Ask Ashlee: "What Is It Like Being On Food Network Challenge?"

When people come into my cake boutique in Savannah, Georgia, usually the first question out of everyone's mouth is the same:

"What was it like being on Food Network Challenge?"

I have appeared on five episodes of Food Network's competition-style show "Challenge". They are, in no particular order:

- Beauty Pageant Cakes

- Extreme Wedding Cakes

- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Cakes

- Paranormal Cakes

- LEGO Cakes

Okay, I lied. They're in chronological order.

All of my experiences with Food Network Challenge have been absolutely delightful. The show has changed a lot over the time that I have been participating on it. When I filmed the first two episodes, they filmed the show in a small studio, and we were each given a small kitchen to work within. By the time I got to my third Challenge, the show had been given a great big new studio, and we each had these impressive, circular kitchens to work in. It was amazing!

I feel like, because of this, I have sort of been able to wean myself onto the experience of the competing on Food Network Challenge. The first couple episodes felt somewhat cozy and close. It was a different kitchen than what I was used to working in, but still felt very much like my shop back in Savannah.

When the new studio was built, there was this AMAZING new dramatic lighting in the studio that made me feel like a movie star. The spotlight rose on you at the beginning of the day, and fell at the end - literally!

But enough about the studio (it is amazing). The show is hard, hard work. Yes, it is really filmed in 8 hours. But what is even harder than that is that there is several hours of filming around that 8 hours. You spend a lot of time getting makeup on, waiting for lights to get set-up, getting instructions, waiting for the judges to make a decision, etc. It is absolutely exhausting. I have never worked harder in my life than I do on Food Network Challenge.

The weird thing, though, is that due to the show being filmed at a top-secret location with a climate very much unlike the one I live in, I often experience the worst sickness the day after the show films. It is not unlike a terrible hangover - but I didn't have anything to drink! We hardly eat or drink during the filming of the show, so it is hard to keep yourself healthy while you're on the set. It happens every time, and I have learned to prepare for it, but man - what a shock the first time I experienced it!

Everyone always asks me what the judges are like. Let me tell you: they are great, all of them! We all have a "character" we need to play on TV. Mine has sort of become the "rough, cocky youngun", and the judges have characters they play, too. It's what people like to see! What you don't see on TV, however, is that the judges really do care for you and your work, and after every Challenge make an effort to come to you personally and tell you about how they felt about your performance that day. They are the judges on a hit Food Network show for a reason, and their input is so, so valuable.

It is such an honor to be able to have been included in the roster of Food Network Challenge competitors, and I hope cake television never dies! There are a lot of television programs about cake, these days. Maybe not as much as there was a couple years ago, but it is still pretty prevalent.

Many people I have talked to say that they think cake television will never go away. People liken it to sports on TV. People will always have a want to see their favorite team compete on television!

Will it always be the same for cake design? What do you think?