Last November, I got an email from pastry chef Jossie Lukacik with this subject line: “I am going to be on Food Network!” The following month, she appeared on Christmas Cookie Challenge, where viewers watched her compete with three other pastry chefs from across the country. She couldn’t announce it publicly for a few more days, but she wanted to get a local media outlet to share the news ahead of the Dec. 19 airdate.
This is a monthly publication that works two to three months ahead. Our December issue was already hitting newsstands, so I couldn’t break the story in these pages. But it did make me wonder how long Lukacik had been keeping this news to herself—and how this hometown girl got the attention of the Food Network.
It all started last February, when Lukacik, owner of Sweet Spot Studio, got a direct message from a casting agent over Instagram. She’d applied to be on Christmas Cookie Challenge every year since 2020, but this time, the show contacted her directly, so she was able to skip the audition video. The next step was a Zoom interview with a casting director. “They record you answering questions so they can stitch it together and pitch you to Food Network,” Lukacik says. “If you make it to the next round, you have a technical interview.”
Her technical interview, on March 1, included two baking challenges. The food producers liked what they saw, so they followed up with another Zoom interview. “They said, ‘Everyone can make cookies, but we need people that are interesting to watch on TV,’” Lukacik says. “The entire time, they continue asking what dates you’re available, but they don’t finalize filming dates until right before. In those weeks between, they don’t tell you anything, so you assume you’re not moving on.”
But on March 31, a producer called to request three outfit options. “At this point, I’m pretty sure I’m in,” Lukacik says, “but things are still very vague.”
A few days later, they told her filming would begin on April 10 in Burbank, California. Fortunately, Lukacik’s husband, Tim, who’d come to work full time for Sweet Spot Studio a few years ago, was able to hold down the fort while she was away. He shared minimal details with their staff.
Producers also requested family photos from Lukacik to help tell viewers her backstory. “(My family) had to sign photo releases,” she says, “then they’re sworn to secrecy.” That’s because Food Network contestants are required to sign confidentiality agreements, which prevent them from sharing information about the show to maintain the element of surprise. “So I’m having the biggest experience of my life,” Lukacik says, “and I can’t say anything to anyone.”
Lukacik’s Sweet Spot Studio team (left) at her December watch party at Vaulted Oak Brewing.
Filming took place over four warm, sunny spring days on a set designed to look like Santa’s workshop. Hosts Ree Drummond and Eddie Jackson introduced the baking challenges and stopped by bakers’ stations as they put their skills on display. It was the first time Lukacik met the three other contestants competing with her for the $10,000 grand prize. “The clock is very real,” Lukacik says. “Whenever you watch a show and see people calmly talk about the chaos, it’s because we have to narrate everything we did after the challenge. They probably have six hours of interview footage of me that they’ll use about 60 seconds of.”
On the episode, titled “Christmas on the Go,” Lukacik competed in two challenges and beat three other bakers with her 2-foot train built entirely of gingerbread cookies. Her festive creation wowed the judges and earned her the coveted golden ornament trophy.
Jossie Lukacik won the coveted golden ornament award. Courtesy, Food Network
Filming wrapped April 14, and Lukacik flew back to Charlotte. Life and work resumed as usual, and for the next seven months, she kept her secret. Then, just before Thanksgiving, the Food Network posted a promotional video for Christmas Cookie Challenge on social media. The secret was out.
On the night the episode aired, Lukacik hosted a watch party at Vaulted Oak Brewing for about 100 friends and family members. During commercial breaks, she shared what was actually happening behind the scenes. The anticipation continued to build, and in the final seconds of the episode, the judges announced Lukacik as the “cookie conductor with the best display.” The taproom erupted in applause.
“I was competing against myself,” Lukacik says. “A lot of people say that, but it’s true. You start to think, ‘What if I lose?’ But you’ve already won, because you’ve beat the 500 to 1,000 bakers who apply each year. And that’s pretty cool.”
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