When “Halloween Baking Championship” premieres on Food Network on Sept.15, viewers in Acadiana will see a familiar face in the competition: Carencro’s own Nina Maria Charles.
The seasonal series pits 10 bakers from across the country against each other as they craft spooky, show-stopping treats for a panel of costumed judges. Each week, one contestant is eliminated, with the last baker standing earning $25,000 and the coveted title of Halloween Baking Champion.
For Charles, the Carencro native, the path to national television was anything but ordinary. Before she ever cracked an egg, she studied fashion design at the Art Institute of Dallas. That eye for texture and design, she said, became the foundation for her cakes…