Andrew Fuller on Judging Halloween Wars and Fooling Everyone on Sweet Deceit

Food Network Obsessed

Andrew Fuller joins the Food Network Obsessed podcast to discuss his new role as a judge on Halloween Wars and his upcoming series Sweet Deceat, where everyday people test their ability to spot hyper-realistic cakes hidden in

Key takeaways

• Andrew Fuller traces his fascination with the macabre back to Tim Burton's Beetlejuice, which helped him process his father's death at age nine by presenting the afterlife in a whimsical, therapeutic way.
• Fuller reveals he was relentlessly bullied in middle and high school for his eccentric fashion, which eventually became the foundation of his signature Sugar Freak Show brand.

Main topics

• Halloween Wars judging experience
• Sweet Deceat show format and concept

Notable quotes

Tim Burton, the movie Beetlejuice, had just come out... they take death and the afterlife and they put it in this wacky, weird, whimsical environment. And I was really therapeutic for me.

Conclusion

Fuller's episode offers a compelling look at how personal trauma and relentless self-expression can fuel

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:04) Hello, hello, and welcome to Food Network Obsessed. This is the podcast where we dish in all things food with your favorite chefs, food creators, and Food Network stars. I'm your host, Jamie Sire, and today's guest is an expert cake artist and totally sweet maximalist who is bringing sugar and joy into the world. He is a new judge on this season of Halloween Wars and appears in the new upcoming show, Sweet Deceit. It's the sugar freak show, Andrew Fuller. Andrew, welcome to Food Network Obsessed. And first things first, I have to say I'm obsessed with your entire backdrop set up here. If you're not watching on YouTube, you should be because the aesthetic is on point. I feel like it always is with you. It's theatrical. It's original. It's dark. Where did your fascination with the strange and macabre begin? Speaker 2 (0:56) What's wrong with me, Jamie? Honestly, I don't know how to even answer that question. It's weird because I went through phases of being like total wallflower to chaotic, insane. I just feel like life is so serious. People are so serious. Speaker 1 (1:11) So serious. That's my ASMR. Speaker 2 (1:12) I like that. I like that. And I just feel like we need a little more happiness and whimsy in the world. And it's funny because people see me and they're like, well, this guy really wants to be seen. But it's funny because I can't. I can't stop myself. I can't leave the house without doing this. And sometimes I'm like, oh, am I really in the mood for these conversations? But I still got to throw it all on. It's just how I am. And Tim Burton's a huge impact. You Speaker 1 (1:36) know, Speaker 2 (1:36) like that Speaker 1 (1:37) Pee Wee's Speaker 2 (1:37) Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, all that kind of stuff. I'm like, look at this place. It's all of that. Speaker 1 (1:42) It's all inspired by all of those things. Like you said it kind of, you were a wallflower for a little bit. Like when did like... Like when you were a kid, were you drawn to like the creepy things right away? Did it evolve like because of Tim Burton? Like how did it all like, like, like land where what we see now, I guess. Yeah. Speaker 2 (2:02) I mean, okay. So I have to tell you. So my dad passed away when I was really young. I was nine years old. But. Now, there is a huge, there's a bright side there. Speaker 1 (2:12) Tim Speaker 2 (2:13) Burton, the movie Beetlejuice, had just come out. It was like right around the time that he passed away. That tells you how old I am if you Google when that movie came out. Sorry. Speaker 1 (2:20) It's okay. I remember as well. Speaker 2 (2:23) And I, at the time when he passed away, I was so terrified of death because it was this new thing. It was a person that was very close to me. I wasn't familiar with it. It wasn't a conversation you have. And then Beetlejuice came out and they take. death and the afterlife and they put it in this wacky, weird, whimsical environment. Speaker 1 (2:40) And it Speaker 2 (2:41) was really therapeutic for me. It was like, okay, maybe we can approach death in a kind of a fun, light-hearted manner. Because the truth is, sorry to tell y'all, we're not getting out of here alive. So you might as well have as much fun with it as you can. So that was like, it was instilled in me as a kid to kind of just lean into the macabre and the weird and the wacky of the world. But it took, you know, coming into myself later on in life to be bold enough to do that. Speaker 1 (3:10) Yeah. I mean, what did scare you as a kid? Speaker 2 (3:14) As a kid, the most terrifying thing in the world to me was clowns. Speaker 1 (3:18) Well, I think it Speaker 2 (3:20) has so much to do with the fact that they're like just they're so close to just being people. Speaker 1 (3:25) But Speaker 2 (3:25) they're like talking to kids and giving them candy and balloons. It's like all the things you're told not like stay away from that person, you know. And, but, but then I grew up and now I love clowns because they're, all they're doing is trying to insert a little joy into the world, you know? I mean, let's be real. I Speaker 1 (3:41) mean, I'm Speaker 2 (3:42) one breath away from that. Speaker 1 (3:44) You definitely like channel clown vibes. Yeah. Like in, in your own special way. High Speaker 2 (3:50) fashion way. Speaker 1 (3:51) Exactly. Couture clown Speaker 2 (3:52) is what I always tell people. Speaker 1 (3:54) I'm curious. Does anything still scare you to this day? Speaker 2 (3:58) The color beige. Speaker 1 (4:01) Yeah, I think. Speaker 2 (4:03) Yeah. Or millennial gray. I can't. I'm not down. Speaker 1 (4:08) And why is that the scariest thing that you can think of just because that it's so like uninteresting and uncolorful? Speaker 2 (4:15) That and like, I mean, come on, let's be real. The world's pretty dark and depressing these days. And I think if we are not inserting art and. character and fun and whimsy into every single nook and cranny we can, then what are we doing? Speaker 1 (4:30) Yeah, no, I completely agree. And you mentioned kind of your personal style and how that's evolved. It's such an important part of who anyone is, but particularly you. How long did it take for you to kind of feel comfortable presenting that full version of yourself to the world? Speaker 2 (4:47) It's funny because it has definitely been a journey. But if you go back, you see glimmers of it because like, let's say middle school, believe it or not, I was a bullied kid. You know, I was a chubby little gay boy and everyone knew it. And I tried so hard to blend in and be like everybody else. And it became really apparent that the more I tried to blend in and be like everybody else, the more it was just like. buddy, you're not fooling anybody with what you're doing here. And so then I got into high school. I was like, I'm going to transform who I am. I'm going to have fun with that. I remember I went to homecoming and I had like, I wore this like silver LeMay shirt. I had these giant black baggy JNCO jeans that I put hot glued aluminum foil patches all over. And then I had these four like multicolored braids hanging from my hair. And the second I walked in, I got picked on so hard and I got bullied relentlessly and it beat me down. But I still. I came to school every day being a total weirdo. I used to dye my hair to match my shoes. I would get kicked out of class sometimes because I was too distracting for the other kids. And I got bullied relentlessly for it, but it's still like, it was the only thing I knew how to be and the only way I knew how to be. But that's when I found out that I found my real people and the people who actually care about me. So that... That was when I was like, this is who you are. This is who you are. But then, you know, you go through life and like you have to work for corporations. You got to homogenize yourself like everybody else. But now it's kind of a moneymaker. Speaker 1 (6:16) Yeah. I get to be me. No, it's so fun. And I think I feel like the real diehard Food Network fans also got kind of got a glimpse of this like. transformation, I guess we'll call it. I mean, like that first appearance back in 2018. Speaker 2 (6:30) Oh, Speaker 1 (6:30) don't say Speaker 2 (6:30) it. Speaker 1 (6:32) No, I was just going to say like you had like a little bit of the green hair going on and it's like now like. just evolved. Like, how did that happen? Like, what's the inspiration behind all of the colors? I want to know about the upkeep. Like, how does this all work? There's so Speaker 2 (6:47) much to say. First of all, such a good observation. Like, even remembering the little green streak in my hair. Speaker 1 (6:53) Yeah. Speaker 2 (6:54) That was like me kind of like testing the waters, you know? It was like, how far can I go with this? And I'll tell you, that show, Halloween Baking Championship, I had no business being on it. I bombed so hard. I heard Halloween. And I hyper fixated. But I'm a cake artist. I am not an expert baker. That's Shinman's gig, you know. And so you find that out pretty early on in the show. But then I think for me, it's kind of this, it's like liberating myself. Me looking like this and really leaning into my maximalist, like just can't leave anything alone vibe is me saying. I know that I can guide my future and I don't have to present the way somebody else wants me to in order to have the career that I want. I can do it the way that I want. And it resonates with a lot of people. But it's kind of like my own assurance to myself. Like, be who you are and just don't listen to anyone. Speaker 1 (7:52) Yeah, I think that's great advice. I mean, I guess kind of on that note, what advice would you give to a young artist that maybe does worry about like... all the things you talked about, that being different is going to hold them back in some way, you know, success wise. But I feel like you are like a shining example of that, that that's not true. Speaker 2 (8:11) Yeah. You know, it's so hard. Cause I feel like all for all of us, our superpower would be if we could go back and know the things that we know now, you know, about ourselves, but how do you, how do you teach that to a kid? But the most amazing thing about. All of this for me become, I mean, let's be honest, whether you like me or not, if you've seen me, you know who I am and you remember me. And so because of that, I get so many letters. I meet so many people who have kids that are a little weird, very creative, very sensitive, very artistic. Like when I'm at the airport. I just said this earlier, but I'm Lady Gaga at the airport with little kids. They know who I am right away. They freak out. And their parents will talk to me about how it's so exciting and so important for them to see their kids seeing someone like me on TV who just fully leans into who I am because it shows them that you can be yourself and you can still be successful with it. So for me, honestly, I would try, and I do try so hard to tell kids that I know that it's really hard for them right now and that they're, you know, being different is kind of not what anybody wants, but they're going to learn that being different and being individual and doing the things that they do that make them happy are the things that are going to bring them happiness in their life and to just lean into their weirdness. Speaker 1 (9:29) Yeah. No, I love that. I mean, by the way, before I got on this call, I was talking with a friend and I told her who we were talking to. She's like, Brooklyn's going to be so excited. Her daughter is a huge fan. Is she nine? Speaker 2 (9:39) Is she nine? Speaker 1 (9:40) She's going to be seven. Okay, okay. Speaker 2 (9:43) It's usually like nine to twelve seems to be the sweet spot. Speaker 1 (9:46) Oh, interesting. You've got a target audience. Yeah, I do. Speaker 2 (9:49) That or like hilariously like really old. like old ladies love me. I mean, how can they not? Speaker 1 (9:57) And Speaker 2 (9:58) then it's funny because like I'm in middle America. Hilariously. I'm in, I'm in Iowa. And so it's so funny because I have the most like very opposite type of people come up to me and be like, my kid wants a picture with you. And I'm like, oh, thank God you're not going to punch me in the face. Speaker 1 (10:14) I mean, the name of your studio is Sugar Freak Show. Sugar Speaker 2 (10:19) Freak Show, yeah. It's Speaker 1 (10:20) right there, yeah. What, I mean, I guess it feels self-explanatory, but what was the inspiration behind the name and just the entire, like, persona? Speaker 2 (10:30) I mean, I really think that the truth is... I, my fantasy, my little daydream growing up all the time was someday I'm going to run away and I'm going to join the circus. I'm going to, I'm going to hop on a train and do like old hobo style with the stick and the, you know, the knapsack on the end of it and just see where it takes me. And then I realized I don't have any of the circus talents, Speaker 1 (10:51) abilities, except for being a bit of a clown. And so I think that like baking. had to be like my fallback. Speaker 2 (10:59) And then when I realized that baking can be art and you can create art that people can eat, it kind of just became, everything came together. So like, I mean, I'm literally the sugar freak show. That's who I am. Speaker 1 (11:12) Like through Speaker 2 (11:12) and through. Speaker 1 (11:13) What, I mean, when did it become that, like this fully realized, like just self-contained world, I guess. And more than just like the name of your business or the name of you. Speaker 2 (11:24) Yeah. I mean. It was really hard to stop me, honestly. I think I did Izzet Cake. You know, Izzet Cake was obviously the catalyst that like just blew my whole career up and everything like that. And on that show, that was, so I was at my biggest. I was really heavy. I have lost a ton of weight since then, but I was really heavy. And I was at this point where I was like trying to not lean into my eccentric fashion and style. purse on everything. And I was like, well, why, why do we