Trading wands for whisks, new Harry Potter cooking show brings mess and magic

LEAVESDEN, England — If George and Fred Weasley entered a baking competition, how would it go?

"Terrible."

That opinion comes from Oliver Phelps, one of the twins who played the fun-loving, red-haired elder brothers of Ron Weasley in all eight "Harry Potter" films. Oliver and James Phelps recently stepped into Gringotts Wizarding Bank — but not to deposit magical treasures or fight against dark magic. The mischievous pair weren't up to any pranks either, as their characters were known for in the "Potter" films. Instead, the Phelps brothers were leading nine pairs of world-class bakers through a "Potter"-inspired competition filmed on the movies' famed sets.

As the cohosts of Food Network's six-episode "Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking" (Thursdays, 8 EST/PST and streaming on Max), the Phelps brothers guide the chefs as they construct clever, curious and delicious interpretations of "Potter"-themed baking challenges.

A Triwizard cup isn't the prize. Instead, the bakers vie for a spot in an upcoming "Harry Potter"-themed cookbook. The stakes of the contest are about as high as one of Severus Snape's Year Six potions exams: One wrong pour or stir could mean the end of their journey on the Hogwarts Express.

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Salt, sweet and a bit of magic for 'Harry Potter' baking competition

Hailing from around the globe, these professional bakers not only face the challenge of working with peers they've never met before, but they also must rise to their assignment: creating a magical dessert that astonishes the judges. (And with no Mrs. Weasley charm to make a pot autonomously stir!)

In Thursday's premiere, set on Platform 9 3/4, each team competes for a ticket to board the Hogwarts Express to continue in the competition. The teams have six hours to make a creation inspired by the films, required to be at least 2 feet tall, include a magical effect and reflect the team's shared love for "Potter." Each team member must concoct an edible aspect that showcases their specialty.

The teams design flavorful fantastic creations, from edible spiders to a whomping willow tree. Judges Carla Hall and Jozef Youssef measure the finished products with their eyes and tastebuds. They're judged on design, flavor and originality, and must focus on teamwork, too, accounting for differences in baking styles, competition experience and their own backgrounds to make something truly memorable (think Luna Lovegood's Converse sneakers made out of Rice Krispies).

Hall says she looked for a combination of texture and sweet-savory flavors and "a balance of salt," not unlike the mix of desserts a Hogwarts student might find on their holiday feast plate.

Youssef says he knows the expert bakers' skills are hex-proof, but he wants them to go the extra mile to hone the magical bits of their masterpieces: "Flavor is always going to be at the core. But their ability to use new and interesting flavors and not stick with the tried and tested, that's where we tease out the elements of magic. That's what the world of 'Harry Potter' is all about."

Having a baking show set in such iconic venues as Dumbledore's office, Diagon Alley and the Forbidden Forest makes the viewing experience like a movie, Hall says. Perhaps the grand backdrop could inspire your next trip. When Hall first stepped into Hogwarts' Great Hall, with its arching stone ceiling and long wooden tables, she felt imagination become reality. Unlike other competition shows, filmed on sets audiences can't visit, the "Potter" sets welcome thousands of visitors daily for public tours.

"It's exciting. It's magical. It's thrilling," Youssef says. "There's that nostalgia there."

Hall says viewers shouldn't be intimidated by the complexity of the bakes. "Everyone is giving you something that can be doable on some level at home," she says. "If you want to extract a piece of what the bakers are doing, you have those moments."

Even one element (such as caramel popcorn in a golden snitch-inspired creation) makes a unique project over the holidays, Hall said.

"You can take one of the designs and scale it to fit your own ability," says "Wizarding" contestant Elizabeth Rowe. "Take the theme and run with it. ... We all know Dumbledore loves sherbet lemon, so maybe take that and make your own sherbet lemon cake."

Rowe, a London native who owns The London Baker in Dallas, is a baking-competition veteran, but says this experience felt like "part of a dream. ... Expect to be astounded, surprised and transported to the world of 'Harry Potter.'"

James and Oliver Phelps return to the sites (and smells) of Leavesden

The Phelps brothers were teenagers when they first stepped on the "Potter" sets at Warner Bros. Leavesden studio. Returning to film "Wizards of Baking" felt like "going back to high school," James Phelps says. But the familiar setting comes with a new role for the brothers: taking chefs through an imaginative journey, with no Marauder's Map allowed.

"They are very much like their characters," said Rowe of the Phelps brothers. "Everyone started turning their heads, saw who it was, and were like, 'Act cool.'"

Filming on location brought back memories of eating with fellow child actors in the magical feast in the Great Hall: The Phelps brothers said they can still smell potatoes and vegetables in the epic room served while filming 2001's "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," and welcomed a new sugar-filled memory on location.

Future episodes feature the Phelps brothers reuniting with castmates, including Warwick Davis (Filius Flitwick), Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley) and Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood), who help lead the chefs through the challenges.

Who gets a ticket to Hogwarts?

"Potter" fans old and new will see glimpses of the Wizarding World as chefs compete at cooking stations positioned in the most iconic frames from the movies. In Thursday's two-hour premiere, the chefs enter the set through "Floo Network," the magical, elevatorlike transit system that catapults wizards from one location to the next in a fog of green smoke. They step through green mist from a gothic fireplace to find their fellow chefs prepping pastries.

Standing under the painting of the "The Fat Lady" who guards Gryffindor House, the often-starstruck contestants are greeted by the twins and find their stations to start the race for the most charming dessert. As if by the flick of a magic wand, ingredients like chocolate, sugar, fruit and icing become fantastical sweets.

In the first episode, the bakers furiously mix and melt while steam bellows and the train engine whistles. The hectic energy echoes the familiar scene of Ron, Harry and Hermione Granger rushing to make the train at the start of a new school year.

The atmosphere "triggers the emotions of watching the movie for the first time as a child," Rowe says.

In preparation for the first bake, Rowe and her partner, Juan Gutierrez, discovered they shared the same stallion Patronus, a defensive charm that morphs into a shape resembling qualities of the wizard. This felt like the obvious choice for the first challenge, she says. "It was about loyalty, caring and strength."

But just as the competition heats up, the Phelps twins pronounce "arresto momentum," signaling time is up. The bakers stop stirring and slicing and sugaring and must face a final task of transporting their creations to the Hogwarts Express station for final assembly and the judges' evaluations.

That train station, always a symbol of transitions, is where the chefs eagerly anticipate if they've earned what practically every "Potter" fan has dreamed of: A ticket to someplace magical.