Mike Pettenato compares his appearance on “Cupcake Wars” to “The Hunger Games,” but it was still a dream come true, he said. 

“It’s really exciting,” said Pettenato, co-owner of Cloud 9 Cupcakes. “When we got into cupcakes three years ago, my dream was to be on the show.”

Customers always encouraged him to apply too, he said. 

On Sunday night, Pettenato gathered with about 50 friends and family members at Firebird sports bar in Dunwoody, to view his appearance on the Food Network show.

He lost to Cake That! owner Jess Bartlett from Manahawkin, NJ, who advanced to the final round. Bartlett lost to San Diego-based cupcake shop, Pure Cupcakes. The show was recorded in August.

As he watched the show, Pettenato said he could recall the excitement of the experience. “In your head, your heart is going [fast]. Everything is spinning out of control,” he said.

Still hyped, Pettenato said the bottom line is three out of four people were going to lose. “I’m way ahead from the experience. I went out with a bang. I did recipes that I would be proud of. I’m not going to go in there and be mediocre. I really wanted to wow them,” he said.

Pettenato co-owns Cloud 9 locations with his mother, Lorraine Evans and brother, TJ Pettenato, in Roswell and Buckhead. A new location in the food court area at Perimeter Mall, opens this week.

Get a sense of how customers feel about Cloud 9 Cupcakes in the attached video.