Andrew Fuller has never been interested in blending in. The winner of the first season of Is It Cake? has built his career on making people question reality, whether he’s creating a hyper-realistic cake, judging the work of fellow artists, delivering cakes in a hearse covered in green flames, or simply walking into a grocery store carrying a bag that looks like moldy bread. For Andrew, weird isn’t a gimmick; it’s an art form.
Now, after his Is It Cake? victory, Andrew is stepping up to the judges’ panel on season 16 of the Food Network series Halloween Wars alongside Shinmin Li and Jonathan Bennett, while also stepping into Sweet Deceit as a cake artist and pastry expert. On Sweet Deceit, teams of three compete to search for deceptive, hyper-realistic sweets hiding in plain sight in real-world locations. Hosted by actor Josh Peck, the series premieres Monday, October 5 on Food Network and streams the next day on HBO Max. The new roles give him a chance to look at illusion from the other side, but his philosophy remains the same: technical skill matters, but true artistry comes from imagination, individuality, and the willingness to get a little strange.
In our exclusive interview, Andrew gets candid about his evolution from contestant to judge, his lifelong love of horror and the macabre, the role of camp and queer expression in his work, his unforgettable encounter with Tim Burton, and why he believes embracing the qualities that once made you feel like an outsider can ultimately become your greatest creative freedom.
You became a household name after winning the inaugural season of Is It Cake? and now you’re on the other side of the table as a judge. What is it like to go from being the person sweating through the competition to the person actually deciding who survives it?
First of all, it’s really weird because it’s hard not being the Kelly Clarkson of Is It Cake? I can’t imagine what that’s like for other people, but that’s me. When I went into the show, I was nervous that I wouldn’t know how to be on the other side of things. There’s so much emotion involved as a contestant and a competitor. Going into it knowing that these people’s hearts are on the table and they think that their whole life depends on this experience, I was nervous about what it would feel like to have to give them tough critiques, but I slipped right into it.
I have to say, it took me maybe an episode being in this new world, especially with people who are really seasoned. Shinmin has been on it all 16 seasons, so I was nervous about what the dynamics would be. Plus, she’s very professional, and I’m very not professional but I think that we bounce off of each other really well, so it was really easy. Once I got over the emotions of how it feels for the competitors – sorry guys – it was pretty easy.
Having competed on Is It Cake?, does the experience make you a more empathetic judge, or do you find yourself thinking, “I know exactly what you’re doing, and I’m not falling for it”?
That’s a great approach to that question because I’ve not heard the flip side of that which is, “I know what you’re doing, and I’m not falling for it.” I definitely was able to sniff out any shenanigans because I think that people get really in their head about how they’re perceived and how we’re portraying ourselves on TV, and sometimes they’ll put that front and center when I’m there to see what their techniques are, and what their talent is, and what their skill is. So, while I was very compassionate and really felt an emotional connection to the people who were actually physically, authentically struggling throughout the competition, I also had a really good nose for the people who were creating drama for the sake of drama and camera time.
You’re joining, as you mentioned, Shinmin and Jonathan Bennett on Halloween Wars. What is the dynamic between the three of you on set?
It’s funny because it’s Jonathan Bennett. It’s the Mean Girls dream guy. I was terrified going into it with that experience. But before we even stepped foot on set, he made sure to come and say hi to me, talk to me, get some time with me and make me feel comfortable. The both of them welcomed me like I was a part of the family from the beginning, and I think that they realized pretty early on that I am Halloween 365. They were stepping into my territory a little bit when it came to that. But he’s such a supportive human being. Since the show has come out, he champions me everywhere he can. He always makes sure to say my name, and he’s just very vocal about the other people. He very much is one of those people that’s like, “If we’re not all shining, I’m not shining.” I love that about him because not everyone is that way.
What makes a Halloween cake truly great to you? Is it the technical execution, the concept, the creep factor, or just something magical that you just can’t believe what you’re looking at?
I think it’s a healthy combination of all of those things. First and foremost, I will say that obviously technical detail, the finer details and everything like that, is usually where I shine and that’s where those are the things that we really look for in a piece. But if I’m standing 10 feet away from a cake and it’s blowing my mind, the creativity, the imagination, and seeing something that I’ve not seen before in a piece, if that stands out, I’m way more forgiving of a perfect finished, beautifully executed cake. Because a lot of people can execute a perfect cake, but not everybody’s an artist.
You’ve got such a strong personal aesthetic. When you’re judging someone else’s work, how do you separate your own artistic taste from what makes a piece successful on its own terms?
It’s hard and, to be honest, I don’t know that I always do, and I don’t know that I really even have to. They brought me there as a judge for a reason. They know that I’m a very eccentric, creatively outspoken person. Now having said that, obviously it comes down to the talent and it comes down to what the team has put in front of me. I’m not afraid to push people, so if someone is staying too much within their box, and they feel like they have to stay within the confinements of what they think of as traditional Halloween, I’m totally going to be there to push them to be a little bit more extra with it and go over the top if they want to win.
You’re also stepping into the world of Sweet Deceit as an expert cake artist and pastry judge. What drew you to that project in particular?
I think that the number one thing that people always entertain with me when they meet me believe it or not, if you know who I am, when you see me you know it’s me. Everywhere I go, there’s always a dad standing by, ready to do his dad joke of pointing at something and asking, “Hey, is that cake?” It’s like the rest of my life is going to be, “Hey, is that a cake?”
I’ve run into multiple people who asked me, “What do I have to do to get on that show?” [Sweet Deceit] and I don’t think it’s necessarily even because it was wanting to be a judge on Is It Cake? It was everyone has this kind of Wonka kid in us, it’s like the golden ticket, having that experience of spotting the real thing that’s actually a cake. I think that life is so complicated and so crazy right now, and times are kind of dark sometimes, that really the only question we all are prepared to answer right now is “Is that a cake or is it not a cake?” This show being hyper-realistic cakes but in the real world, or in real world settings, is such a vibe that I think that a lot of people will be excited to be a part of and clamoring at the bit to compete on – because this time we’re not competing.
You’ve built your career around making people question what they’re seeing, like on Is It a Cake? What is it about the psychology of an illusion that fascinates you?
Don’t we all love to deceive the people around us? Social media in general is just deceiving people. It’s everyone pretending that their lives are beautiful and perfect, and they have no pores on their skin. I like taking reality and making it not real. I think that there’s just something magical about how it turns everyone into children, like Halloween. It’s a really the Halloween Wars and the Sweet Deceit of it all. It’s all about fantasy and creating these magical illusions for people to just step out of the real world for a minute.
Is there a particular kind of object that’s especially satisfying to recreate as a cake because people simply can’t believe it’s edible?
I love doing anything that’s organic in nature, like fruits, vegetables, produce, bread – anything that you could just walk out into the world or walk into a grocery store and find. Those are the most fun things to make because you get to put in the moldy spots or the dark spots or where things are a little bit wilted, and your creativity gets to really come through with that.
And then, my Achilles heel on that flip side of that, what I hate doing, is anything that’s plastic or electronic or has perfect straight lines. People are always like, “What can’t you do?” And I’m like, “Give me a computer tower.” I hate it. I don’t want to do something like that. Anything electronic or mass-produced is not fun to make. I love doing anything that’s organic in nature, or if you want me to make a book, I want it to be like an old book that’s tattered and torn and has rough edges, and those are the things that make it cool versus just being a cake of a book.
How much of your process begins with food, and how much begins with sculpture, painting, fashion, or traditional visual art?
It’s funny because I always tell people I’m an artist first and a baker second. Throughout my life, my home, my cake studio, my vehicle, my clothing, everything, I can’t leave anything alone without fiddling with it and doing something creative to it. Nothing comes out of the box in my life. It always has to be modified in some way. First and foremost, I’m an artist. However, growing up, my great-grandma, she kind of instilled the baking in me. It was like a comfort. It started off being like, okay, life is stressful. Creating is fun, but people don’t really always want to buy art. They like to look at art. They like to compliment art and tell you that it’s really beautiful. But if you can make art that’s edible and tastes amazing, then you’re in business – and what’s the point in making a cake if it’s not delightful? There’s a big stigma, especially with hyper-realistic cakes, that it’s not going to taste good, so I pride myself on crazy, good, unique, weird flavors, just like me.
At what point in your career did you realize that the bizarre, creepy, and unexpected weren’t just side interests but were actually your artistic language?
I’ve just always injected the weird into my life. I think that I’m from another planet or something because I always gravitate on accident to the things that are weird to everyone else. I’ve had pet cockroaches, I’ve had pet leeches. I have five hairless cats, and people think that they’re super creepy and terrifying, but I think they’re the cutest things in the world. Losing my dad when I was nine years old, I think I looked at death through a different lens. I learned how to find humor in the macabre. I just like inserting a little weird into everything because life is so boring. Everyone’s really into beige these days, and I’m really over that.
Your work sits at a really fun intersection of horror, camp, fashion, comedy, and pop culture. What do you think that these worlds have in common creatively?
It’s actually a lot of clash with all of them, but what ties them all together is your own creative expression. I think that fashion can be so serious. A cake can be so rigid. It’s a science. You have to measure everything. Everything has to be perfect. But all of those things, they all allow you to put yourself into what you’re doing, and no matter what it is, like I said, even the inside of my vehicle I have to get kooky with. I have a hearse with green flames painted on the side that I deliver cakes in. I just feel like everything in my world has to have a little bit of Willy Wonka to it.
There’s a long history of queer artists finding freedom in camp, theatricality, and horror. Do you see part of your work as part of that tradition?
I think I’m camp first. I think everything about me is campy. Even when I put on a suit, the tie has to be six feet long. I’m just a kook across the board. But I think it’s part of queer culture to be bold and to be brave, and I think that all stems from the fact that we spend so much of our life cosplaying what we think is right and what we think is normal and what we think are the societal norms and standards. And then we just explode into the world in this creative, fantastic way because we spent so much of our lives just like, “Okay, this is what I’m supposed to look like. This is how I’m supposed to act. This is how I’m supposed to talk. This is how I’m supposed to walk,” and we all just find this beauty in just really letting our creativity out of us. We can’t help ourselves.
What was your relationship with horror and the macabre growing up? Were you always the kid who gravitated towards the weirdness in the room?
Definitely. I was always outside looking for bugs. I still love bugs. I would always get excited finding bones when going on hikes and things like that. Obviously you can probably tell by looking at me and looking at my space that I’m a huge Tim Burton fan. I think a lot of that goes back to my dad passing away when I was young. I was nine years old, and that was right around the time that Beetlejuice came out, and that’s a movie that’s all about death being this ridiculous, absurd thing. I think embracing that in a humorous way and realizing and reminding people that we’re all here for a limited time, we’re not getting out of this alive so you might as well be ridiculous and have fun with it while you can has just been a thing that was instilled for me at that point. Losing him at that young age, it was really easy for me to lean into it.
You’ve also talked about embracing the qualities that once made you feel like an outsider. When did “different” stop feeling like something you needed to hide and to start living your truth?
It’s funny because it’s a thing that I played around with a lot. If you look at me in middle school, I was a wallflower. I was terrified. I wouldn’t talk to people. My life’s mission was for nobody to know who I was or even know that I was in the room. And then I got into high school and I was like, I’m a weirdo. I’m just going to embrace my weirdo and find my fellow weirdos.” I would dye my hair to match my shoes. I had piercings. I was a weirdo way back in the day and then it kind of got knocked out of me, again because of society, standards, job, working for corporations.
I live in Des Moines, Iowa, which is like the insurance capital of the world. I don’t fit in here. You have to kind of conform to the societal norms. Especially now, it’s my way of reaffirming for myself that I know that I control my future and I control my path forward. Leaning into my eccentricities and the things that make me weird makes me actually feel more comfortable in society than when I was pretending to be normal like everybody else. Now I just get to be who I am and people are like, “There’s that weird guy from TV.” It’s great.
What does camp allow you to do creatively that a more conventional aesthetic doesn’t?
I think everything in life should be looked at outside of the box. If you’re looking to somebody else and looking to the conventions of everything, you’re going to get stuck. Camp in general is just leaning into the fact that nothing is serious. And so, if you can take things in a non-serious way but still be strict with your art and your craft and know that you’re good at what you do, then it gives you a boldness and a confidence that others don’t have, and then you’re willing to make mistakes and not even really view them as mistakes. You can try, you can totally screw up, and then you can learn from what you screwed up and then do something even cooler the next time.
What has staying in Iowa given you creatively that you might not have found if you had moved to one of the bigger cities, like a New York or an LA?
I think it’s really instilled in me that I can be as bold and present my expression and my creativity as much as I want and not have any fear. Because if you can do that in Des Moines, Iowa…I will literally go to the grocery store carrying a bag that looks like a loaf of moldy bread and wearing a necktie that looks like a burger and French fries. I’m always this way. I don’t leave the house without being completely over the top, and that’s not easy to do in Iowa. The political climate everywhere is awful right now but particularly in Iowa, it’s rough. It’s gone back and forth. We were actually the third state in the country to legalize same-sex marriage, and then it went completely the other direction. In fact, so many people are shocked when they find that out about Iowa. And so, I feel like it’s important, first of all, to show queer people in Iowa, to show weirdos in Iowa that you can be queer, you can be weird, and people just have to deal with it. And in places like New York and LA, that kind of expression is everywhere you go, which is a beautiful thing, and that’s my favorite thing about going to those places. But if I can do it here, I don’t care about anything anywhere.
You’ve worked with Tim Burton, and you’ve worked with the cast of Wednesday and Kristin Chenoweth. Was there a particular collaboration where you found yourself thinking, “How is this my life?”
You just said it. Tim Burton, hands down. You know that question that everybody asks in an interview, “If you could have dinner with three people, who would it be?” Tim Burton was literally always on that list. It was always Pee-wee Herman, Cyndi Lauper, Tim Burton. It was never Jesus or Muhammad, it was always these societal weirdos. [Tim Burton] shaped so much of my creative direction. He shaped so much of the things that I’m interested in and how to approach life and how to just make your perspective just a little bit wonkier than the person right next to you. And so, standing in a room with him, holding a microphone and asking him questions, and being like, “Find the cake,” was one of those “What is my life?” moments.
What advice would you give someone who knows they’re different but hasn’t yet figured out how to turn that difference into confidence?
It’s so tough, because don’t we all feel like the secret of life would be to be able to go back and do it all over again knowing the things that we know now? It’s so hard to believe when people tell you that it’s going to get better, when people tell you that the things that make you unique now are the things that are going to make you who you are later. You can say that until you’re blue in the face to a kid that’s struggling, especially a kid that’s maybe in an area like Des Moines, Iowa, where there are not as many queer kids around them, not as many weird, outwardly expressive kids out there. It’s hard for them to believe those kinds of things.
I think that the most important thing that I would say to a kid, and that I do say to kids, because I hear from them all the time, is that they just need to believe in who they are and as long as they stay true to that person, no matter who that person is, as long as they stay true to who they are, the right people in their lives will gravitate towards them because authenticity is what we’re all craving and what we all want. And I don’t care who you are, I don’t care if we completely differ on everything, as long as you who you are. The only thing I can’t handle in life is a fake person.
After everything you’ve accomplished, what still scares you creatively?
Being afraid to fail, I think. I just put myself out there as much as I can and not being afraid to try all the things. I don’t want to be boxed into anything. I don’t want to just be Andrew Fuller, the guy that won Is It Cake? I want to put myself out there in every single way that I can. I want to influence as many people as I can. I want to use my platform in ways that will benefit generations to come after me – not to have any delusions of grandeur or anything like that. But I think that being afraid to take those leaps and put myself in rooms that I don’t feel like I belong in would be a tragedy.
Check out Season 16 of Halloween Wars Sundays at 9/8c on Food Network and the premiere of Sweet Deceit on Monday, October 5 at 10|9 on Food Network. Both shows stream the next day on HBO Max. Follow Andrew on Instagram and TikTok.
