S10.E06: Dessert Week

[theatremouse]

2 minutes ago, rejnel said:

It's fine if "dessert" just means something that's not covered by the other episode categories--not biscuits, not bread, not pie, not cake, not patisserie. But when bakers say things like "I never make desserts," I find it very confusing. Are cakes and pies not desserts?

Normally I'd take it to mean something more along the lines of "fancy plated dessert". So not only "not these other things"but also something small and specific and individual sized. But since everything they made besides the technical was intended to be sliced...they didn't quite mean that either. If the bombes were individual sized though, that is a good example of what I'd think of as "desserts but not pies or cakes or cookies or patisserie".

[halopub]

2 hours ago, GaT said:

This is the first season to be broadcast in the US as it happens, so I'm wondering about how much say Netflix has in casting. US reality shows usually have a cast that leans toward young, I really hope they aren't going to start casting this show to appeal to US audiences. One of the things that makes this show great is that they don't do young & "types" casting.

I kind of doubt Love Productions is catering much to its high revenue US Netflix viewers - they might sub in "baking show" for "bake off" in the intros for legal reasons but as I've complained elsewhere, the show also stubbornly continues to use British-acceptable words like oriental in the US broadcast which have regionally awful connotations. 

On the other hand, I am convinced the producers have been influenced by their move from the BBC to Channel 4. The UK ratings haven't been quite as high and this is not the first Channel 4 season with stunt challenges. (That fire pit technical comes to mind.)

I think of it as the show developing Food Network-type qualities. Younger, overly animated yet telegenic faces, manipulated situations, convoluted challenges, etc. Bake Off has never been completely immune from this - like the time the show insisted Enwezor was awful for using store bought icing but not acknowledging his competitors did the exact same thing - but yes, in comparison to every other competitive reality show GBBO has been generally very good for the soul.

3 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

This season seems heavy on manufactured drama, with challenges that are too complicated for the talent they chose for the season and themes that are meant to stump the bakers rather than inspire. Booooo

This many times over.

4 hours ago, skipnjump said:

It's great that they are friendly, but casts in the past have been friendly and they had the skills. 

....

I'm also not a fan of Prue.  She doesn't give feedback very well.  With Priya, she needed to have offered alternatives for the blueberry color she thought was so awful.  Not just keep saying how awful it is.  And I'm not really a fan of her technical challenges.  I'll keep watching but then I'll go back and watch the past seasons....

My benchmark for casts that are both friendly and impressively skilled is usually UK season 5 (Netflix 1?). Even with bingate, I remember that group very fondly.

For all his hubris, Paul does offer technical explanations and tips. It's been awhile, but I seem to remember Sherry Yard finding a better balance of positivity and criticism than Prue on American Baking Show.

6 hours ago, Rickster said:

Maybe this belongs in the media thread, but I'm curious if UK press reviews been having the same reaction to the trend of the show since the move from the BBC.

I remember quoting a Guardian writer last year who expressed a lot of what forum posters are saying now. The difference now being that we're not even sure about the bakers' skills.

Quote

It hasn’t been my favourite series this year, mostly due to Channel 4 ramping up the tension with challenges that are too complex and don’t give our bakers enough time to do well. From the start we all agreed that this year’s batch of amateur bakers had real talent, and for me the joy of Bake Off is in seeing them succeed, and sitting on my sofa thinking “I could try making that”. Of course the odd mishap is always fun, but there’s very little enjoyment in seeing people become stressed, exhausted and crying because they have been set up to fail. And for the first time since I started watching the show, there really hasn’t been anything I’ve fancied trying at home. Bake Off is supposed to be a gentle, charming baking show, not a gruelling reality gameshow – please, Channel 4 and Love Productions, give us back the GBBO we’ve always loved next year.

Another Guardian writer dinged the show in his review of this specific episode and again, echoed many of our complaints here.

In US Media, AV club said

Quote

Unfortunately, the problems that have plagued season 10 are front and center yet again in “Dessert Week,” and the poor judging and producing for the season have managed to turn what should be a compelling and satisfying viewing experience into one that’s somehow both a complete muddle and utterly predictable.

and the LA Times last week:

Quote

Part of what has made “The Great British Baking Show” so special is that it lacked the kind of obvious manipulations and producer-staged drama common on American competition shows, but it has taken a gimmicky turn of late.

------

Worse, an egalitarian show that has showcased bakers from an array of religious, ethnic and class backgrounds seems to have gotten snobbier and more exclusive.

[hendersonrocks]

Quote

I can't shake the feeling that this group knows this show can lead to stardom, and are gunning for it.

I can see this for some of them, perhaps, but definitely not all - Rosie and Steph, in particular, seem to be realllllly not in it for the attention (and I think the same was true for Priya, too). Steph continues to seriously impress while also seeming to be totally uncomfortable with the praise she's getting.

Alice being a coffee addict is the least surprising personal tidbit of the week. 

Overall I might be finding this season a little less compelling than others but I still am enjoying the heck out of it - and still far more than just about any other reality show.

[J-Man]

On 10/3/2019 at 3:08 AM, bybrandy said:

What is the difference between pavlova and meringue cake?   

A pavlova is usually just a round flat meringue with a raised ring of meringue around the circumference and all filled with fruit.

3 hours ago, GaT said:

This is the first season to be broadcast in the US as it happens, so I'm wondering about how much say Netflix has in casting.

I was confused by the use of "as it happens." Obviously the show is not live (even in the UK), but I  assume you meant that it's being made available almost simultaneously with the British broadcast and not a full season at a time.

Now for my question: One of the bakers said the smell of something (framboise?) reminded her of "calpol." (That's what the closed captioning said.) Does anyone know what that is?

Also, closed captioning always refers to the baker as "Steph," but she was wearing a necklace with "Steffi" on it this week.

[janie jones]

2 hours ago, rejnel said:

Once again, I'm at a loss as to the British (or the show's) definition of "dessert." It's fine if "dessert" just means something that's not covered by the other episode categories--not biscuits, not bread, not pie, not cake, not patisserie. But when bakers say things like "I never make desserts," I find it very confusing. Are cakes and pies not desserts?

I can't answer your question, as I'm not British, but an English friend told me that the things they bake on the show tend to be things served for tea.  I'd always assumed it was for dessert, which is why I was often surprised when they'd make something savory when it wasn't an explicitly savory challenge.  What makes something tea-worthy vs. dessert-worthy is a question for a British person!

Edited October 5, 2019 by janie jones

[GaT]

2 hours ago, J-Man said:

I was confused by the use of "as it happens." Obviously the show is not live (even in the UK), but I  assume you meant that it's being made available almost simultaneously with the British broadcast and not a full season at a time.

Yes, that's what I meant, each episode is shown in the US just a few days after it's shown in the UK.

[Writing Wrongs]

6 hours ago, theatremouse said:

I was frustrated about David's judging because while my impulse is that all those spices in a meringue cake would be unpleasant, I think it's totally not for the reasons Prue and Paul were originally complaining. The spices he chose totally go together. They're in all sorts of stuff together all the time.

Yeah, I didn't understand their comment either. Those spices always seem to be together in stuff.

[Athena]

3 hours ago, J-Man said:

Now for my question: One of the bakers said the smell of something (framboise?) reminded her of "calpol." (That's what the closed captioning said.) Does anyone know what that is?

Also, closed captioning always refers to the baker as "Steph," but she was wearing a necklace with "Steffi" on it this week.

Calpol is a common children's medication.

Steph's instagram username is Stephiblackwell. 

[MisterGlass]

3 hours ago, Writing Wrongs said:

Yeah, I didn't understand their comment either. Those spices always seem to be together in stuff.

They do go well together when they are baked into a dish.  To me, the concern was that they were pressed into the top of the meringue instead of being mixed into something.  That could give someone a mouthful of spice, which I think would be grainy and, at least for the clove, overpowering.

[2727]

I was curious and counted the positive and negative comments by Paul and Prue during judging during the signature and showstopper rounds in the last episode.

• Prue: 23 positive | 15 negative
• Paul: 19 positive | 18 negative

For comparison, I looked at a random episode 6 from a season when Mary was there:

• Mary: 22 positive | 15 negative

[bybrandy]

6 hours ago, J-Man said:

A pavlova is usually just a round flat meringue with a raised ring of meringue around the circumference and all filled with fruit.

So by that definition have they ever actually made pavlovas on this show?

[dleighg]

14 hours ago, rejnel said:

But when bakers say things like "I never make desserts," I find it very confusing. Are cakes and pies not desserts?

yeah-- it does seem like "dessert" is just "not pastry, not cake, not cookies, not bread...." Is it "not much flour-centered stuff in it" ?

[Adiba]

9 hours ago, 2727 said:

I was curious and counted the positive and negative comments by Paul and Prue during judging during the signature and showstopper rounds in the last episode.

• Prue: 23 positive | 15 negative
• Paul: 19 positive | 18 negative

For comparison, I looked at a random episode 6 from a season when Mary was there:

• Mary: 22 positive | 15 negative

To me it really isn't so much about "positive or negative"--after all, they are there to judge--but as to whether the comments are constructive criticism or just snarky.

On another note: This season seems to be giving certain contestants a better edit (meaning more airtime to show their personality) , such as Henry, while we didn't even know Priya talked too much until the episode she was eliminated. I know it has happened before (Ruby Tandoh), but it appears a little more obvious now. YMMV

[Danny Franks]

23 hours ago, rejnel said:

Once again, I'm at a loss as to the British (or the show's) definition of "dessert." It's fine if "dessert" just means something that's not covered by the other episode categories--not biscuits, not bread, not pie, not cake, not patisserie. But when bakers say things like "I never make desserts," I find it very confusing. Are cakes and pies not desserts?

21 hours ago, janie jones said:

I can't answer your question, as I'm not British, but an English friend told me that the things they bake on the show tend to be things served for tea.  I'd always assumed it was for dessert, which is why I was often surprised when they'd make something savory when it wasn't an explicitly savory challenge.  What makes something tea-worthy vs. dessert-worthy is a question for a British person!

8 hours ago, dleighg said:

yeah-- it does seem like "dessert" is just "not pastry, not cake, not cookies, not bread...." Is it "not much flour-centered stuff in it" ?

I guess that any of those things can be a dessert. But you'd rarely find sponge cakes or fruit pies on the dessert menu of a restaurant. I guess they look at what they have specialist weeks for - pastry, cake, biscuit etc - and just decide whatever is left is for dessert week.

But generally, in the context of this show, I'd consider 'dessert' to be something involving meringue/mousse/ice cream/cheesecake and the like.

[ABay]

I concur with a poster above who mentioned the lack of older bakers as part of the off feeling this season. There's a lack of diversity in general compared to some previous series but I'm really feeling the lack of age diversity here.

[lovinbob]

Agree on the lack of senior bakers, and I also noticed a greater emphasis on the bakers' camaraderie--or maybe a greater separation between the bakers, and the judges and host. They show more of the bakers lounging between bakes, and more than once Noel and Sandi have commented that no one is listening to their announcements. The bakers don't seem to be as in awe of the experience as in previous seasons.

[magdalene]

The judging in this season baffles me.  I thought Priya had deserved to go the last two episodes but she was not deserving of the elimination in this particular episode.  I thought Henry was the one who should have gone in this one - and he knew it too and was visibly shocked when he didn't go.

I don't assume just yet that Steph will win this season.  I remember there was at least someone in the early seasons who won Star Baker three times but didn't go on to win it all.

This season doesn't have the diversity and mixing of young and older that I appreciated before.  It feels "foodnetworky" - and I don't mean that as a compliment.

[Ceindreadh]

On 10/5/2019 at 8:15 PM, rejnel said:

Once again, I'm at a loss as to the British (or the show's) definition of "dessert." It's fine if "dessert" just means something that's not covered by the other episode categories--not biscuits, not bread, not pie, not cake, not patisserie. But when bakers say things like "I never make desserts," I find it very confusing. Are cakes and pies not desserts?

21 hours ago, dleighg said:

yeah-- it does seem like "dessert" is just "not pastry, not cake, not cookies, not bread...." Is it "not much flour-centered stuff in it" ?

A dessert is usually the dish that you have after your main meal. 
Something that you’d probably eat with a fork and/or spoon.  
 

While a cake or a pie could be served as a dessert, they’re not specifically dessert items as they’d be often served on their own. 

[meep.meep]

Looking up the definition of a "plated dessert" which is what these were, I got:

A plated dessert is an arrangement of one or more components. ... All the components needed—including mousses, meringues, ice creams and sorbets, cookies, dough, cake layers, pastry cream, and dessert sauces—are used to make a presentation that is more than the sum of its parts.

[Ilovepie]

On 10/4/2019 at 4:49 PM, Athena said:

I prefer this season a smidge more than the last one because the challenges were more overwrought and while Rahul was a good baker, he looked perpetually stressed out.

I completely agree. I think this group as a whole is delightful. Watching Rahul was so depressing! I thought the casting last season was not as good. This season, I have not liked the last two themes, but I felt this week was a return to form. To be honest, I do not bake, so I can't really comment on the difficulty of the things that are being made. It all looks horribly difficult to me, but I thought this technical was weak compared to the Signature and Show Stopper challenges. Pudding, jam, a crumble and a cookie? Eh. I don't think Prue's as good at selecting technical challenges as Mary was, although Paul assigned freaking Hamburger Buns a few weeks ago, so maybe I am misremembering?  I do love Noel and Sandy.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that David will finally eke out a technical win and get his flavors to match the beauty of what he creates because I love the look of almost everything he makes. Either way, I still love this show.

[Tabbygirl521]

On 10/4/2019 at 11:53 AM, dleighg said:

I really wondered why Alice didn't think to wrap a warm, wet, dishtowel around her bombe to get it to unmold.

I kept begging her to, but she couldn’t hear me! 🙂

[Ellaria]

On 10/7/2019 at 5:15 PM, Ilovepie said:

I completely agree. I think this group as a whole is delightful. Watching Rahul was so depressing! I thought the casting last season was not as good...I do love Noel and Sandy.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that David will finally eke out a technical win and get his flavors to match the beauty of what he creates because I love the look of almost everything he makes. Either way, I still love this show.

I agree. I am enjoying this group more than last season. I didn’t strike me that there were fewer “older” bakers until I read the comments here. Overall, this is a pleasant group of people with great camaraderie. 

It would be nearly impossible for this show’s success not to impact how it moves forward. Of course the contestants are more self-aware. That was inevitable. The show isn’t created in a vacuum. It’s still far and away more entertaining than anything on the Food Network. 

Having said that, some of the themed challenges are a bit silly. I also agree that a few of the eliminations seem odd. Perhaps it’s because we aren’t getting the reasoning for the elimination. I don’t know what to make of it and prefer to watch the entire season before passing judgement.

Finally, David is talented. I’m hoping he gets a win soon, too. 

[Quilt Fairy]

On 10/8/2019 at 8:17 PM, Ellaria Sand said:

It would be nearly impossible for this show’s success not to impact how it moves forward. Of course the contestants are more self-aware. That was inevitable. The show isn’t created in a vacuum.

I remember an article or an interview Paul did around the beginning of season 7 (I think) where he said something like: "In the first season (which has never aired in the US and in which they actually moved the tent from place to place) we had a bunch of amateur home bakers.  In seasons 2 and 3, after the show became popular, the quality of contestants went up considerably so we started to up the difficulty of the challenges.  By season 5 (or 6) we realized that we'd gone a bit too far that way so we tried to dial it down a bit for this season so we were more relatable to home bakers. "

Of course, that was before the show moved over to a commercial channel. 

Edited October 10, 2019 by Quilt Fairy

[djlynch]

I managed to see the "least-laddy lads' club" clip and a still of Henry with his head on David's shoulder during the deliberations before

Spoiler

I saw the rumor about Henry and Alice dating, so I'd like to thank whoever came up with that rumor for the belly laugh.

(I know that Henry doesn't seem to have said anything explicit about his romantic preferences but he and his Twitter set off my gaydar like crazy.)

Edited October 16, 2019 by Athena
added spoiler tags

[Aleah L]

Here in America we eat a lot of different colored desserts. I was so confused when Prue didn’t like the color of Priyas ‘s Meringue cake. I thought it was gorgeous! 

[romantic idiot]

On 10/5/2019 at 9:59 PM, GaT said:

This is the first season to be broadcast in the US as it happens, so I'm wondering about how much say Netflix has in casting. US reality shows usually have a cast that leans toward young, I really hope they aren't going to start casting this show to appeal to US audiences. One of the things that makes this show great is that they don't do young & "types" casting.

Hmm. Netflix have defanged Black Mirror quite a lot so this could be possible. I do still support them because of Sense8 but some of their efforts to commercialize has been really, really frustrating. 

On 10/8/2019 at 1:15 AM, Ilovepie said:

I completely agree. I think this group as a whole is delightful. Watching Rahul was so depressing!

I actually quite enjoyed Rahul, he was humble and making fun of himself. I didn't think he looked depressed just that he was concentrating hard on something and focused. I definitely prefer that look to someone like Alice this year who is trying So! Hard! To! Smile! while being completely stressed out. Smiling though gritted teeth almost and I kept feeling sorry for her because sure that must have made things even more stressful.