From "Mean Girls" to Killer Cakes

Who is Jonathan Bennett? Ask any millennial, and they’ll tell you his hair looks sexy pushed back, that he made out with both Rachel McAdams and Lindsay Lohan and that he’ll never forget the date October 3rd. But the former Mean Girls actor—who played love interest Aaron Samuels in the 2004 classic teen film—is much more than a childhood heartthrob. Charming, confident and unabashedly genuine, Bennett has a face you can trust and a comforting grin. A talented actor, host and dancer—thanks to a turn on season 19 of Dancing with the Stars—it seems there’s nothing Bennett can’t do… except maybe drive in Los Angeles. During our interview with the alluring star, Bennett somehow turned the wrong way down a one-way street ("That’s what happens when you use your iPhone while driving," he quipped). Yet as horns honked in the background, Bennett stayed calm, narrating the experience with a riotous glee ("We’re going to do okay, guys! We’re going to be fine!"). No matter the challenge, Jonathan Bennett carries charisma and a good-natured attitude—perhaps that’s why Bennett was a natural as the host of Cake Wars and Cupcake Wars on the Food Network.

Currently, Bennett can be found every Sunday at 10 p.m. hosting the Food Network’s new show Cake Wars: Champs. The spinoff series takes champions of the original Cake Wars and pits them against each other in a vicious fight for dominance. With unusual weekly themes (including Marvel’s Avengers, Disney Princesses and Dr. Seuss), Cake Wars: Champs is an intense six week series filled with decadent, mouthwatering cakes and a knock-out fight for $10,000. As the new series continues to thrive on the Food Network, FINE Magazine spoke with Jonathan Bennett about his experience with Mean Girls fans, Cake Wars: Champs and his frustration with 2017 music.

You’re best-known for playing Aaron Samuels in Mean Girls. How often do fans quote Mean Girls to you?

Every day. Literally every single day for the past twelve years. I mean, there were a few days when I was sick and hadn’t left the house—[then] I didn’t hear it. But chances are, if I leave the house, someone says something.

Do you get it a lot on social media?

Look at my Instagram [bio] @jonathandbennett. I got [Mean Girls] references so much that I had to change my [bio] to "I get it, my hair looks sexy pushed back."

Currently, you’re the host of the Food Network’s Cake Wars and Cupcake Wars. How did you get that job?

After doing Dancing with the Stars, I realized that I really enjoyed doing the reality side [of the business] as well as acting. Cake Wars came along, and the [producers] wanted to know if I liked cake. I said, "Sure, it’s delicious." They called me up, so I went in and met with them. It just kind of came about… Fun fact, I’ve never made a cake in my life.

Really? You can’t bake at all?

Nada. I don’t bake, have never baked… But I’m really good at eating baked goods. My job is to make funny jokes and keep the show going. And my jokes aren’t even that funny. But for some reason, it works.

Do you have a favorite cake from the show?

One of the ingredients they had to put in their creations [on Cake Wars: Champs] was blue cheese, and I have to say, one of those cakes someone made is my favorite cake from the show. My favorite cake used to be the trail mix cake [a contestant] made for the Girl Scouts episode, but I think it just got beat out by the blue cheesecake because it was literally slap-yo-mama good.

Have you ever had a cake from the show that tastes awful? Do you pretend to like it?

No, because when there’s a weird ingredient like pickles or mustard in a cake, I usually just smile, and nod, and let the judges eat those.

What’s your favorite type of cake in general?

I like angel food cake. It’s so simple and just so good. I have a weird thing where I love store-bought angel food cake—you know, the kind that comes in circle shapes in a bag. There was a circle cake like that from my hometown, and I would just open the bag and rip off big chunks of it and eat it like a sponge. 

What can you tell me about Cake Wars: Champs, currently in the middle of its 6-episode run?

Cake Wars: Champs is like a new show entirely. It’s on Sunday nights at 10 p.m. [on the Food Network]. We’ve taken all of the champion bakers who have come [on Cake Wars] and won with these amazing cakes, and we’ve put the champs against each other. It’s the best of the best of the best competing… It’s the first time all of the previous champions have been together in one room, fighting to be the best. Because this is Cake Wars: Champs, just like in boxing, the gloves are off. No one is holding anything back; people are going

for it.

Finally, give me a pop culture plug: what’s on your iPod right now?

To be honest, I’d have to look at my iPod because I don’t know what the f*** I listen to. What do I listen to… The problem is I only listen to country and musicals, so I don’t have any cool s***. I’m not listening to anything [from] 2017. I recently looked at Spotify’s top fifty songs trending. Don’t know a single one—not a single artist or song. I’m listening, going "Who are these people and where did these kids come from? Who are all of these children, and why is none of this music?"

Oh, but I’m obsessed with Rachel Platten’s "Fight Song." I can’t stop playing it on my iPhone. It’s a little throwbacky, but I feel like that’s how 2017 is.

Anything else you want to add?

You know, I read the best quote. It was "I want to wake up every day and live it like Elle Woods after Warner told her she wasn’t smart enough for law school." That’s my pop culture quote. That’s how I’m going to live 2017. 

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