Sweet Evelyn’s owner makes second Food Network premiere in November

PERRY, Ga. — Sweet Evelyn’s is shaping up to be a sugary staple in Downtown Perry and the shop’s owner is making another splash on the national competition stage. Cory Jones recently announced on social media that he is a contestant on the upcoming season of Holiday Wars, premiering on Food Network Nov. 5.

Described by Jones as one of the top holiday food shows on the network, teams of three, including a baker, sugar artist and cake artist work together to create elaborate holiday displays, completely made of food. Jones will compete on team “Frost Bites,” composed of himself, Pege Yates, and Brian Valencia.

This year has a twist, where Jones’s specialty gave him the opportunity to shine.

“The baker is specifically a cookie maker that they have added to the competition. That’s new this year. So that’s where I fall in with my team,” Jones said.

Jones traveled to Park City, Utah this August for filming and said he had a fantastic time competing.

“It was a very good experience. I really liked my team, my teammates. We all worked really well together. I can’t really tell much about filming because it will give away how far I go in the competition and stuff like that. So, I have to kind of leave that open. But it was a good experience,” Jones said.

It was great experience, but also challenging, as he described.

“it was literally one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life. It’s just very intense. Like, the time on the clock is very real. It’s hard. That’s why it’s a competition. It’s supposed to be hard. And anybody that has seen those type of shows knows that a lot of what they ask of you seems impossible, but that’s why it’s a challenge and it’s a competition,” Jones said.

This isn’t Jones’ first time competing on Food Network, though. Last year, Jones represented middle Georgia on the Christmas Cookie Challenge. This year the team aspect is new to him, as well as the format on Holiday Wars.

“[It] starts with nine teams of three and for the first three episodes, only three of the nine teams compete. Those are qualifying rounds. So episode one will be three teams; episode two will be three teams; episode three would be … three teams competing and then the remaining six compete each week and are voted off one by one,” Jones explained.

Jones admitted he was nervous returning to the national stage, but wanted to make Perry proud.

“I was going in extremely nervous working with a team, especially with a team of people that you don’t know at all, that you’ve never worked with before,” Jones said. “Extremely nerve wracking, but just getting your head in the game and knowing what you’re there for and what your end goal is, you just have to make it work. I mean, [it’s] extremely nerve wracking, but to know I was representing our area, you just have to put all the nerves aside and just push through.”

The area has been unwavering in their support. Since the premiere of the Christmas Cookie Challenge, Jones has rebranded his business, Sweet Evelyn’s, as custom cookie art, as well as expanded his storefront under the same name to sell drop cookies and home decor. The entrepreneur said he has seen support from the community for both his business and excitement around the new competition, expecting business to pick up as the shop sees more exposure through the show.

“We anticipate, which already we’ve seen, a bit of an increase in foot traffic of people just curious. But as the show progresses, we do anticipate significant increase in business,” Jones said. “Being on the national level like this, it really makes a difference with the business. It brings in more foot traffic and it also brings people to Perry.”

Jones also said the support radiates towards many culinary creatives around the city.

“The community is always so supportive. Perry as a whole supports anything Perry all the time, which y’all know that with how Food Truck Fridays are. So just as excited as last time, maybe even more, but the community is always very supportive,” Jones said.

Jones is planning a smaller watch party at his house for the premiere, and may host more public watch parties depending on how far he makes it in the competition.

Holiday Wars is slated for a two-part season premiere on Nov. 5 at 9 p.m. on Food Network.

In the meantime, you can stay up to date on Jones and Sweet Evelyn’s by following @sweetevelyns on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok and @sweetevelynsperry on Instagram.

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