'Halloween Wars' host Jonathan Bennett reveals they shoot a year in advance: 'We have to work around pumpkin season'

“Halloween Wars” airs its season finale on Sunday, Oct. 27, with a special visit from guest judge Caleb McLaughlin from “Stranger Things” — and host Jonathan Bennett says he’s been waiting almost a year for this.

Bennett revealed that the Food Network show shoots the season nearly a year in advance. “We have to work around pumpkin season,” he tells Yahoo Entertainment, explaining that pumpkins are only really ripe in the fall.

“We use massive pumpkins, but if you want to grow a massive pumpkin, you need time to grow them and it takes a while.”

Bennett also shared some behind-the-scenes information for viewers who might think it’s all sugar and pumpkin spice on set, revealing that the set often smells a little spooky.

“You want it to smell like your pumpkin spice basic girl latte,” he says. “It does not smell like that. It smells like burnt sugar and — you know when you have like, a pumpkin once you carve it and it’s kind of not refrigerated anymore and it starts to smell a little funky? Well, picture hundreds of pumpkins smelling a little funky.”

Still, Bennett says hosting “Halloween Wars” is the most fun job he’s ever had, and he even gets to learn on the job. He also shared a key pumpkin carving tip he says he learned watching the experts work:

“Take the pumpkin and don’t cut it from the top, cut it from the bottom, and pull all the guts out that way,” Bennett says. “So that way you keep the top nice and fresh and then when you set it down you put your candle on it and set the pumpkin on top of the candle, so you don’t burn your hand trying to put your hand down in the pumpkin.”

Thanks for the tip!

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