Challenge Completed!

Now that we're back and starting to catch our breath, we've had some time to reflect on our experience at the Food Network Challenge which we filmed last week. Many of you have been asking how everything went, how Rick and Annie fared, and what the Challenge topic was. We're not at liberty to discuss any details of the Challenge until it airs, nor would we want to ruin the surprise of what is sure to be a great episode! As of now, it's looking like a Spring air date. In a word, the experience was AMAZING! All the preparations and travelling and meeting of the producers, competitors, crew and judges was an unforgettable experience. Rick and his assistant Annie competed against Challenge veterans, which you will no doubt recognize as soon as the show airs, and for first timers, "newbies" as they are called, they held their own beautifully! As someone who watched it all unfold, you'd never know Rick was new at Challenge. Their Challenge was part of a new season, complete with a spanking new BEAUTIFUL set that blew us away the first time we saw it. This set means business and we can only imagine how incredible it will look on TV!

Everyone treated Rick and Annie with respect and they felt the support as soon as they walked into their kitchen. Rick had a grueling work schedule while away, between the set-up and competition, and interviews with the producers, it was pretty exhausting, but inspiring at the same time, and the adrenaline took over from the get-go. Challenge is of course a food competition and in this case a cake competition, but what truly made it an experience we will never forget was the people we met. We were already "fans" of our Producers before we even arrived as we've had regular contact with them for what seemed like ages, and to finally meet them was such a treat. Meeting Keegan Gerhard, Kerry Vincent, and other new people associated with the show was fantastic! Keegan is very insightful and kind and it was a pleasure to meet him. Rick said that suddenly having Kerry Vincent watching and judging his work after seeing her on TV all these years was a surreal experience. Kerry Vincent impressed Rick and he was happy to be "judged" by her. Probably not the reaction you were expecting. He said she is a woman that commands respect when she walks into a room and really knows her stuff, so he wasn't scared and felt honored to have met her.

We want to give a "shout out" to the following people. You all enriched our experience! The host of the show; our Line Producer and Cameraman; the husband of another competitor who sat next to me and for hours we stressed over our spouses; our server at our hotel restaurant who gave his support the morning of the competition; the photographer who complimented our work, the woman who has 36 years experience making cakes and her husband were tremendously knowledgeable, and the woman and her daughter who knows everything about every show on Food Network. Thank you and Aloha! -- Rick and Sasha