of The Great British Baking Show also usually gets the leftover baked goods.

Baking competition shows all work a little differently, of course, although it's probably safe to assume that individual networks have similar practices across shows. However, a different anonymous Quora user did claim to have competed on Cake Challenge, another Food Network series, and they allege some serious cake wastage. The post reads:

"I can't answer for certain, but this is my experience. ... The winner's cake, of course, went to the person that it was for. The rest of the cakes (we came in 2nd place) went right smack dab into giant trash cans that the cleaning crew rolled out after the shoot was over. I was pretty horrified by that because I hate to see perfectly good food wasted. I inquired why they couldn't have been donated to a food bank or a homeless shelter, and they told me that liability issues prevent them from doing that. It's very sad. I imagine the same would be true for all those cupcakes too."

It makes sense that the giant cakes on Cake Challenge and Halloween Wars might be more difficult to donate or disseminate among members of the crew. Still, here's hoping that the Food Network has a better policy than just chucking everything straight in the trash. If they need an onsite cake-guzzler to minimize the waste, I'm available.