S10.E10: The Final

[Ceindreadh]

2 hours ago, chaifan said:

Since the bakers are in no way sequestered - we've seen them on the phone with family after they win star bakers - I am not necessarily assuming that production told Alice about her parents' flight.  Her parents could have called/texted her just as easily.  But, at the same time, if production was notified first, yeah, in this era of Bake Off I could easily see them telling her just for the drama.  And, in the days of Mel & Sue, they would have made sure to ruin all the shots of Alice crying so they couldn't be used.  I miss that.

Sandi’s voiceover said that Alice had gotten some distressing news and we saw her on the phone to her parents.  While I agree it’s possible that Alice was told by production and then they made sure to have cameras on her when she phoned her parents. I think that it’s much more likely that the parents phoned to wish her well and told her then. 
 

Personally I would have just lied and said they were heading to the airport and not mention there might be a delay. Better to have the disappointment after the competition is over. 

[Clanstarling]

4 hours ago, peeayebee said:

I had to make notes early on. For instance, Alice was "earrings" and Steph was "eyeliner."

If I did that, I still wouldn't remember the names - it would just be "Eyeliner got star baker again!"  (Actually, for me it would have been "ponytail" and "bangs.")

[PaulaO]

David was introduced on the first episode as being a public health worker.  It wasn’t specific to nursing though.  I did get the impression from the finale interview with Steph’s mom that the previous year had been emotionally tough for Steph.

[bugsmum]

David is a deserving winner.  Alice or Steph would have been deserving winners, too.   I'm puzzled by this "David was an underdog" notion I've seen; surely I'm far from the only person who called a David/Steph/Alice final weeks ago.   Usually I have a favorite going into the final but this time I would have been equally happy to see any of them win.  

Steph is a great baker and seeing her struggle all weekend was terrible.   

Edited November 2, 2019 by bugsmum
grammar

[hendersonrocks]

Quote

David earned that win.  Loved all three of them, but that young man brought his "A" game to the tent for the final.

He really did. I enjoyed seeing him do SO exceedingly well, as it made the final few minutes a lot less stressful for me as a viewer. It felt like one of the most clear cut final decisions of the entire series, honestly. 

[Athena]

20 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I did find it interesting that Rosie hadn't visited or been visited by any other contestants considering how far in filming she lasted.

Rosie lives in rural, small town Somerset while a couple of contestants live up north or in central urban areas; it's not surprising that she doesn't have the time to meet up with them given her job.  

6 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Except for Alice, who I remember seeing in a classroom as a teacher, I don't recall any of the previous "at home" bits for any of the bakers.  

They show a lot of these in the first episode. They reused David's nursing footage. We were also shown Steph working at her two jobs. One for a sports store and one for her mum's car business.

[Clanstarling]

2 hours ago, bugsmum said:

David is a deserving winner.  Alice or Steph would have been deserving winners, too.   I'm puzzled by this "David was an underdog" notion I've seen; surely I'm far from the only person who called a David/Steph/Alice final weeks ago.   Usually I have a favorite going into the final but this time I would have been equally happy to see any of them win.  

Steph is a great baker and seeing her struggle all weekend was terrible.   

I guess the "underdog" notion is based on the fact he was never a star baker. I think he's the first to win who wasn't star baker at least once. But he's always seemed pretty good to me. Like you, I would have been happy with any of the three.

[Wicked]

My heart broke watching Steph struggle, it was her's to win and she lost it.  I do think  David deserved to win, but if Steph hadn't had a bad day, it would have been her.

[WatchrTina]

3 hours ago, bugsmum said:

I'm puzzled by this "David was an underdog" notion I've seen

I think that just reflects the fact that while he was in the running for Star Baker many times, he never actually won it.  This time the saying "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride" was disproven.

Edited November 3, 2019 by WatchrTina

[meep.meep]

8 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

If I did that, I still wouldn't remember the names - it would just be "Eyeliner got star baker again!"  (Actually, for me it would have been "ponytail" and "bangs.")

Not "Fringe" ?

I assume the people upset by David's win are the same ones who made Rosie's life hell when Henry went home.

[Clanstarling]

9 hours ago, meep.meep said:

18 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

If I did that, I still wouldn't remember the names - it would just be "Eyeliner got star baker again!"  (Actually, for me it would have been "ponytail" and "bangs.")

Not "Fringe" ?

I assume the people upset by David's win are the same ones who made Rosie's life hell when Henry went home.

LOL. Nope, they're bangs to me. I don't say ginger either, though I do use other Britishisms. For some reason, these two stick with my original programming.

[magdalene]

Steph's struggle and stress was actually more upsetting for me than Rahul's constant fretting and insecurity ever was.  Because it had become very clear early on to me that despite Rahul's "the sky is falling" fretting he produced excellent bakes nevertheless.  But Steph had seemed so calm and unruffled while winning star baker so many times that when she had a bad day at the  worst moment and she knew that winning was out of the question so unexpectedly and suddenly - that was stressful for me as a viewer to watch. Heck, even Paul of all people was upset for her and tried to comfort her.

As for David - if that is your strategy for winning it is a good one.  Be competent throughout, manage to not get eliminated when you are having a bad episode. Don't lose your head when things get hard. Being a nurse probably helped him manage stress in the tent.  You can't fall apart taking care of patients.  And I know David didn't have a "strategy" per se - too many things are out of your control while in the tent.

[Adiba]

One thing I’ll say about Steph and her disaster of a final— her Black Forest chocolate cake would be the first one I’d go to out of the three if it were on a dessert table! It looked delicious (even though the judges called it ‘70s— who cares? Good is good no matter what era). 

Although I do have to admit that chocolate cake is my weakness and I’d probably try all three. 

[Konaque]

Very underwhelming and disappointing season. None of these contestants were great bakers. There wasn't one recipe I looked up because I thought it was amazing.  No cookbook coming out of this season!

[Rinaldo]

3 hours ago, Adiba said:

even though the judges called it ‘70s— who cares?

This seems to be something of a UK tic; when Black Forest Cake came up in a previous competition, there was much mention and merriment about how it was a dated old-fashioned sort of thing to ask them to make. I don't think it's had quite the same history in the US.

3 hours ago, Adiba said:

Although I do have to admit that chocolate cake is my weakness and I’d probably try all three. 

I love chocolate cake too, but I'd prefer it not taste of fruit (I like fruit just fine, but on its own, not inserted into chocolate anything). So I wouldn't have liked any of the three too much.

[ABay]

Congratulations to David. I never warmed up to him and rarely, if ever, wanted to eat anything he baked but he was the best baker in the tent on that particular weekend.

[lilwhitelion]

Many times we've seen Paul ask a pointed question about a technique, but not provide an answer when the baker is puzzled. This time, he very obviously let Alice know that whisking with a wooden spoon was not what she should be doing.  

[Rinaldo]

9 minutes ago, lilwhitelion said:

This time, he very obviously let Alice know that whisking with a wooden spoon was not what she should be doing.  

Yes, I was surprised he did that too. But it wasn't whisking, was it? It was folding... which in the UK Must Be Done With A Big Metal Spoon. I still don't see why a silicone* spatula wouldn't do the job better, but no doubt Paul stands ready to tell me.

(*As opposed to rubber, which I concede might retain specks of fat after washing.)

[Quilt Fairy]

Slightly off-topic for this thread, but I wanted to mention that US viewers are going to get a holiday episode this Friday, although I don't know when it was filmed.  

[magdalene]

Also off topic - does anybody know whether we will get the cancer charity specials in the US?

[Irlandesa]

7 hours ago, Adiba said:

Although I do have to admit that chocolate cake is my weakness and I’d probably try all three. 

I don't drink alcohol in the traditional way (as a drink/mixed drink) but I love it in desserts like baked goods and boozy milkshakes.  And I admit to liking it strong in desserts so every time a judge on one of these shows says something is too boozy, I immediately want to try it. 

So even though I love black forest cake (and Steph's looked good) David's is the one that had me intrigued.  Not for the plums but for the "too much alcohol."

[Cherpumple]

I'm happy with the finale, but feel terrible for Steph. It was really a snowball effect of disasters for her.

Speaking of the contestants' clothes, it never fails to annoy me that the production team doesn't give the final three fresh clean aprons for the awards ceremony/party. I feel bad that they look so filthy for the official winner's moment, and am grossed out seeing them hugging so many people while being covered in all manner of stickiness, from frosting to raw eggs to bacon grease. Yuck!

[Johnny Dollar]

Complaining that Black Forest cake is somehow a relic from the 1970’s is quite laughable when you consider some of the bakes they’re tasked with date back to Queen Victoria. 

[Clanstarling]

34 minutes ago, Johnny Dollar said:

Complaining that Black Forest cake is somehow a relic from the 1970’s is quite laughable when you consider some of the bakes they’re tasked with date back to Queen Victoria. 

I know, right? Some of those Victorian things seem awful to me. The 70's has a lot to answer for food wise (though really, it's more the 50's and 60s that give me the shudders), but cakes, not so much (as I remember).

[Rinaldo]

There's not a thing wrong with a Black Forest Cake other than it was so popular for a while that it kind of wore out its welcome (in the UK at least) for a bit, and went out of rotation for a while until it could be seen with fresh eyes. Sort of like skateboards or Rubik's cubes, that were so popular initially that people ultimately OD'd, and they went away but then had a comeback.

[springbarb]

On 11/2/2019 at 5:11 PM, bugsmum said:

David is a deserving winner.  Alice or Steph would have been deserving winners, too.   I'm puzzled by this "David was an underdog" notion I've seen; surely I'm far from the only person who called a David/Steph/Alice final weeks ago.   Usually I have a favorite going into the final but this time I would have been equally happy to see any of them win. 

Agreed. I got annoyed with him calling himself the underdog a few times; he's consistently done very well, and was rarely (maybe once?) in danger of being sent home. All three were strong bakers; Steph probably had the best chance of winning going in, but none of three would've been a shock.

[Danny Franks]

12 hours ago, Johnny Dollar said:

Complaining that Black Forest cake is somehow a relic from the 1970’s is quite laughable when you consider some of the bakes they’re tasked with date back to Queen Victoria. 

It's not that it's dated so much as it's dated to the 1970s, a decade of almost noxious uncool, in Britain. The hangover from the 1960s took full effect in fashion, culture, economics, politics, industry. 

1970s food, in particular, is looked down on as tacky and a combination of cheap ingredients and chintzy presentation. It's seen as the decade that introduced convenient, pre-packaged food in a big way. I'm sure that, nearly every time Prue or Paul make comment on something looking dated, they'll say it looks like it was from the 70s, or possibly the early 80s.

It may be different in other countries, but here are some examples of the sort of thing you might find at a dinner party in Britain in the 1970s.

5 hours ago, springbarb said:

Agreed. I got annoyed with him calling himself the underdog a few times; he's consistently done very well, and was rarely (maybe once?) in danger of being sent home. All three were strong bakers; Steph probably had the best chance of winning going in, but none of three would've been a shock.

Yeah, that bugged me too. How could one of the most consistent bakers, who looked like a shoe-in for the final from about week two onwards, and always produced bakes that at least looked great, be an underdog? Just because he hadn't won star baker? He was the second best baker more than once, and in a final of three people, that doesn't sound like an underdog to me.

It felt like the producers were trying to create a narrative for his win that wasn't really there. But I guess 'consistent baker retains his consistency when the favourite stumbles' isn't a great story.

Edited November 5, 2019 by Danny Franks

[rab01]

This most recent season has made me realize that all those times when Mel and Sue ruined takes where bakers were breaking down must have really angered the producers.  I think the producers don't believe that Mel and Sue's attitude helped make GBBO special but believe instead that they were interfering with telling compelling stories - witness this Final focusing more on Alice crying over her parents not making it and on Steph crying than on David having his best day in the tent.  It's really hard for us to celebrate with the bakers when all we're shown is them being unhappy.

Overall, this season wasn't terrible but the magic is gone.  It's now just an above-average reality show.  Maybe/hopefully next time they'll return to bakers of varied ages and appearances and a focus on their successes, rather than their failures. 

Watching people staring maniacally at ovens is fun when everyone recognizes that there are no real stakes - "it's just cake" - and not so much fun when we are repeatedly told and shown tons about the pressure they're under.  Let them have a cup of tea and chat while their dough is proving, rather than filling the time with making dipping sauces. 

[janie jones]

I'm glad David won.  The other two are good bakers, but I'm not into their personalities.

I, too, liked that Paul gave Steph a hug, but I also thought it was sweet the way Noel was calming her down while she was baking.

On 11/3/2019 at 3:43 PM, Rinaldo said:

Yes, I was surprised he did that too. But it wasn't whisking, was it? It was folding... which in the UK Must Be Done With A Big Metal Spoon. I still don't see why a silicone* spatula wouldn't do the job better, but no doubt Paul stands ready to tell me.

(*As opposed to rubber, which I concede might retain specks of fat after washing.)

I thought a spatula was what she told him she was going to go get?

[Margo Leadbetter]

What makes the diss on the Black Forest cake even more baffling is that it was the theme for the first signature in Nadiya’s season. Not in the “let’s throw it back to the 70s” sense, but as “let’s see your take on a perennial favorite.” And I think almost every season has had a least one baker doing a variation of same, without any snide comments from the judges, who are, once again, consistent only in their inconsistency.

Based on most of the comments I’ve seen, most people consider David a worthy winner and indeed, he was. If anything, they may have thought he’d once again, put out beautiful bakes that fell just short of the mark. But Steph picked a bad day to have a bad day and even though he and Alice were close, he was just a smidge better this time.

I was thinking about how calm he always was and it struck me how similar in personality he was to S8’s Sophie. It actually makes a lot of sense that they’d both be fairly unruffleable (if that’s not a word it should be) given their backgrounds, David as a nurse in some pretty rough situations and Sophie in the military, where neither can afford to lose their cool. It’s a trait that translated well to Bake-Off.

[dgpolo]

29 minutes ago, Margo Leadbetter said:

What makes the diss on the Black Forest cake even more baffling is that it was the theme for the first signature in Nadiya’s season. Not in the “let’s throw it back to the 70s” sense, but as “let’s see your take on a perennial favorite.” And I think almost every season has had a least one baker doing a variation of same, without any snide comments from the judges, who are, once again, consistent only in their inconsistency.

I think the problem may have been the 'your take' part. Instead of making this her signature cake with some kind of variation, she did a pretty tame and pretty 70s decoration. She should have changed that up, I think it looked pretty 'traditional' and not really worthy of a signature in the final.

[Irlandesa]

6 hours ago, springbarb said:

Agreed. I got annoyed with him calling himself the underdog a few times; he's consistently done very well, and was rarely (maybe once?) in danger of being sent home. All three were strong bakers; Steph probably had the best chance of winning going in, but none of three would've been a shock.

He wasn't an underdog in the competition as a whole but I don't have any problem calling him an underdog in the finale.  He was going up against someone who won Best Baker twice and another who won it four times.  Plus, he had never won Best Baker and, if/when he won, he'd be the first.

[3 is enough]

I love Black Forest Cake.  In the early 80's Baskin Robbins had a Black Forest Cake ice cream that was the best ice cream I ever tasted.  I have been looking for it in vain for the past 35 years.  

Why the snide remarks about Black Forest Cake?  Every season someone does a variation of a Bakewell Tart or a Victoria Sponge and I don't recall any sneering.  

Classics are classic for a reason.  People love them.

[Quilt Fairy]

Didn't the "Maids of Honor" technical date back to Henry VIII? 

[MisterGlass]

5 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

It may be different in other countries, but here are some examples of the sort of thing you might find at a dinner party in Britain in the 1970s.

The horror.  The U.S. had equally disgusting dishes, but I associate them more with the 1950s and 1960s.  That's the era that produced my family's Jell-O and Campbell Soup brand cookbooks.

[Ceindreadh]

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/nov/06/bake-off-winner-david-atherton-i-enjoy-the-buns-innuendos?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Interview with David. 
Interesting that both he and Alice were reserves for the show and only got called up because somebody dropped out 

[Rinaldo]

That's a great article, and a good reminder that there's always more going on in a person's life than we can know from casual sporadic contact. I love the detail of Henry (after being eliminated) practicing one of David's bakes for him and providing a detailed report.

[buttercupia]

Very underwhelming season. I hope love productions can see that something is amiss and they fix it. I liked Rosie and Steph but there was nothing I would really want to bake all season.

[hendersonrocks]

Quote

All three were strong bakers; Steph probably had the best chance of winning going in, but none of three would've been a shock.

Even though Alice was star baker leading up to the final, I think I would have been shocked had she won. She never seemed great to me the same way Steph and David (despite never actually winning star baker) did - she seemed steady and solid, but without the real flashes of brilliance I saw in the other two along the way.

David's little fruit tarts with the roaring 20s lady cookies remain the single best thing I saw all season. 

[Ilovepie]

I am so glad David won! I thought his Showstopper was fantastic, but I really thought Alice would take it bc of the combo of signature/showstopper. It’s kind of amazing that someone who never won star baker won the whole thing, and also, it really seems like he doesn’t like “sweet” flavors, which is strange for a baking competition. I really loved his measured precision and calm presence all season, and that gorgeous face doesn’t hurt either - sexy nurse indeed! It was hard watching Steph flame out, but she isn’t the first front runner to have this happen. It kind of reminded me of Stephen/Sophie from a couple seasons ago - he was so strong all season and then had a bad final. Same here.

Overall I enjoyed this season, mostly because of the bakers. What a lovely group this year! I love the round up at the end showing them meeting up with each other. It’s become one of my favorite things on this show. My favorite this time was Helena and Henry in the bat masks 😊

[snarktini]

On 11/4/2019 at 4:45 PM, janie jones said:

I thought a spatula was what she told him she was going to go get?

That's what I heard.

On 11/4/2019 at 4:55 PM, Margo Leadbetter said:

I was thinking about how calm he always was and it struck me how similar in personality he was to S8’s Sophie. It actually makes a lot of sense that they’d both be fairly unruffleable (if that’s not a word it should be) given their backgrounds, David as a nurse in some pretty rough situations and Sophie in the military, where neither can afford to lose their cool. It’s a trait that translated well to Bake-Off.

Totally this. I'd say it goes for Alice partly as well, despite her tears over the parents' delay. She teaches and you do have to keep yourself together in front of a class.

Her reaction to the parental thing sounded a bit off to me, though. She said something like "this is the worst thing that could happen" and I was like...really? 

On 11/6/2019 at 6:20 AM, Ceindreadh said:

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/nov/06/bake-off-winner-david-atherton-i-enjoy-the-buns-innuendos?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Interview with David. 
Interesting that both he and Alice were reserves for the show and only got called up because somebody dropped out 

This was a fascinating read. What an interesting person and career!

His final work was outstanding. I found him smug in the beginning but much more charming as the season wore on. He has a habit of pursing his lips which was creating the smug factor for me and once I realized that was just his composed face I could enjoy his personality.

[CalicoKitty]

I really enjoy this show, but I'm finding Sandy and Noel so annoying that I may not watch in the future.  Their stupid antics take away from the show, and they seem to annoy the bakers, too.  They are so unnecessary.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

17 hours ago, CalicoKitty said:

I really enjoy this show, but I'm finding Sandy and Noel so annoying that I may not watch in the future.  Their stupid antics take away from the show, and they seem to annoy the bakers, too.  They are so unnecessary.

Then definitely don't watch the Great Kiwi Bake Off becaue the two hosts are obnoxious.

[GaT]

On 11/10/2019 at 7:32 PM, snarktini said:

He has a habit of pursing his lips which was creating the smug factor for me and once I realized that was just his composed face I could enjoy his personality.

Candice (season 7) pursed her lips all the time & it drove me crazy. She always looked like she disapproved of something, I never liked her.

[Dobian]

That was a disappointingly anticlimactic finale.  As soon as they gave us the first shot of David's basket, I knew it was over.  I didn't buy Paul's underdog assessment of him, though.  Yeah he never won star baker, but the fact that he won one technical and finished second six times showed that he was remarkably consistent.  He was also incredibly organized, was a time management pro, and never lost his composure, which gave him a big advantage in the final.  The only thing holding him back were his flavors.  He would have probably won the signature bake if he had just cut the alcohol in half.  

I did enjoy the epilogue videos, they were a fun group.

Edited November 25, 2019 by Dobian

[romantic idiot]

On 10/30/2019 at 5:04 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Chocolate cake for the final signature challenge seemed a bit easy but I'm okay with giving the bakers a more open ended challenge that gives them more choices so that they can do something really awesome and creative (rather than being bogged down by a lot of nitpicky required elements).

True but I think a chocolate cake for a signature was just too boring for the finale. 

On 10/31/2019 at 1:31 AM, Danny Franks said:

Well. That was anti-climactic.

I'd called David as a frontrunner in Episode 1 and believe he was the clear winner on the day. I'm really not surprised. But, I think this is the first bake off season where we've had a winner who wasn't a flavor king/queen. 

On 11/11/2019 at 7:32 AM, snarktini said:

Her reaction to the parental thing sounded a bit off to me, though. She said something like "this is the worst thing that could happen" and I was like...really? 

That took me aback too.

[caracas1914]

On 11/24/2019 at 8:08 AM, Dobian said:

I didn't buy Paul's underdog assessment of him, though.  Yeah he never won star baker, but the fact that he won one technical and finished second six times showed that he was remarkably consistent. 

This so much.

I've always thought that the most stressful section of the competition are the technicals, and knowing now in hindsight that he's  a nurse who's been in several war zones explains in part why David appeared almost unflappable to flipping out during pressure situations.    I think he truly got that "it's only a cake".