Temple's 'Baker Dave' to compete on Food Network's 'Christmas Cookie Challenge'

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) -- Baker Dave, a celebrity of sorts on the Temple University campus, is competing for a $10,000 prize in the Food Network's "Christmas Cookie Challenge."

George Strait isn't the only one who likes Christmas Cookies, and that's why the Food Network has weeks of cookie competitions ahead. Pastry chef Dave Okapaul, who's been cooking and baking on the Temple campus for 15 years, is in Monday's competition. He's sworn to secrecy on what happened, but he can tell us.

"The first challenge is cookies on a stick," Okapaul said.

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So did he ice the cookies, or did he use sprinkles?

"I think if you went into a competition like this and you decided to decorate a cookie with sprinkles, no one would stop you," Okapaul said. "I just don't think you'd get very far."

Well, so he won't spill the beans on the cookies, so how about the actual atmosphere?

"I had a blast," he said. "I met some amazing people, we're all friends still, it's a great experience."

If you want to see whether Okapaul won, tune in to the Food Network Monday night at 10 p.m..