Yajmele

Maybe it’s just me and the fact that I’m not seeing it up close, but I actually liked the way Lizzie’s signature tart looked. I have to admit that she’s grown on me. It was really sweet of her to show Crystelle the balloon method for the dome, and then the, “you have to put it on your cake,” when Crystelle is thanking her. I like the concept of Lizzie’s showstopper, but a pity it didn’t work out. Crystelle’s signature and showstopper were beautiful I felt so bad for her on her mishap with the third dome. Finally getting it, only to have it stick to the graveyard of failed isomalt domes. What the heck did Chigs do to get his caramel that weird consistency on his first attempt during the showstopper? It looked like he was trying to use the immersion blender on some Nickelodeon Gak. When they were describing the technical, I was wondering why everyone was being so cagey about millionaire shortbreads. Then I realized they didn’t want to raise the ire of Mars, Inc. I’m kinda surprised that no one attempted a snow globe theme for their showstopper. But it seemed like one dome was enough of a challenge. The editing seemed to be heavily telegraphing George to go home, but they threw us a, “Not so fast!” with George’s amazing showstopper and Lizzie’s beautiful, but non-tasty showstopper. If I was the one in his shoes, I’d at least be happy that I redeemed myself after a bad showstopper and technical. That may have saved him in the earlier rounds, but everyone else is really good. Ever since someone put that bee vs. wasp argument between George and Amanda on Reddit last week, every time Jurgen talks, I keep wanting him to say, “That is a fly.” Matt and Noel are still kinda hit-or-miss for me. I did admittedly laugh at, “tell the bakers roughly how much time they have left.” Also laughed at Matt ducking down behind the counter, leaving his bald head in comparison by one of the isomalt domes.

Okay, the opening bit with the shoe/choux pastry was actually more reminiscent of the Mel/Sue of Sandi/Noel opening bits. I’m not mad at it. This is the first time I’ve ever heard of chouxnuts, and I now really want to try one. Or a dozen. I have never heard of hibiscus as a flavor. Has anyone had it before? What does it taste like? Crystelle is absolutely lovely. Her excitement from coming second in the technical was adorable. ”George’s sausage is rock hard.” They’re getting a little more risqué this episode. First we have Paul and Matt laughing like Beavis and Butthead as Prue is giving technique advice for filling chouxnuts. Then we have Matt misunderstanding Guiseppe’s pronunciation of the word “hassle.” Then we have that bit of narration about the sausage. I just realized that the oven doors are capable of recessing under the oven itself when one opens it. I’ve actually never seen one do that before. According to Giuseppe, his wife is a better baker. His dad’s a better cook. Does the man have a massive case of imposter syndrome or something? He’s so talented. I felt so bad for George when he got his showstopper out. He looked so distraught when he said he had a soggy bottom. Crystelle’s showstopper looked amazing. I was so happy for her that something she had such an emotional investment in got a handshake. I’ve never had Indian curry, but I wanted to try that pie. It’s good to see her get Star Baker finally. The call to her family was quite cute, too.

Why is she crowing so hard about this? With the numbers she put up at the state championship meet, it’s nothing impressive for a nearly 40 year old woman in her weight class. There is a literal 8-year old girl weightlifter that can not only out-lift her, but with far better form.

I believe Jurgen said in the premiere episode that his family was from the Black Forest, which came up because they were making Black Forest gateau for their signature. See, if this were American reality tv, they’d be setting this up to where Jurgen would crash and burn during German week, or that Giuseppe would have gone home during bread week, where 2/3 of the bakes were Italian. It’s why I’m often cynical of how things are edited, and I often find my oasis in this show in the desert of contrived crap. Speaking of contrived crap, can they please find something else for Matt & Noel to do? I mean, this would have been the week for Matt to sing The Flintstones theme in German (which I actually thought was funny for a change) or to show off his language skills. Instead we get an assortment of weird accents. I didn’t take anything bitter from Jurgen saying that he doesn’t usually eat chocolate cakes after the technical. I just thought that it was him saying that even though he’s German, he’s never had this cake or made one, and it’s not something that he’d seek out. I figure it’s like me being from the Southern U.S. saying that I’ve never made pecan pie, and I don’t like pecan pie because it’s often too insanely sugary, even for my sweet tooth. My sister-in-law, another lifelong southerner, was horrified at the thought of shrimp & grits when I mentioned it to her. To her, grits was strictly a breakfast food you have along with eggs, bacon, and toast. I might be the only one who saw or thought this because I’m an aging nerd. But when they were showing George’s showstopper, one of the angles made those bright green things on the top layer looked like eyes and a mouth. Immediately, I thought of the cake that you fight as a mini boss in Super Mario RPG on the Super Nintendo. I still don’t get the hubbub about Freya’s accent or affect. I did like the look of a lot of the stuff she did in her time on the show, but yeah, a raw dough showstopper is the kiss of death among a lot of successes. Giuseppe and Jurgen are still my faves.

Maybe that’s part of why I like him so much. Seeing him humming the tune as he tries to transcribe the melody (and having to do it as a mirror image, on top of that) really spoke to my former self as a musician and back when I was in school as a young music major. I was so glad to see him bounce back after a rough bread week. Oh, Maggie. I think she’s lovely, but she was just not right for this competition. Her mishap with the sticky toffee puddings reminded me of the first time I tried to make peanut butter cookies when I was 9. I misread the recipe on a crucial element. The recipe called for 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder. I put 1/4 cup. They looked disastrous, and holy lord, they tasted AWFUL. Chigs - He looks lovely when he smiles. And I don’t know whether it was just this episode, but his neutral had him looking constantly horrified or looking like he’s wondering what the hell is going on around him.

Vietnamese coffee is made with sweetened condensed milk. While I normally take only milk in hot coffee and drink iced coffee black, I am a fan of Vietnamese iced coffee with condensed milk, and order it whenever im at a Vietnamese restaurant. I never knew that was a thing. Some things seem gross and wrong when I first hear about it, but when I break it down, it makes sense. Someone on my Instagram expressed disgust at a cake recipe that requires mayonnaise. At first, that does sound gross, but I pointed out to this person that mayo is eggs, oil, and some kind of acid (usually vinegar), and how many recipes have those ingredients in them separately, and we think nothing of it?

Okay, I actually thought Matt & Noel‘s vocal was decent at the beginning of the episode with the Lord of the Dance bread spoof. However, they’re a one-step-forward, one-step-back duo. Whatever good will they had with the singing earlier evaporated with the prolonged tzatziki bit before the technical. Have they made focaccia in previous seasons as something they’ve been specifically tasked to make? Prue: “Milk in focaccia? Is that what your grandmother used to do?” Giuseppe: “No, not at all. My grandmother used to buy her bread, rather than making it.” Yep, still a big fan of Giuseppe. One of the few things he and I would never see eye-to-eye on is the love of olives. I’ve really tried, and I just can’t do it. Wow, it’s great of him to get a handshake, but it’s really the height of approval when Paul asks for the recipe. It feels like this week was tailored to him…but at the same time, they’ve had Indian bakers in past seasons struggle with challenges involving traditional Indian bakes like naan, roti, and samosas, so being Italian doesn’t mean he’s ingrained with the ability. I’m glad to see him get Star Baker this week. Okay, again, I’m from the U.S., so I’m not versed on nuance with accents of the U.K. I have no idea what people here on the forums are talking about with Freya’s accent or affect. She sounds normal to me. I like the idea of a fajita focaccia, given how much I enjoy Mexican food. I’d eat the hell out of that. Paul seems more keen on bagging on his colleagues this season. In the first episode, he made a comment to Prue about taking out her dentures, which earned him a smack on the arm from Prue. Then he made the vampire joke about Noel about how much garlic was on Rochica’s focaccia. Jurgen is human, after all. I admit, I had to look up what kippers are, as I’ve heard of them, but have never had them. Was that actually him that chucked the dough at Crystelle, or was it Noel? I absolutely adore Jurgen, but I’d have been murderous if I was on the receiving end of projectile dough balls hitting my hard work. Ages ago, I randomly had a video suggested on YouTube that showed how Tangzhong milk bread was made. Ever since then, I’ve wanted to try it. I’m actually surprised no one seemed to go for that, but I’m admittedly not up on all of the techniques of making milk bread. I think Kim-Joy used that technique in her season. I was horrified at first with hearing Lizzie talk about putting condensed milk in her coffee…but condensed milk is just sugar and milk. How many people add those two items to their coffee separately? Poor Rochica. I was hoping she’d go further, but this was a really bad week all around for her. When the judges are making jokes about every one of your bakes, and not in a good way, it’s a sure sign that you’re on your way out. Anyone know what next week’s theme is?

I had not considered this. It would explain it.

My first thought on a lot of these brandy snaps is that they remind me of cannolis, until I saw the ones that looked like cups. Freya’s and Chigs’s were the ones that on paper, I’d be chomping at the bit to try. I can see Freya’s being a little polarizing. Just in thinking about my husband and me in how we approach coffee. He can drink just straight black coffee, and loves strong coffee. Me, I prefer mine milder, and occasionally indulge in a flavored drink. So, Crystelle’s sisters are named Chantelle and Corelle. My sisters and I were named in a similar fashion (same first initial, similar last syllable). If it was anything like how I grew up, it was probably a mess when one parent was trying to call one of them. Matt (giving Juergen a handshake after trying his brandy snaps): “It means nothing from me.” Juergen: “It means a lot for me.” That was such a charming, humble exchange, which is saying something because I’m usually pretty cynical when it comes to reality TV. Juergen continues to grow as my favorite. And of course, the man has a science background. Giuseppe is a close 2nd favorite for me behind Juergen. I thought him calling Juergen “The Baking Terminator” after the technical was hilarious. I normally find Matt annoying, but I actually thought he was funny this episode. Jairzeno seems to be able to make some amazing flavors, but seems to struggle with the detail aspect. That being said, I thought that Maggie was going to be going this week. I’m glad she’s sticking around, though. Also glad they stopped making the jokes comparing her to Prue. Wasn’t that Juergen’s son that he called when he made the phone call to tell them he was Star Baker? I’m pretty sure his son’s name was Benjamin, but I was thrown off by Juergen calling himself by his own first name when talking to his son. Is there a cultural thing that I’m not aware of? So, it’s an interesting thing to learn that the contestants have a ‘practice tent.’ I was wondering how the contestants got to practice these bakes while isolated.

And we’re back. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: I hate the opening skits. I have no idea what the showrunners did to convince Paul and Prue to take part in that. I hope that this is as ridiculous as it gets. I’m American. I’ve never been to Europe. I’ve heard of the Black Forest, heard of Black Forest cake/gateaux, but have never seen anyone actually from there, on TV or otherwise. It just always sounded like a mythical place to me, like Shangri-La. I seem to be in the minority so far, but was actually impressed with Matt’s singing of The Flintstones theme in German. Maggie’s a good sport about the jokes about her resemblance to Prue. So far, I like her. She seems to have a lovely spirit. Maybe she just reminds me of my mom. I was very impressed with Freya’s and Crystelle’s flower work on their showstoppers. Those were so very beautiful to where they looked like real flowers. Jurgen and Giuseppe are my favorites right now. I love how precise Giuseppe is. Jurgen’s showstopper was a simple concept done very well. Jurgen’s intro bit actually bothered my inner band geek. Growing up, I played high brass, and I know what trombones look like, but I had never seen trombones that look like the ones he and his son were playing, with such a narrow, short bell. I looked it up, and it looks like what they’re playing is a predecessor of the modern trombone called a sackbut. Tom - I’m not sure why he signed up. He says he hates cutting things exact, and this is a show where the challenges often are all about precision. It’s like he had a very tenuous understanding of the brief for the showstopper.

I don’t have a lot of criticism for what the bakers were tested on this episode. I like Laura, but she should not have been in the final. She has shown time and time again that her execution is her weak point, and this episode was no exception. I think this would have been a more interesting final with Hermine. That being said, I was hoping that Peter won. I would have been happy with Dave winning, but I’m glad that Peter won. The biggest bit of cringe was Noel convincing contestants to kiss Mr. Spoon and the non-socially distant, non-masked finale crowd. Did they forget the pandemic was still a thing? The finale just turned into The Great British Superspreader.

I liked this show a lot better without so much of the contrivances. Did we need Mr. Spoon and Matt’s over-enunciated P’s? Decent signature challenge idea. While Hermine’s was a good concept to make them look like...candles (I guess) and they looked pretty, I figured part of the brief would have been that they could not be in a container, as they’re supposed to be canapé-sized. What a weird technical. I can’t imagine trying to eat something with a whole, intact lemon inside like that. The showstopper - I was wondering just how decorative jellies like that would actually taste, but the judges seemed pleased enough. Hermine’s was absolutely gorgeous. I had Peter down as the one to go until Marc’s showstopper was presented. I didn’t think it’d be that bad until they tried to cut through that made-of-brick dacquoise. It almost seemed like everything up to the showstopper was a wash.

I was very fascinated to see the steamed bun signature. I can’t say the technical was anything I’d go seeking out, like the chocolate babka, but it was interesting all the same. The showstopper, I felt was a bit of a cop-out. I think this could have been an amazing opportunity to have the bakers stretch themselves with something they didn’t have as much familiarity with. Instead we get “Kawaii cakes.” This challenge was the equivalent of traveling to somewhere like a resort area or a tourist trap out of the country. You’re excited to try some local cuisine near where you’re at, but you end up getting something seemingly generic made to sell to the tourists. Not the worst thing, but disappointing.

One of my biggest gripes from the later seasons of this show is the long, protracted opening skits. This episode, a little quip, and we’re afoot. I appreciate that. I’m surprised everyone managed to tank such a basic signature. I wonder if this was a kind of trick to see how many people would go over the top and screw up the basic characteristics. I was practically drooling over the chocolate babka. I’ve never had a babka before, but I’m about to go off to Google to look for recipes. Did anyone else catch the voiceover screw-up in the transition to the showstopper? “Just one challenge remains before the first star baker is crowned, and one baker will be asked to leave the tent.” I’m gonna guess the editors grabbed the wrong audio clip here. I don’t have much affection for white chocolate, so this challenge didn’t excite me so much. I thought Lottie’s geode cake was done well enough physically. I’ve seen my share of those where they end up looking too much like a...lady part. I felt so bad for Sura. I’ve never seen such a dense, raw sponge. It looked like someone mashed several layers down with a hydraulic press. Maybe I’m easy to please, but I thought Laura’s white chocolate work on the top of hers looked pretty cool. I figured that if Prue said she would buy Mark L’s cake, it would be a strong contender for star baker. All in all, this was a very “Eh” episode. Hoping for a better one next week.

Unfortunately, the 2nd place finish is legit. The meet results have her as a registered participant. However, just understand that this finish is just because of the number of participants in her more granular weight class and age category (87+ kg, Masters Women 35-39). If they didn’t have the age group categories, which a lot of small local meets don’t, she would have finished dead last out of the women in her weight class...just as she did in her own class. Her total was nearly half of the 1st place finisher in her category. She won 2nd by default. It doesn’t really mean much. I myself have a dinky little 1st place medal from my first weightlifting meet a couple years ago. However, it means about as much as Whit’s silver medal. I was the only one in my weight class at this very small meet, and more experienced lifters in a lower weight class lifted more than me. I knew that me being the only one in my weight class would be a possibility going into that meet, so my goals were different. At the minimum, I wanted to get a feel for the weightlifting competition environment and put up a total, but my bigger goal for that meet was to make all six of my lift attempts. Whit being a competitor in the N.C. state championships varies greatly from the Barbells for Boobs charity event she and Buddy did while they were training with Will. The competition is not the primary focus at Barbells for Boobs. It’s an event that raises awareness and fundraises for breast cancer. They paid their entry fee to participate rather than compete. Whit and Buddy did not meet the equipment weight and movement standards to actually compete, judging by the small amount of weight on their barbell and the kettlebell they were swinging that looked like a tennis ball with a two-hand handle. And you know what: that’s fine with me. Again, the focus for that event is on the charity and awareness. If I recall correctly, TLC didn’t edit that to make it look like Whit and Buddy won. Just that they made it through, and Whit shared a hug with Will. NC Weightlifting is a member of USA Weightlifting, which is a member of the International Weightlifting Federation. If there was some kind of fix with a sanctioned meet broadcast all over the world, I would imagine this would bring some questions from these governing bodies on the meet itself along with her home gym and coaches. How much would it be worth to tarnish multiple coaches’, a gym’s, a meet’s, and an entire international sport’s reputation to promote some D-list reality star?