A Troy pastry chef is sweetening the meaning of artistic “mixed media.” Jonathan Elias is part of a three-person team putting their pumpkin carving and culinary skills to the test in an annually televised Food Network contest beginning Sunday, Sept. 22.
Eight teams in “Halloween Wars” will compete in what show executives describe as a battle to “create mind-blowing monster themed displays” and mouth-watering treats. Elias is the team’s “sugar artist,” also known as a “sugar sculptor” or “sugar crafter.” His assignment: To craft sugar-based decorations using ingredients and tools, including chocolate, fondant, icing, a sugar pump, stencils, cutters, warming boxes and tubes.
His teammates — one from Seattle and the other from Austin — are tasked with cake baking and pumpkin carving. The goal is to put it all together to create artful works that “capture the essence of iconic and classic Halloween monsters.” Tasty, of course.
“Working with sugar is not my favorite thing to do; however, I do enjoy it,” said Elias, known locally for the customized cakes he creates for customers celebrating weddings and special occasions. Sugar, Elias said, “is a whole different art medium and it’s fun to create pieces with it. You can do a lot with it.
Sugar is a very interesting and challenging medium.” The seasonal Halloween showdown is the 14th for the show and is the fourth time Elias has been a competitor on a televised cooking show. He said he has .