S05.E04: Semi-Final and Final

[rhys]

Awww. We should start a delightful list of wrongful foody terms:

Cracklins--porky goodness to go on top your sweet shoe pastry

 

[Sew Sumi]

Oh, I know. I just didn't want the flowers to be forgotten. 😁

[mjc570]

I understand the limitations in terms of the bakers not having a lot of time to practice or use unique ingredients or baking aids as compared to the GBBO, but this iterasion really left me underwhelmed.  I admit that I was team Dana from  the beginning, but she did not excel in these episodes.  I wonder if she was dinged because the budino (new term to me!) was not a baked good, as someone above noted, this is a BAKING not dessert generally show, although the judges didn't say anything about it.

Some ranting, sorry:
(1) Advertisers:  You're not helping yourself with those awful hosts, I can't be the only one liberally using the fast forward; and

(2) Can they drop the pretense that this is some kind of winter holiday show, or make it a summer holiday?  You're not fooling anyone by making those poor souls wear jackets.

[Quilt Fairy]

2 hours ago, zibnchy said:

So I could not figure out why they would put crispy pig skin on their choux. On purpose.

People do that all the time now in desserts.  It's the sweet/savory/salty combo. If there was a maple cream in the choux bun it would work. 

They have had many challenges that don't involve baking.  Donuts and churros made in the deep fryer and pancakes and English muffins made on a griddle are ones that come to mind.

I did not like the hosts in the beginning and their show openings were horrid, but in these last 2 episodes I think they really improved.  They were even doing the "Ready - set - bake!" correctly.  ("Correctly" means how Mel and Sue would have done it.)

I think in Sherry Ward they have finally found a judging partner for Paul who has both her own baking chops and a personality that's not going to be dominated by him.  And presumably won't be involved in a sex scandal so half the shows aren't shown. 

I really enjoyed this season with a full 8 episodes and 10 contestants to start with.  It was the season that felt the most like GBBO original.  They even had a lot of GBBO challenges.  Maybe the show is finally finding it's own groove.  Despite being ladened  with the "Holiday Edition" tag, most of the challenges - especially in these last few episodes - didn't have any special holiday connection.  I'm glad that it looks like it will come back next year.

 

Edited January 4, 2020 by Quilt Fairy

[Megan]

11 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

So Friar Tuck with all of his invoking Lord Jesus and crossing himself is the winner?  That got on my last nerve. 

 

I think he just bought those robes online.

[Eolivet]

Wow, color me shocked. I agree with nearly everyone else about Alex deserving to at least be there, and ugh, Marissa got on my last nerve in these episodes. And I hate that she Amazing Race-d her way into the finale (i.e., she never came in last). By the time we get to the semifinals, I think overall season performance should be taken into account. I wasn't rooting for Alex (I preferred Dana, whose flavors seemed yummy), but the guy won star baker how many times? And that counted for nothing?

But if this finale was the Amazing Race, Brother Andrew outsprinted Dana to the mat in a foot race while Marissa was still stuck in Alaska performing a Detour.

[GaT]

1 hour ago, Eolivet said:

I think overall season performance should be taken into account. I wasn't rooting for Alex (I preferred Dana, whose flavors seemed yummy), but the guy won star baker how many times? And that counted for nothing?

They've never taken the entire season into account, it's always been who was the best in the final. Star Baker is more like a winner of the day (or theme I guess) & doesn't mean anything towards the overall winner.

[TexasTiffany]

This is one of my favorite baking shows because of it's gentle nature and awesome bakes. I'm also glad the judges have the credentials to back up their judging. 

I really enjoyed the 2 episode format. The one-hour show seems to go too fast. Just when I'm calming down from my long day at work, the first hour is over. I'm happy though when it leads into another hour! 

Edited January 4, 2020 by TexasTiffany

[laredhead]

The craquelin, which they were pronouncing in a way that almost sounded like "cracklin", they are referring to is not the same thing as a pork cracklin.  A craquelin is a topping for choux pastry, and is a sweet cookie like topping.  Cracklins are salty and are pork.  Who knows, a cracklin topping might be really good on choux pastry and a new type of treat.

Marissa probably is an excellent baker given a lot of time, and working in her own kitchen.  She did not work well under pressure, and made some mistakes that she should not have made given her years of baking experience.  I would have preferred to see Alex in the finale, but I was happy with outcome.  Having the show on during the holidays was a special treat I looked forward to for the Christmas season.

I am in the group who does not like the hosts.  If they are going to remain on the series, I hope the producers tone down the silly trick and banter between them.  I would happy if all they did was say "ready, set, bake" and disappear for each segment. 

 

[iMonrey]

Quote

By the time we get to the semifinals, I think overall season performance should be taken into account. I wasn't rooting for Alex (I preferred Dana, whose flavors seemed yummy), but the guy won star baker how many times? And that counted for nothing?

We don't know whether the judges might actually take past performance into consideration. They say they don't but who knows? As for Alex, I'll remove my tinfoil hat for a moment to remind myself that he had consistent problems with his flavors, and that while we can judge based on visceral criteria, we can't actually taste any of this stuff, whereas the judges can. When it comes down to a coin flip, the judges might take the side of which bakes tasted the best over other considerations. 

[dubbel zout]

37 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

When it comes down to a coin flip, the judges might take the side of which bakes tasted the best over other considerations. 

No flavor or flavors that don't work together is probably the worst sin a baker can commit, save for a badly underbaked final product that the judges won't even sample.

[MerBearHou]

I felt that Alex’s strengths were frequently more visual than good flavor and that ultimately did him in.  He seemed like an ok guy — the earrings were so “look at me” (i.e, like the tiaras and kitty headbands, etc on other competitive cooking shows — always annoying to me) but he’s an efficient, knowledgeable baker.  His flavor combinations were probably over-thought in an effort to be unique and they just didn’t work well together.  I was fine with his elimination.

I was for rooting either Dana or Brother Andrew for the win.  Marissa was my least favorite baker in a long time.  

Edited January 5, 2020 by MerBearHou

[ABay]

I was so distracted by the fly that kept getting on camera that I almost missed who was baking what.

[Refresh]

22 hours ago, rhys said:

Awww. We should start a delightful list of wrongful foody terms:

Cracklins--porky goodness to go on top your sweet shoe pastry

My intergalactic gangster favorite: "Marscapone" 

I have liked both sets of hosts on GBBO - Mel & Sue and Noel & Sandy. And I went into the British reboot very sore about Mel & Sue being gone and I've been charmed by Noel & Sandy. But the American version hosts have always been somehow annoying AND forgettable.

What I notice about GBBO that I don't see as much on this version is the interaction of the hosts with the bakers. On GBBO they make the rounds while baking and provide the bakers comic relief and encouragement. I love that.  Here, there's none of it.  These hosts only do the review rounds with the judges and yell out  time left. They're not with the bakers, and that's a loss.  It does come off that they're too good to hang with the contestants.

Dana's flavors and complexity were more appealing to me than Brother Andrew's - so I was hoping for her win, but Andrew did well. 

Putting aside the constant crossing himself, Andrew did seem like a very nice guy. You'd hope so, he is a Friar but still - leave it to reality tv to find the one friar on the planet who is "not here to make friends" or whatever. 

The semi-final opera cake and the final technical were too similar to me. I thought I fell asleep. 

 

[dubbel zout]

4 minutes ago, Refresh said:

What I notice about GBBO that I don't see as much on this version is the interaction of the hosts with the bakers.

The commercials don't allow for it, especially at the beginning when there are a larger number of bakers.

5 minutes ago, Refresh said:

It does come off that they're too good to hang with the contestants.

Not to me. I forget they're there until we get a time check.

[Refresh]

28 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

The commercials don't allow for it, especially at the beginning when there are a larger number of bakers.

 

Fair point.  But does it happen and they don't show it? Or it  doesn't happen because they can't show it? Or it just doesn't happen.

Edited January 5, 2020 by Refresh

[dubbel zout]

I think it probably doesn't happen much until the show needs to fill time when there are just a handful of bakers left. Neither Spice is all that good at banter. Mel and Sue were pros.

[theatremouse]

On 1/3/2020 at 11:01 AM, iMonrey said:

I really, really hate to pull out the tinfoil hat, especially for a show as innocuous as this one, but I was surprised Andrew pulled out the win over Dana. I was willing to bet money Dana had it in the bag after the showstopper. I'm left scratching my head and can't help wonder if the producers step in from time to time and "suggest" who might make the best winner.

I didn't find it super surprising, even though I was hoping Dana would get the win. Before the Showstopper they seemed to imply the two were basically neck and neck (and that Marissa would probably need to be AMAZING and both of them mediocre in the Showstopper to have a chance). Then going through the Showstopper they disliked 2 of Dana's, but LOVED one. They liked 2 of Andrew's. They like 1 of Marissa's 3. So, as anticipated, Marissa's out. And from that moment I figured probably Andrew wins because to give it to Dana would mean her one good one in the Showstopper was so so so much better than his 2 good desserts. It didn't seem like the margins on the first two challenges were a big enough difference, and when the third task is "do three things", it makes sense to me that having 2 of the 3 things not right would lose, even if the one that was right might've been the best single item of the night.

[Quilt Fairy]

I think there are a lot of things cut for time because the American version has to fit into a one hour timeslot, which means 40-45 minutes of actual show.  We're used to an hour of GBBO on PBS where they don't interrupt for commercials.  When GBBO went to a commercial channel in the UK, they made the timeslot an hour and 15 minutes to keep all of the show elements the same.  American broadcast channels don't do that. 

One thing I always notice that gets short shrift is the technical.  It gets a fraction of the time it has on GBBO, and you never get the sense of how difficult it really is.  Mostly you just get the bakers reciting the steps.  I suspect any host interactions are also cut for time, although I distinctly remember one.  I'm not sure what episode (it was definitely not these last 2) but there was a scene where the football guy was doing some kind of posing in the side aisle and the baker at that station was so focused she didn't even notice until the other bakers started laughing.  It was funny.

[LittleIggy]

They are not pronouncing craquelin as the French would. Must be an Anglicized pronunciation similar to how lingerie is pronounced in English.

[iMonrey]

Quote

The commercials don't allow for it, especially at the beginning when there are a larger number of bakers.

That's just an excuse, really. I'm more inclined to think these hosts just can't interact with the bakers in an organic way because neither one of them is genuine enough to do so. Emma always seems kind of fake and performative, and Spice seems like he has only the vaguest of ideas what he's supposed to be doing. Just being themselves and bantering with the bakers isn't in their wheelhouse. 

[Kohola3]

I'm not sure of the point of having the hosts at all except to announce "BAKE" and shout out time left. 

If I were a baker and they were constantly in my face interrupting me it would drive me nuts.  I see no value add at all.  Maybe the point is to bring out the personalities of the contestants but this isn't Queen for a Day, it's a baking show. Just let them bake.

[PrincessPurrsALot]

A thread has been set up to talk about hosts and judges across the different variations of the Great Country Bake Off/Baking Show:

Please take any comparative discussions to that thread. 

[Psychobunny]

I just binged this and agree with a lot that was said. Alex definitely reminded me of Matthew on FNS and bugged me a little. I was rooting for Dana. I thought Sherry Yard looked fantastic and much younger and was trying to figure out what she had done ( I never seem to notice weight loss). The hosts didn’t bother me that much although I still hate Paul. Finally, I knew from watching cooking shows that a souffle takes 14 minutes to bake. How do these bakers not know that? Also, as soon as they staggered them I knew the technical had to be souffles.

[PBnJay]

Does anyone know why Brother Andrew was wearing a blue glove on his right hand only. Was it an ove-glove thing or for sanitation reasons? In both cases, I'd think he'd want to wear one on both hands. I didn't see any other bakers using gloves for anything. 

[Kohola3]

I have seen them wear a glove if the have a bandaid on that have. Remember the girl that wasn't wearing one? The Band Aid fell off and into the batter and she had to start over.

[proserpina65]

On ‎01‎/‎02‎/‎2020 at 11:12 PM, TheGreenKnight said:

hated the final just because Alex deserved to be there,

I think he deserved to be eliminated before the final.  His showstopper was not good, and his signature bake was iffy, and .

I thought Brother Andrew deserved the win, but I'd have been just as happy with Dana winning.  They both had very good final signature bakes and quite good showstoppers.  Dana's was just a little bit less good, with two of her desserts not quite turning out the way she wanted.  Marissa had no chance after blowing the technical and having a bad signature bake.

[proserpina65]

On ‎01‎/‎03‎/‎2020 at 1:18 PM, dubbel zout said:

No, I think it simply suffers from a much shorter shooting schedule. The bakers don't get a chance to practice bakes between tapings like the Brits do. That can make a huge difference.

I enjoy the American version, but I do think the shorter shooting schedule makes a big difference.  With more practice, some of those bakes which did not turn out due to time issues probably would've been fine because the bakers would've known how to compensate better.

On ‎01‎/‎03‎/‎2020 at 2:01 PM, iMonrey said:

I was willing to bet money Dana had it in the bag after the showstopper

The judges found issues with two of the desserts in Dana's display, although they really did love the third.  They had a problem with one of Andrew's and really liked the other two.  Since Andrew also did better on the signature bake, it was pretty obvious to me that he was the winner.  Although I imagine it was pretty close.

On ‎01‎/‎03‎/‎2020 at 3:50 PM, Kiddvideo said:

I think when the judges are selecting the final 3 they should consider the totality of the bakers’ performance. Marissa shouldn’t have been in the final (even if she did count herself as “elite.”) How many times did she under bake because she ran out of time? In order of talent I think Dana should’ve won, then Alex, then Andrew.

They all had good bakes here and there, but overall I wasn’t really impressed by any of the bakers.

That's not how the show works, though.  They judge each 'week' individually and not by overall performance, just like they do on the original British version.

[proserpina65]

On ‎01‎/‎04‎/‎2020 at 6:32 PM, Refresh said:

It does come off that they're too good to hang with the contestants

It doesn't strike me that way, but either way, I'm sure it's because of time.

[libgirl2]

15 hours ago, Psychobunny said:

I just binged this and agree with a lot that was said. Alex definitely reminded me of Matthew on FNS and bugged me a little. I was rooting for Dana. I thought Sherry Yard looked fantastic and much younger and was trying to figure out what she had done ( I never seem to notice weight loss). The hosts didn’t bother me that much although I still hate Paul. Finally, I knew from watching cooking shows that a souffle takes 14 minutes to bake. How do these bakers not know that? Also, as soon as they staggered them I knew the technical had to be souffles.

I seem to remember they did souffles on GBBO too and staggered them. 

[Sew Sumi]

1 minute ago, libgirl2 said:

I seem to remember they did souffles on GBBO too and staggered them. 

You're correct. Which is why I knew the challenge straight away. I'm sure the contestants did as well, which is why the producers made them wear headphones while they waited their turn to re-enter the tent.

[PBnJay]

1 hour ago, proserpina65 said:

On 1/4/2020 at 5:32 PM, Refresh said:

It does come off that they're too good to hang with the contestants

It doesn't strike me that way, but either way, I'm sure it's because of time.

I'd rather watch a baker stir batter for an hour than 30 seconds of the two "hosts" trying to be cute, and that includes the football fellow eating ingredients off of every baker's counter. So jerky.

Edited January 6, 2020 by PBnJay

[proserpina65]

8 minutes ago, PBnJay said:

I'd rather watch a baker stir batter for an hour than 30 seconds of the two "hosts" trying to be cute, and that includes the football fellow eating ingredients off of every baker's counter. So jerky.

Eh, I don't mind that.  I have no particular problem with either host, and they don't take up much time.  It breaks the show up a little, which to me is a good thing, but to each, their own.

[Kohola3]

2 hours ago, PBnJay said:

I'd rather watch a baker stir batter for an hour than 30 seconds of the two "hosts" trying to be cute, and that includes the football fellow eating ingredients off of every baker's counter. So jerky.

Ditto.  They got on my last nerve.  Total silence would have been better than their insipid shenanigans.

[Jillybean]

I've never seen GBBO but in the American version, the hosts seem completely unnecessary. Surely Paul and Sherry could handle announcing the week's challenges? The time reminders really aren't necessary. Spice Adams comes across like he's just there to eat the baked goods.

I really thought this would come down to Alex and Dana. They were the best and most consistent. It's a shame that one bad bake cancels out weeks of success. A flaw in the formula, IMO.

Marissa really got the "hot mess" edit. She was lucky to make it to the finale, from what we were shown. Mistakes nearly every week and tears for the last few. I'm sure she's a lovely person and a very competent baker under normal circumstances. Brother Andrew was just meh for me, and I would never have predicted he'd win this. 

 

 

[dubbel zout]

3 hours ago, Jillybean said:

The time reminders really aren't necessary.

GIven we don't see the whole bake, I like the reminders. It gives the viewers an idea of where things are. 

[Kiddvideo]

9 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

9 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

That's not how the show works, though.  They judge each 'week' individually and not by overall performance, just like they do on the original British version.

 

Yep, I understand the rules, and I think they should change them. ymmv, of course. I liked The Amazing Race analogy someone made up thread: You can be seconds from elimination every week but still pull out the final victory with one good performance.

[proserpina65]

20 hours ago, Jillybean said:

I've never seen GBBO but in the American version, the hosts seem completely unnecessary. Surely Paul and Sherry could handle announcing the week's challenges? The time reminders really aren't necessary.

Depending on whether or not there are clocks in the tent, yes, the time reminders are necessary.  And Paul and Sherry couldn't be there during the technical challenges because the results are anonymous.

14 hours ago, Kiddvideo said:

Yep, I understand the rules, and I think they should change them. ymmv, of course. I liked The Amazing Race analogy someone made up thread: You can be seconds from elimination every week but still pull out the final victory with one good performance.

That would be a different show from this one, and from the British original on which it's based.  I'm not saying that wouldn't be an interesting show to watch as well, but that's not the point of this one.  They're not going to change the rules that much this many seasons in.

[hula-la]

As we're talking about differences between this version and GBBO. I'm assuming that contestants get to practice back in the US. If so, there would be differences in ingredients that can also account for issues with their bakes. For example, American butter would be different than that found in the UK in terms of fat and water content, flour will have differing amounts of protein and these can have an effect on the final product.  British contestants (and Canadian, since that's where I'm from) would be practicing with formulations of ingredients that would actually be used on the show.

I still think that the lack of time to practice has an even bigger effect on the quality of contestants' bakes on this version of the show, but just thought of the ingredients too.

[iMonrey]

Quote

 I liked The Amazing Race analogy someone made up thread: You can be seconds from elimination every week but still pull out the final victory with one good performance.

The same is essentially true here, in that a baker can be at risk of elimination week after week and get saved because someone else was just a bit worse. The difference is that a baker who is consistently at the bottom every week is unlikely to be good enough to pull off a win in the finals. 

The reverse is also true. Someone can be star baker every week - or almost every week - then totally blow it in the finals. That's what happened to poor Steph in the most reason season of GBBO.

One of the reasons I prefer this show to so many other reality competitions is that there is very little that depends on dumb luck. Generally the bakers that are consistently good go the furthest.

Edited January 9, 2020 by iMonrey

[jabRI]

Who was the dedication to at the end? Someone on the crew? I didn't recognize the name

[TWoPExpat]

 

On 1/10/2020 at 7:15 PM, jabRI said:

Who was the dedication to at the end? Someone on the crew? I didn't recognize the name

Quick Google search: Apparently she was a producer. http:// https://www.monstersandcritics.com/smallscreen/mary-fanto-tribute-the-great-american-baking-show-honors-producer-following-her-death/

OT: I've noticed in both TGBBO and the other international versionsI've watched, (I'm thinking this one, the Australian and the Kiwi versions) not a lot of marzipan is used in the bakes. Is marzipan an unusual ingredient in those countries? I'm from Denmark and we use marzipan all the time and it's quite common as a small snack (mixed with dark chocolate and nougat) as well.

Edited January 14, 2020 by TWoPExpat

[dleighg]

12 minutes ago, TWoPExpat said:

OT: I've noticed in both TGBBO and the other international versionsI've watched, (I'm thinking this one, the Australian and the Kiwi versions) not a lot of marzipan is used in the bakes. Is marzipan an unusual ingredient in those countries? I'm from Denmark and we use marzipan all the time and it's quite common as a small snack (mixed with dark chocolate and nougat) as well.

I would bet that the "average" American (that is, not someone who bakes a lot and watches shows like this) would have no idea what marzipan is. I don't think I've ever been served it in a dessert baked by a host, or actually seen it more than once or twice on a restaurant menu.

[Kohola3]

1 hour ago, TWoPExpat said:

Is marzipan an unusual ingredient in those countries?

It's not used too often in US bakes. Personally I love it but I don't think I have more than a couple of recipes that use it.  I'm not sure every supermarket carries it either.

[jabRI]

We get marzipan it at Aldi's, which has a lot of German snacks/pastries.

[laredhead]

This article about Brother Andrew was in the Washington Post today.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/voraciously/wp/2020/02/24/meet-the-friar-who-combined-flour-and-faith-to-win-the-great-american-baking-show/?itid=hp_hp-cards_hp-card-lifestyle%3Ahomepage%2Fcard-ans