The task seemed easy: make some cupcakes, decide which is best and film the whole process.

But at Bremen High School, just like on Food Network’s Cupcake Wars, the process required plenty of hard work and creativity.

Dozens of students in the Culinary and Communication Arts & Technology programs at the school in Midlothian practiced their parts before the big competition lasts month. Cooking students had done the competition in their class, but this was the first “cross-curricular” event. Other students have been participating in a Pizza Wars.

The winner of this event was a s’mores cupcake with a traditional red velvet cupcake a close second.

Students used described the holiday themes and flavors of their cupcakes and judges ate the treats to test them out. Judging was based on students’ design, creativity and skill.

“All of the students were really creative,” said Jessica Rucinski, an assistant principal who was one of the judges, noting the winning cupcakes were “perfect, delicious, very well constructed and also just tied in a lot of different elements.”

The other two judges were Superintendent Brad Sikora and athletic director Eric Washington.

The s’mores cupcake had chocolate and marshmallow frosting with mini-Hershey bars, and graham cracker crumbles and was inspired by the July 4 holiday. The red velvet was a reminder of Valentine’s Day.

“I think it was a great way for the TV production students to showcase what was happening in the baking class, but also a great opportunity for our TV production students to get hands-on experience,” said Rucinski

Oscar Serrano, a culinary student and junior on the winning team, already loved cooking when he started the class. His dad is a chef.

As head chef for his team, Oscar said he made sure they practiced enough and were prepared.

“We were like, ‘We’re going to win this!’ ” he said. “I felt like we messed up a lot, so we knew what to do.”

He also liked the camaraderie.

“We all worked together,” Oscar said. “We talked to each other way more that day. It even brought us closer to the TV production students.”

Malik Lindsey, a senior in the Communication Arts & Technology Class, agreed.

“What I learned from this experience is the importance of team work and communication when it comes to any aspect of production,” Malik said. “Seeing how important it is that you and your team are working in sync so that what the viewers see would be entertaining.”

For Malik, the hands-on experience and “being able to see all the behind the scenes action” also helped. He hopes to pursue a career in film and media production.

Michael Lynch, who teaches Communication Arts & Technology and led those students in broadcasting the competition, said the class spent plenty of time preparing.

“We analyzed a show from the Food Network and discussed how we would put our own twist during our production,” he said. “We then had a dry run in the baking class kitchen to work out any technical issues with the cameras. After that we analyzed the practice shots and created a shot sheet for each kitchen.”

Student also wrote a script for the film, then practiced all their studio roles and produced the show.

Lynch said he couldn’t be prouder.

“Each student in the class added to the success of this show,” he said. “This was the class’s first live-to-tape and studio production of the year and I was extremely proud of their effort and collaboration.

“The baking students did an amazing job not only baking but articulating their process during the interviews.”

Janice Neumann is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.