What To Know
- James and Oliver Phelps return as the hosts of Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking Season 3 on Food Network.
- The actors (a.k.a. Fred and George Weasley) revealed which of their Harry Potter co-stars they want to appear as a guest judge on the show.
- The Phelps twins also opened up about working with new Wizards of Baking judges Duff Goldman and Sarah Mountain.
James and Oliver Phelps want another member of the Harry Potter cast to join the Food Network family.
The actors, who famously portrayed Fred and George Weasley in all eight Harry Potter movies, return as the hosts of Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking Season 3, which premieres on Wednesday, November 4. The series follows teams of bakers and pastry chefs as they create spell-binding culinary creations inspired by the magical film franchise.
Many of the Phelps twins’ Harry Potter co-stars have joined them on Wizards of Baking as guest judges, including Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley), Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood), Warwick Davis (Professor Flitwick), Devon Murray (Seamus Finnigan), and Afshan Azad (Padma Patil). But there’s another cast member who’s been wanting to join in on the baking fun.
“At the football team, the soccer team I support, actually David Bradley sits directly behind me, and that’s completely by chance,” Oliver shared in an exclusive interview with TV Insider. “But he sits there, and every year he’s like, ‘Oh, if you ever get a chance, I’d love to come and judge.’ So hopefully, maybe next season, David can do a proper Filch and go through it all.”
James added, “With the cat,” referring to Argus Filch’s not-so-nice feline companion, Mrs. Norris.
Warner Brothers/Courtesy Everett Collection; Warner Bros. Ent./Courtesy Everett Collection
The Weasley twins frequently caused chaos for Bradley’s grouchy Hogwarts caretaker across the Harry Potter films. While Wizards of Baking viewers won’t see the co-stars reunite in Season 3, they will see a familiar Food Network face stop by to guest judge: Chef Masaharu Morimoto.
“It was such a cool surprise when we did, and especially when all the bakers found out, as well,” Oliver shared. “The prize, not just winning the Wizards of Baking trophy, but also for first place this season, is a trip to Tokyo, Japan, to the [Warner Bros. Harry Potter] studio tour out there. So, Chef Morimoto came over for one of the episodes [to] talk about it and bring his unique take on it. And he’s such an animated presence, as well. It was a really fun day in the kitchen that day.”
James joked that the Season 3 cast were starstruck by the Iron Chef icon, stating, “A lot of them who aren’t very shy all of a sudden got very giggly at one point. So, that was really enjoyable to witness.”
Wizards of Baking Season 3 features returning contestants looking for a second chance at victory, competing in four teams of three representing each of the Hogwarts houses. In honor of the 25th anniversary of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the new episodes will feature challenges inspired by all eight films.
The Season 3 cast also features new judges Duff Goldman and Sarah Mountain, who take over Minister of Baking duties from Carla Hall and Jozef Youssef. The Phelps brothers share a connection with Goldman, as the Ace of Cakes star baked cakes for Harry Potter film premieres over the years.
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“I met Duff on the third premiere for The Prisoner of Azkaban in New York in 2004, I want to say it was, which is crazy. And then, fast forward all these years later, and we’re working together, doing Wizards of Baking,” James told TV Insider. “Duff came in, and a lot of the bakers had either worked for him, competed against him, been judged by him, so they knew exactly what he’s about. And Sarah is just so well-renowned, especially in the high-end hotels here in London. She knows everything there is to know about patisserie.”
He continued, “They’re very good at explaining why flavors work so well, why textures work so well together. And if anything could be critiqued, they say, ‘I would have used this for this because it complements this.’ If that makes sense. And you go away thinking, ‘Well, I understand everything that they were talking about there.’ So, it kind of makes you feel a bit smarter than — definitely myself — I think makes me feel a lot smarter than I actually am.”
Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking, Season 3 Premiere, Wednesday, November 4, 8/7c, Food Network and HBO Max
