S11.E08: Dessert Week

[truther]

I'm surprised by the near-consensus in these comments.  People are making some great points, but it's disappointing to see so many people not liking this season overall.  I agree Paul is overrepresented, that some of the most charismatic bakers have been kicked off the past few weeks, and that Noel and (especially) Matt aren't quite clicking, but it's still great TV for me.  

I like all of the bakers.  There's no drama, nobody whose presence on the screen irritates me, no manufactured crises like somebody taking somebody else's bake out of the freezer and "forgetting" to put it back.  

Noel and Matt have to work on their act a bit.  To me this seems to beg the question of how the quarantine is affecting the show.  Matt doesn't seem to be connecting with the bakers -- other than announcing how much time is left, he just shows up in a scene and annoys the bakers, then disappears again.  Being stuck with a guy like that for weeks on end would irritate the heck out of me.  Noel had great chemistry with Lottie and is struggling without her and Mark, who seemed like one of those awesome guys who laughs at everything.  Lottie's departure really left a mark.  

Count me among the handful who thought that Sussex Pond pastry with cream looked delicious.  I'll bet it's awesome when cooked properly.  (*Shakes fist at Prue*)

[BradyB66]

5 hours ago, Aulty said:

5 hours ago, BradyB66 said:

I can’t watch the intro.  There’s a hole on the cake where one more raspberry should go and it wreaks havoc with my OCD.  The missing raspberry is all I can see.  Yes, I have issues.

Canada to the rescue!

Oh, THANK YOU!

[Cherpumple]

I agree that this season feels a little "off" and I'm just not engaging with it like usual. I think I'll enjoy future rewatches, but I blame the stress of Covid and the election for my current short attention span. Seriously, I needed to watch this episode twice because after the first time I realized that I didn't remember a single thing that happened. It was eerie. Similarly, I'm chalking up Noel's antics this season to the stress/boredom of cabin fever and his comfort level with Matt. They definitely seem like friends in real life, more than he was with Sandi, so I think the dynamic brings out the naughty boy in him more.

I'm still scratching my head at the pond pudding. In theory, a lemony pudding with cream sounds delicious, but this recipe is just odd. Same with the jelly showstopper. The theory is interesting, but there's nothing appetizing to me about eating a giant slice of jelly. I hope patisserie week has some better challenges!

 

[Crs97]

I liked the song Matt sang for their Broadway show, but Noel made me very uncomfortable with his jokes this week.   

I cannot believe Prue is 80.  She really doesn’t add much to the show, but didn’t she cause a small scandal by saying she doesn’t particularly enjoy baking or she looks cooking better?  I don’t expect much from her.

I did laugh when Paul got to the third passionfruit and decided to prank Hermine by saying he doesn’t like it.  
 

The only thing I wanted to try after all those baked was Peter’s lime ginger cheesecake.

Heartbreaking to see Marc go, but I like all of the remaining bakers.

[Kiddvideo]

I read on thetakeout.com that they’d done the Sussex Pond Pudding recipe with Mary Berry on season S2E4 of Masterclass, which is on Netflix. Her recipe cooked for 3-1/2 hours. Here’s a printed version of the recipe from BBC.

Edited November 16, 2020 by Kiddvideo
Autocorrect changed a url.

[HurricaneVal]

10 hours ago, BradyB66 said:

I can’t watch the intro.  There’s a hole on the cake where one more raspberry should go and it wreaks havoc with my OCD.  The missing raspberry is all I can see.  Yes, I have issues.

OMG.  Me too!  I still watch it, but when they get to that part, I just grit my teeth and fantasize another raspberry went on later, they were just showing a work in progress.

I thought I was the only one.....  Cheers!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I don't need big personalities to enjoy this show. I like that the bakers are normal people who are just here to bake stuff. We already have Noel and Matt being obnoxious so I don't need any "LOOK AT MEEEEE!!!" bakers. And lord knows we have enough fame whores on other reality shows. One of the reasons I have loved GBBO from the beginning is that no one goes on the show with the intention of becoming rich or famous which means we don't get the usual "I'm not here to make friends" and "they're just jealous" type of contestants.

For me, the problem this season has been some of the things assigned in the challenges. The Sussex pond pudding is a perfect example. They clearly did not give the bakers enough time to prep the entire thing and let it steam long enough, and then surprise, everyone got criticized for not letting the lemon steam enough. NO SHIT. So not only was the actual thing they made unappetizing on its own, which is already one strike, but the bakers were set up to fail which is a huge issue for me. Those are the kinds of things that have been really bothering me this season, not the bakers' personalities. It feels like at least one challenge per episode is intended to cause some kind of disaster and I don't enjoy that either.

[libgirl2]

11 hours ago, truther said:

 

Count me among the handful who thought that Sussex Pond pastry with cream looked delicious.  I'll bet it's awesome when cooked properly.  (*Shakes fist at Prue*)

I would have eaten it when done properly. 

[Kohola3]

6 hours ago, Kiddvideo said:

I read on thetakeout.com that they’d done the Sussex Pond Pudding recipe with Mary Berry on season S2E4 of Masterclass, which is on Netflix. Her recipe cooked for 3-1/2 hours.

Mary Berry's version isn't as ugly as Prue's.  Not that I'd eat it.

[Rickster]

On 11/14/2020 at 11:41 AM, irisheyes said:

Is passion fruit cheaper in the UK?  Cause I found it at a large store near me, and it was crazy expensive. I know GBBO can afford it, but the bakers need to practice too. Same thing with cardamom. I looked it up, and the price made me go 😳. 

Don’t know about the UK, but here in the NY area I can find packages of frozen passion fruit pulp in the supermarket, in a Hispanic food section of the case.  Much more reasonably priced than fresh.

[marinite]

On 11/15/2020 at 3:29 AM, iwantcookies said:

At first I though Noel was a female. 

Why is Pru there? She does not add anything. She is pretty useless. 
 

I just started the show this  year. 

When you go to watch the older seasons on Netflix USA, start with the one called Beginnings. That is their season three. And then go to Collections : the first one is their season four. Watch Masterclass with Mary and Paul AFTER watching this episode.  
 

And for Holidays, I would suggest waiting until you seen all the seasons except this latest one.

They needed to give them more time for the lemon pud: it looked really unappetizing to me. Even the example needed to be decorated in an appealing someway.

[iwantcookies]

2 hours ago, marinite said:

When you go to watch the older seasons on Netflix USA, start with the one called Beginnings. That is their season three. And then go to Collections : the first one is their season four. Watch Masterclass with Mary and Paul AFTER watching this episode.  
 

And for Holidays, I would suggest waiting until you seen all the seasons except this latest one.

They needed to give them more time for the lemon pud: it looked really unappetizing to me. Even the example needed to be decorated in an appealing someway.

Thanks!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

On 11/15/2020 at 3:29 AM, iwantcookies said:

I just started the show this  year. 

 

2 hours ago, marinite said:

When you go to watch the older seasons on Netflix USA, start with the one called Beginnings. That is their season three. And then go to Collections : the first one is their season four. Watch Masterclass with Mary and Paul AFTER watching this episode.  
 

And for Holidays, I would suggest waiting until you seen all the seasons except this latest one.

FYI - I put together this list for easy reference:

UK S1 (2010)
UK S2 (2011)
UK S3 (2012) = US PBS S5 (2018) = US Netflix "The Beginnings" collection 1
UK S4 (2013) = US PBS S2 (2015) = US Netflix collection 2
UK S5 (2014) = US PBS S1 (2015) = US Netflix collection 1
UK S6 (2015) = US PBS S3 (2016) = US Netflix collection 3
UK S7 (2016) = US PBS S4 (2017) = US Netflix collection 4
UK S8 (2017) = US Netflix collection 5
UK S9 (2018) = US Netflix collection 6
UK S10 (2019) = US Netflix collection 7
UK S11 (2020) = US Netflix collection 8

Alternately:

US Netflix collection 1 = UK S5 (2014) = US PBS S1 (2015) 
US Netflix collection 2 = UK S4 (2013) = US PBS S2 (2015) 
US Netflix collection 3 = UK S6 (2015) = US PBS S3 (2016) 
US Netflix collection 4 = UK S7 (2016) = US PBS S4 (2017) 
US Netflix collection 5 = UK S8 (2017) 
US Netflix collection 6 = UK S9 (2018) 
US Netflix collection 7 = UK S10 (2019) 
US Netflix collection 8 = UK S11 (2020) 
US Netflix "The Beginnings" collection 1 = UK S3 (2012) = US PBS S5 (2018)
UK S1 (2010) = not on US Netflix
UK S2 (2011) = not on US Netflix

Edited November 17, 2020 by ElectricBoogaloo

[dgpolo]

2 minutes ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

FYI - I put together this list for easy reference:

UK S1 (2010)
UK S2 (2011)
UK S3 (2012) = US PBS S5 (2018) = US Netflix "The Beginnings" collection 1
UK S4 (2013) = US PBS S2 (2015) = US Netflix collection 2
UK S5 (2014) = US PBS S1 (2015) = US Netflix collection 1
UK S6 (2015) = US PBS S3 (2016) = US Netflix collection 3
UK S7 (2016) = US PBS S4 (2017) = US Netflix collection 4
UK S8 (2017) = US Netflix collection 5
UK S9 (2018) = US Netflix collection 6
UK S10 (2019) = US Netflix collection 7
UK S11 (2020) = US Netflix collection 8

Every time I go to rewatch them I have to do this for myself, you'd think I'd save it somewhere.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

2 minutes ago, dgpolo said:

Every time I go to rewatch them I have to do this for myself, you'd think I'd save it somewhere.

Haha, I saved it as a draft in my email so that I wouldn't lose it!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I hadn't made a list of the holiday episodes on Netflix yet so thanks for the motivation:

Great Christmas/Festive Bake Off
2016 - Ali (S4), Cathryn (S3), Mary-Ann (S2), Norman (S5) & Chetna (S5), James (S3), Janet (S2), Howard (S4)
2017 - Beca (S4), Paul (S6), Selasi (S7), Val (S7) & Benjamina (S7), Rav (S7), Rob (S2), Sandy (S6)
2018 - Andrew (S7), Flo (S8), Jane (S7), Liam (S8) & Candice (S7), Kate (S5), Steven (S8), Tamal (S6)
2019 - Briony (S9), Terry (S9), Tom (S8), Yan (S8) & Derry Girls

GBBO holidays
Netflix S1 (2017) -  Beca (S4), Paul (S6), Selasi (S7), Val (S7) & Benjamina (S7), Rav (S7), Rob (S2), Sandy (S6)
Netflix S2 (2018) -  Andrew (S7), Flo (S8), Jane (S7), Liam (S8) & Candice (S7), Kate (S5), Steven (S8), Tamal (S6)

[AZChristian]

23 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

Mary Berry's version isn't as ugly as Prue's.  Not that I'd eat it.

And hers featured apples in addition to the lemon . . . something I'd more like than just the lemon in the middle.  Had any of this season's bakers seen the Masterclass episode, they'd have made it through this a lot better.

[awaken]

On 11/15/2020 at 10:51 PM, MerBearHou said:

Same!  I never, ever skip the intro because I love seeing that sweet little girl!  Would so enjoy seeing her today.  I love that it hasn’t changed one bit and we know every moment of the intro.  So perfectly done and comforting.  

Completely agree!  As soon as I see and hear it, I feel calm and soothed!

wow, was Matt incredibly annoying this week!  I’ve tolerated him ok so far, but this week was unbearable. 

[Crs97]

I watch episodes while I walk on the treadmill and had a possible epiphany.  When Sandi and Noel took over, it seems to me like Sandi took the lead.  My guess is that she reined Noel in.  With Matt, Noel is the veteran and leader, and it doesn’t work as well.

[roseslg]

14 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I hadn't made a list of the holiday episodes on Netflix yet so thanks for the motivation:

Great Christmas/Festive Bake Off
2016 - Ali (S4), Cathryn (S3), Mary-Ann (S2), Norman (S5) & Chetna (S5), James (S3), Janet (S2), Howard (S4)
2017 - Beca (S4), Paul (S6), Selasi (S7), Val (S7) & Benjamina (S7), Rav (S7), Rob (S2), Sandy (S6)
2018 - Andrew (S7), Flo (S8), Jane (S7), Liam (S8) & Candice (S7), Kate (S5), Steven (S8), Tamal (S6)
2019 - Briony (S9), Terry (S9), Tom (S8), Yan (S8) & Derry Girls

GBBO holidays
Netflix S1 (2017) -  Beca (S4), Paul (S6), Selasi (S7), Val (S7) & Benjamina (S7), Rav (S7), Rob (S2), Sandy (S6)
Netflix S2 (2018) -  Andrew (S7), Flo (S8), Jane (S7), Liam (S8) & Candice (S7), Kate (S5), Steven (S8), Tamal (S6)

Are the top ones on Netflix? 

[skipnjump]

1 hour ago, roseslg said:

Are the top ones on Netflix? 

I've only been able to find a few episodes.  I watched the Netflix S1 last night. 

[chaifan]

17 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

 

FYI - I put together this list for easy reference:

 

There is a similar list as the first post in the Mod Notes thread, but it is dated back in 2015 and could be updated.  I have no idea how to contact the moderator, but if you can, you should send him/her your updated list.  I think that is the best place for it - easy for everyone to find.  And thanks for doing this!  I think it's odd that 10 years later neither PBS or Netflix can (or wants to) obtain the rights to the first few seasons.  I'd love to see that very first season. 

Edited November 18, 2020 by chaifan

[janie jones]

On 11/14/2020 at 2:43 PM, krankydoodle said:

I didn't like some of the editing choices that tried to suggest friction between bakers: Hermine being asked about the pronunciation of genoise right after Laura talks about it, Laura only responding with "Yes" when Dave asked if he was the only one who hadn't moved on to the next step when she's usually supportive and chatty, and no one responding to Laura's "Help, help" after one of her near-disasters. In fact, I think the camera cut to Dave calmly snacking just after that last bit. I might be getting some of the details wrong, but it felt like the editing was really reaching to try and gin up drama maybe because, as some other people have said, the remaining bakers make for relatively low-key onscreen personalities. This season started off well but has become pretty disappointing.

I did think it was a little odd that they didn't show anyone coming to Laura's aid when she was yelling "help," but she might have just gotten everything under control right away, as someone mentioned. Dave eating his apple actually made me chuckle. The thing with Hermine being asked about the pronunciation of genoise after Laura was talking about it came off to me as agreement rather than friction.

On 11/15/2020 at 5:32 PM, iwantcookies said:

David scares me I bet he is a very angry person. He gives off a bad vibe. 
 

Peter is like a baby hamster too cute.

Hermeine is a very funny lady. I like her. 

David scares me, too. He always looks a millisecond away from snapping. My husband finds Peter creepy. Although I can kind of see why, I don't really agree. I think Hermine is funny, too. I cracked up a few episodes ago when she was listing the things she missed from France and like pastries were #1 and her family was last.

The pond pudding was simultaneously revolting and appetizing. I think I'll try making it, but with butter or possibly lard? I have no idea where to get suet other than in a block with birdseed.

[Enigma X]

I think I said Peter could not take criticism up thread but meant David. David seems to be wound tight and when he comes unhinged he will hurt someone badly. 

Peter seems like a cute kid. I am too lazy to find my other post and correct it.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

8 hours ago, chaifan said:

There is a similar list as the first post in the Mod Notes thread, but it is dated back in 2015 and could be updated.  I have no idea how to contact the moderator, but if you can, you should send him/her your updated list.  I think that is the best place for it - easy for everyone to find.  And thanks for doing this!  I think it's odd that 10 years later neither PBS or Netflix can (or wants to) obtain the rights to the first few seasons.  I'd love to see that very first season. 

That's actually my list which was copied from one of the my posts in another GBBO thread and pasted into the Mod Notes at the request of another user. The list they had before was formatted differently. You can always contact the mods by clicking on the little flag button at the bottom of each post. You can also hover over any mod's avatar or username and then click the message icon to send them a message.

I don't know what the hold up is over S1 and S2 but I would love to see them again!

11 hours ago, roseslg said:

Are the top ones on Netflix? 

Yes, the ones listed on the top are all of the Festive/Christmas episodes. The ones listed on Netflix as GBBO holidays are on the lower list.

Edited November 19, 2020 by ElectricBoogaloo

[krankydoodle]

39 minutes ago, janie jones said:

I did think it was a little odd that they didn't show anyone coming to Laura's aid when she was yelling "help," but she might have just gotten everything under control right away, as someone mentioned. Dave eating his apple actually made me chuckle. The thing with Hermine being asked about the pronunciation of genoise after Laura was talking about it came off to me as agreement rather than friction.

I could well be wrong, but my memory is that Laura said even though she knew the correct pronunciation, she says genoise a different way because that's how it's pronounced where she's from while Hermine followed that by saying something to the effect that she didn't have a great opinion of people who didn't make the effort.

I like all the remaining bakers, including Dave. My issue isn't with them but with how the editing tried to make them look, to me anyway. The editing isn't doing Noel and Matt any favors either since presumably they're meant to come off as amusing rather than annoying.

[MisterGlass]

2 hours ago, janie jones said:

I think I'll try making it, but with butter or possibly lard? I have no idea where to get suet other than in a block with birdseed.

I think you could get tallow in the U.S.  I don't know how it would cook compared to suet (I haven't used either).

[Cherpumple]

6 hours ago, krankydoodle said:

I could well be wrong, but my memory is that Laura said even though she knew the correct pronunciation, she says genoise a different way because that's how it's pronounced where she's from while Hermine followed that by saying something to the effect that she didn't have a great opinion of people who didn't make the effort.

I think I heard that too. Personally, I think my opinion falls somewhere in the middle. It's good to make the effort to be generally correct, but it can often sound awkward, or even pompous, to insert authentic foreign pronunciations into everyday speech (especially if it requires phonics not normally used in English, like a rolled "r"). For instance, it's a long-standing joke that Alex Trebek pronounced "genre" the French way, to the point that people have made compilation videos of it and they even did a whole category on Jeopardy once that allowed him to say the word in every clue. Also, people have mocked Giada de Laurentiis for years for using the authentic Italian pronunciation of ingredients and dishes while giving cooking instructions in English. It's all good natured teasing, but that kind of thing can really stand out.

That being said, what is the correct way to say "genoise"? Is it like "zhen-WA"? Do you pronounce the "s"?

[dleighg]

1 hour ago, Cherpumple said:

Trebek pronounced "genre" the French way

Is there another way? Or maybe I don't actually *know* the French way. I'm no good at phonetic spelling, but.... ZHEN-re? Maybe Americans use a hard g? I use the French g even though my French pronunciation is not that awesome in general. But I kind of agree about Giada and her overemphasis of the Italian that she does.

[roseslg]

4 hours ago, Cherpumple said:

I think I heard that too. Personally, I think my opinion falls somewhere in the middle. It's good to make the effort to be generally correct, but it can often sound awkward, or even pompous, to insert authentic foreign pronunciations into everyday speech (especially if it requires phonics not normally used in English, like a rolled "r"). For instance, it's a long-standing joke that Alex Trebek pronounced "genre" the French way, to the point that people have made compilation videos of it and they even did a whole category on Jeopardy once that allowed him to say the word in every clue. Also, people have mocked Giada de Laurentiis for years for using the authentic Italian pronunciation of ingredients and dishes while giving cooking instructions in English. It's all good natured teasing, but that kind of thing can really stand out.

That being said, what is the correct way to say "genoise"? Is it like "zhen-WA"? Do you pronounce the "s"?

You would pronounce the s since there is a an e after the s. like a whas.  

[Cherpumple]

5 hours ago, dleighg said:

Is there another way? Or maybe I don't actually *know* the French way. I'm no good at phonetic spelling, but.... ZHEN-re? Maybe Americans use a hard g? I use the French g even though my French pronunciation is not that awesome in general. But I kind of agree about Giada and her overemphasis of the Italian that she does.

I too pronounce "genre" as ZHEN-re, but Alex really swallows the "n" and does a more back-of-the-throat French "r" sound, so it sounds more like "jahr" or something. Here's a one-minute compilation of him saying it; after a few seconds it doesn't even sound like a word to me anymore! And just for laughs, here's a video making fun of Giada's pronunciations.

[kirklandia]

This made me smile!

[SemiCharmedLife]

19 hours ago, Cherpumple said:

I think I heard that too. Personally, I think my opinion falls somewhere in the middle. It's good to make the effort to be generally correct, but it can often sound awkward, or even pompous, to insert authentic foreign pronunciations into everyday speech (especially if it requires phonics not normally used in English, like a rolled "r"). For instance, it's a long-standing joke that Alex Trebek pronounced "genre" the French way, to the point that people have made compilation videos of it and they even did a whole category on Jeopardy once that allowed him to say the word in every clue. Also, people have mocked Giada de Laurentiis for years for using the authentic Italian pronunciation of ingredients and dishes while giving cooking instructions in English. It's all good natured teasing, but that kind of thing can really stand out.

That being said, what is the correct way to say "genoise"? Is it like "zhen-WA"? Do you pronounce the "s"?

I was going to comment the exact same thing, especially considering the many comments about pronunciation during Japanese week.  I think people would be just as critical if someone was using the perfect pronunciation for foreign words.  I see that happening often here in California with Spanish words, especially towns and food.  People just like the regular "Americanized" pronunciation.

[AZChristian]

15 hours ago, SemiCharmedLife said:

I see that happening often here in California with Spanish words, especially towns and food.  People just like the regular "Americanized" pronunciation.

I have to share this skit from Saturday Night Live regarding pronunciation of foreign words . . . it's funny.

By the way, I used to live in San Pedro, CA.  People knew you were new in town if you pronounced it "San Pay-dro."  We residents called it "San Pee-dro" or - more familiarly - just "Pee-dro."

[dleighg]

8 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

I have to share this skit from Saturday Night Live regarding pronunciation of foreign words . . . it's funny.

 

that is pretty damn hilarious!

[Crs97]

I am rewatching Netflix’s season 5 (with Liam, Steven, and Yan), and they just had to make the jelly art cake (called on that episode a terrine trifle) as a showstopper.  Yan used a syringe to add colored gelatin to clear to make a flower, and Paul marveled at the ingenuity.  Funny to see it come around again!

[Brookside]

 

On 11/14/2020 at 4:44 PM, Mabinogia said:

 

I know it's a personal thing, and I'm sure she is lovely but Hermine's voice is like nails on a chalkboard to me. Something in the tone of her voice sets me on edge. . 

Hermine is from Benin, in West Africa.  The official language is French, so although Hermine is obviously bilingual she has a regional accent - or maybe we just all have accents (except me).  When she is with her family, I wouldn't be surprised if they pronounce her name as "Airmeen".

 

 

On 11/18/2020 at 7:52 AM, chaifan said:

There is a similar list as the first post in the Mod Notes thread, but it is dated back in 2015 and could be updated.  I have no idea how to contact the moderator, but if you can, you should send him/her your updated list.  I think that is the best place for it - easy for everyone to find.  And thanks for doing this!  I think it's odd that 10 years later neither PBS or Netflix can (or wants to) obtain the rights to the first few seasons.  I'd love to see that very first season. 

There are also Celebrity Bake Offs and GBBO Red Nose skits that you can find bits and pieces of on YouTube.

On 11/18/2020 at 6:25 PM, MisterGlass said:

I think you could get tallow in the U.S.  I don't know how it would cook compared to suet (I haven't used either).

You can get vegetarian "suet" in the UK.  I've never tried to find it in the US.

[Dewey Decimate]

I love citrus. Love sugar. Love butter. (When I run the end of a stick of butter in the pan to make scrambled eggs I totally admit to licking the melty end - damn, that's delicious! And not to worry, I live alone and only cook for myself.) That technical challenge, however, may be the grossest thing I've seen on this show,  including the weird meaty, cold, picnic "pies." It reminded me of when I clean the microwave by nuking an already-juiced half of a lemon, rub it on the inside of the microwave, then wipe it out with a wet chamois. The sad, limp lemon... the dirty, moist dishrag redolent of spaghetti sauce splatters and canned cat food crumbs... who's ready for dessert? HORK.

I love everyone who's pointed out the Mystery of the Missing Raspberry. Personally, I'm more skittish about the little girl - she is very cute, but I don't want a toddler pawing at my bread with her surely grubby toddler hands! That said, I love the intro. When Netflix offers to skip it, I'm like, who skips the intro? For this show and for The Amazing Race, it gets me in the mood!

[SemiCharmedLife]

12 minutes ago, Dewey Decimate said:

I love everyone who's pointed out the Mystery of the Missing Raspberry. Personally, I'm more skittish about the little girl - she is very cute, but I don't want a toddler pawing at my bread with her surely grubby toddler hands! That said, I love the intro. When Netflix offers to skip it, I'm like, who skips the intro? For this show and for The Amazing Race, it gets me in the mood!

Do you watch Extra Slice?  Their opening is a take-off on the GBBO opening...with a few funny bits like overpowdering the buns and a sinkful of dishes at the end!  They have also added in the missing raspberry.

[Bethanne]

On 11/15/2020 at 8:16 PM, TomGirl said:

I love this show for so many reasons, but one of my favorite things is the opening montage where that precious little girl always puts a smile on my face.  She must be quite the young lady by now!

Same! 

Edited November 21, 2020 by Bethanne

[ElectricBoogaloo]

On 11/18/2020 at 11:39 PM, Cherpumple said:

It's good to make the effort to be generally correct, but it can often sound awkward, or even pompous, to insert authentic foreign pronunciations into everyday speech

I grew up knowing bilingual and trilingual people, many of whom switch back and forth between languages within the same conversation. Sometimes they would have an entire conversation in one language and throw in one word from a second language because there was no real equivalent for it in the first language. As an adult, I have worked with a lot of international post-docs who are also bilingual or trilingual. At work, they speak mostly English but sometimes use a word in another language. Since that's been my experience for most of my life, I don't find it pompous when people pronounce a word in the original language or with the original pronunciation. I actually prefer that to words getting butchered in English!

[Kohola3]

2 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

 I don't find it pompous when people pronounce a word in the original language or with the original pronunciation. I actually prefer that to words getting butchered in English!

Nor do I.  I prefer knowing the correct way to say it.  Of course, I come from Michigan where people routinely butcher a whole lot of our bizarre place names.  Mackinac Island is pronounced MACK-in-awe Island but Fort Michilimackinac is mish-ill-ah-MAK-in-ak; Ypsilianti is IP-sill-ANN-tee, Bois Blanc Island is Bob-low Island; Dowagiac is Doe-WAH-jak, Bete Grise is Bay-DE-Gree; Sault Ste. Marie is Soo Saint Marie (or just The Soo); Dequindre is duh-QUIN-durr; Lahser is LAH-shur; Gratiot is GRASH-it. 

I’m sure the UK is full of things Americans would never get right in a million years.

But I digress. I though Hermine's accent and speech pattern was very interesting and knowing where her roots are helps to make sense. I will miss her.

[AZChristian]

1 hour ago, Kohola3 said:

Nor do I.  I prefer knowing the correct way to say it.  Of course, I come from Michigan where people routinely butcher a whole lot of our bizarre place names.  

Try living in Arizona with the Spanish and Native American language names for places.  LOL.

I loved Hermine's accent and CORRECT French pronunciations . . . 

[Crs97]

The only time I roll my eyes is when someone says the correct pronunciation with an exaggerated accent or seems to make a big deal about saying it correctly. I also think pronunciations can differ in different cultures to the point that both become correct and insisting you are right is obnoxious.

Edited November 22, 2020 by Crs97
Deleting something that might be construed as a spoiler.

[Dewey Decimate]

Yikes! Are the mentions of "I will miss

Spoiler

Hermine

" spoilers? I savor each ep and then read the ep-specific thread before watching the next, but fear I now know who will go next!  😞

[Crs97]

My comment was just acknowledging that the show is almost over, and I will miss these contestants.  I deleted it so that no one will misconstrue it as a spoiler.

[Bethanne]

7 hours ago, Crs97 said:

The only time I roll my eyes is when someone says the correct pronunciation with an exaggerated accent or seems to make a big deal about saying it correctly. I also think pronunciations can differ in different cultures to the point that both become correct and insisting you are right is obnoxious.

Arrrrron Sanchez and Giada DiLaurentis, I’m looking at you...

[Cherpumple]

On 11/20/2020 at 1:46 PM, AZChristian said:

I have to share this skit from Saturday Night Live regarding pronunciation of foreign words . . . it's funny.

I haven't seen this skit in years - thanks for posting it! And yes, this is exactly what I think of when I hear people "overpronounce" certain words.

[Cazenn]

Although it's weeks after the fact (US viewers are lucky; Canadian Netflix does not carry GBBO, and while prior seasons are available here on CBC's Gem app, they have not yet broadcast this season in Canada), I thought I'd chime in on Suffolk Pond Pudding as I'd heard of it before but couldn't remember where/when.  The late novelist Laurie Colwin put out two lovely cooking memoirs called "Home Cooking" and "More Home Cooking", collections of short cooking-related articles, and SPP pops up in the aptly-titled chapter "Kitchen Horrors" in the first. Colwin found the recipe in a Jane Grigson book which entailed four hours (!) of steaming. By that point, the lemon is "soft and buttery", easily cut, and is submerged in a "lemon scented buttery toffee". Each serving contains a portion of crust, a slice of lemon, and some sauce. Colwin loved the result; her dinner party companions did not.

My host said: "This tastes like lemon-flavored bacon fat." 

"It looks like the Alien," said my future husband.

"I'm sure it's wonderful," said my hostess. "I mean, in England."

The woman guest said: "This is awful."

The ridiculous lack of cooking time reminds me that two prior winners, Edd Kimber (s 1) and John Whaite (s 3), both criticized the show on social media for setting clearly insufficient time for contestants to complete challenges. I suppose it's done to amp up the drama.

[Clanstarling]

On 11/15/2020 at 3:43 PM, rejnel said:

Am I remembering wrong? I feel like in previous scenes there have been sweet little video packages of the bakers at home much deeper into the season. I always like those. I remember a couple from this season, but only at the very beginning. Maybe that's part of what's making some of us feel less excited about the contestants. 
I do feel like the show's not as fun or engaging this year. It could be because of slight format changes, or because the novelty had warn off, or because life's not as fun and engaging this year. 
I do wish they'd stick with very doable challenges (especially ones I'd actually like to eat) and let people shine. It's OK to repeat challenges! I get that they don't want to repeat technicals, but otherwise they could just as well stick with 20 or so reliably good dishes that allow for creativity but aren't from Mars.

I knew something was missing. I love those little vignettes, and felt like I knew the bakers better because of them.

On 11/17/2020 at 8:01 PM, Crs97 said:

I watch episodes while I walk on the treadmill and had a possible epiphany.  When Sandi and Noel took over, it seems to me like Sandi took the lead.  My guess is that she reined Noel in.  With Matt, Noel is the veteran and leader, and it doesn’t work as well.

The leader theory is interesting and has merit. My own theory is that comics riff off of each other in different ways. Sandi was a very different kind of comedian than Matt, and I think it's Matt that has made the difference in Noel - not because of leadership, but that they egg each other on get more juvenile. I still like both of them, but I agree that the Paul thing went way too far for this show.

On 11/19/2020 at 7:04 PM, SemiCharmedLife said:

I was going to comment the exact same thing, especially considering the many comments about pronunciation during Japanese week.  I think people would be just as critical if someone was using the perfect pronunciation for foreign words.  I see that happening often here in California with Spanish words, especially towns and food.  People just like the regular "Americanized" pronunciation.

I have no issues with regular people (or bakers) having difficulty with pronunciations of words. It does get my goat, however, when professional chefs mangle the pronunciation (in particular, some German food items - French they tend to get fairly well).

I'm bi-lingual, and grew up with a parent who was not from America. I will pronounce German words in her accent, not because I'm trying to be fancy - but because that's the way I learned the word, and that's my natural pronunciation.

On 11/21/2020 at 11:03 AM, Crs97 said:

The only time I roll my eyes is when someone says the correct pronunciation with an exaggerated accent or seems to make a big deal about saying it correctly. I also think pronunciations can differ in different cultures to the point that both become correct and insisting you are right is obnoxious.

Just curious, how do you distinguish between a normal accent and an exaggerated accent? I agree that pronunciations differ in cultures, but it seems to me that everyone is correct when it comes to their own regional pronunciation.

Edited December 18, 2020 by Clanstarling