The Big Bake - General Discussion

[Door County Cherry]

Quote

Three professional baking teams have five hours to design, bake, and decorate a cake creation in gigantic proportions based on a theme.

 

[Spunkygal]

I wonder why this show has such a crappy air time (right after Halloween Baking Championship.) I believe that last year they had Eddie and Harry as judges and added a different guest judge every week. It would be great to have the wonderful Ron Ben-Israel as a judge every week and forget the guest judge idea. 

I thought the creations on episode 1 this week were pretty good. The trolls weren’t very scary but it was well executed. Those bakes are so huge that I’m surprised that any of them hold up! But honestly, I’m just here for the Eddie eye candy. 

[mlp]

I'm happy to see a forum for this show.  I've watched it from the beginning and enjoyed it.  I like that the teams are people who work together in real life.  They come in with a plan and each one knows what his or her responsibilities are but they all work together to get everything done.  The focus is on the baking and decorating and there's no nonsense.  The only "twist" is that they have to add something halfway through but anyone who watched the first season ought to see that coming and be prepared for it.

I've been delighted to see Eddie every episode and I like Harry very much too.  Then this last episode we got, "squeeeeeeeeeeeeeee,"  Ron Ben-Israel!  I hadn't seen him in several years and could see that he's aged some (as we all have) and he looked a bit fuller in the face.  He is the first person I think of when I think "charming."  I adore him.

The host remains a mystery to me.  He never introduces himself and I still have no idea what his name is or why he's hosting a baking show.  He's pleasant and cute but I'd like to know his name.

I actually liked the gnome garden best on the latest episode but it didn't have a Halloween or fright theme at all so I knew it wouldn't win.

[argrow]

13 hours ago, Spunkygal said:

I wonder why this show has such a crappy air time

Probably because it is not produced by Food Network US. It is a Food Network Canada original that the US station probably purchased to fill airtime and aren't as invested in it as their originals.

 

7 hours ago, mlp said:

The host remains a mystery to me.  He never introduces himself and I still have no idea what his name is or why he's hosting a baking show.  He's pleasant and cute but I'd like to know his name.

Brad Smith. Former football player for the Canadian Football League (that nobody here cares about except for Saskatchewan), former Bachelor Canada and former host of Chopped Canada.

[mlp]

8 minutes ago, argrow said:

Brad Smith...................................................and former host of Chopped Canada.

Huh!  I watched Chopped Canada and I don't remember him.  I just remember Dean McDermott.  Thanks.

[argrow]

21 minutes ago, mlp said:

Huh!  I watched Chopped Canada and I don't remember him.  I just remember Dean McDermott.  Thanks.

He was the second host after Dean McDermott.

[Texasmom1970]

I know it didn't win but I seriously want that Gnome cake. It was so cute and I love Autumn. It looked pretty flawless to me.

[Rammchick]

11 hours ago, argrow said:

He was the second host after Dean McDermott.

Sadly, they stopped showing that on the US Food Network :(

[emmawoodhouse]

7 hours ago, Texasmom1970 said:

I know it didn't win but I seriously want that Gnome cake. It was so cute and I love Autumn. It looked pretty flawless to me.

It was cute. They wanted more Halloween. 

[Texasmom1970]

1 hour ago, emmawoodhouse said:

It was cute. They wanted more Halloween. 

I agree with it not winning and also liked the winning cake. I just love the theme of that one; probably because I live in Houston and fall in non-existent. 🙂

[Ms Lark]

On 9/16/2021 at 3:39 PM, mlp said:

Then this last episode we got, "squeeeeeeeeeeeeeee,"  Ron Ben-Israel!  I hadn't seen him in several years and could see that he's aged some (as we all have) and he looked a bit fuller in the face.  He is the first person I think of when I think "charming."  I adore him.

Ditto. I'm mostly here for Ron. Otherwise, it's just more Halloween cakes!

[Spunkygal]

Thrilled to see that RBI is back again for two episodes in a row, he looked adorbs in the vampire cape! 

[Grizzly]

It was between the 2 hotels since Dracula wasn't cutting it. No mention of the unfinished tree on the hill cake and it wasn't obviously a hotel. But it did look the neatest. They must have gotten the hill to stay together. I loved the dancing couple concept and their structure was impressively big. Eddie was so cute with his dance moves, flirting with the mom baker, and loving the taste of that cake.

[mlp]

I hope we'll be lucky enough to have Ron Ben-Israel for multiple episodes.  He and Eddie and Harry make a team of judges I love to watch.  

I thought it was all over for that team when the big green mountain starting coming apart but they managed to salvage it.  In the end, it looked the best.  The bedroom was a cute idea but the fondant was a mess.

[Spunkygal]

In order to encourage better creations, I wish they’d let them build the structure a day in advance and then let them slap on cake, fondant, decorations, etc., the next day. Maybe then they’d have time to smooth fondant and fine-tune the details. 

[Rammchick]

There always seems to be one clear winner out of the three on this show.  But I wonder what they would have done if the hotel on the hill's cake hadn't tasted good?  The winner needs to be both good looking AND taste good.  The other two entries, while admirable, were nowhere near the level of the winner, looks-wise, even though they raved about the taste of the "ballroom" cake.

[Spunkygal]

I liked the Monster Babies episode and the right team won. I hate to be mean but I was glad the sister team didn’t win. The lead sister kept dissing sister Jackie when she (the lead one) would assign Jackie something to do. “She hasn’t made caramel in a long time so I don’t know how this is going to go!” Well, why did you assign that duty to her? She did that several times. However, I did love their Dracula baby squirting the blood out of his bottle. Sometimes the cakes on this show aren’t ghoulish enough, so the blood was a great idea. The winning team had a clean design and the pop-up bride of Frankenstein was cute. But the best part was RBI’s bat wing jacket——🥰! 

[mlp]

I agree, Spunkygal.  I liked the display with the tree and bats but the carousel didn't turn out as good as it looked in the pictures.  The right team won.  

I hope they keep the same judges all season.  I like them all but Ron Ben-Israel is just special.

[Spunkygal]

Also, I find the background music annoying. It’s kind of Oompa Loompa in a way. Or, if anyone remembers the really old show that was on FN or CC but not produced by them….Chockywockydoodah. It was set in a chocolate design shop in Brighton in the UK. It sounds almost exactly like the music on that show. 

[Grizzly]

The rising Frankenstein was a lock to win once it moved successfully. The bride's face was gorgeous. Igor was a nice thought.

[mlp]

Yes, there was little suspense at the end.  The right team won.  

I really like the way this show is handled.  Most of the time is devoted to letting us watch what the teams are doing.  The problems and mistakes look real too rather than retakes staged for effect.

I can't figure out how Eddie Jackson ended up judging baking competitions but he does a good job.  I love Harry and, of course, Ron Ben-Israel.

[Spunkygal]

Yeah, there wasn’t much suspense on who would win! That was a really good Frankenstein but I do wish the bulbs on either side of his head had lit up. The bride one had great elements, too. Her face, the roses, the glass vials. They were brave to make sugar roses with RBI (the king of exquisite sugar flowers) as a judge but he was pleased. It was funny when RBI let the turtle-mouse’s tail hang out of his mouth during the Igor tasting! Eddie is great eye candy, but he’s on the verge of being over-used like Carla Hall. 

[kj4ever]

Anything that brings Ron Ben-Israel back to my tv is a good thing.  I don't know what happened but he seemed to disappear from the Food Network.  On every show he's been on he's always been my favorite judge.  He judges with such compassion and is so unique I just love him.

[Spunkygal]

5 minutes ago, kj4ever said:

Anything that brings Ron Ben-Israel back to my tv is a good thing.  I don't know what happened but he seemed to disappear from the Food Network.  On every show he's been on he's always been my favorite judge.  He judges with such compassion and is so unique I just love him.

Yes! He is a delightful, charming, talented man. For anyone who is not familiar with his talent, please check out his social media. His creations are perfection. I’m envious of any lucky bride who could have him provide the wedding cake. I do wonder why FN Canada is brilliant enough to have him on, but FN here hasn’t used him in years. 

[Omeletsmom]

RBI is absolutely the best thing about this show.  He is clearly having a lot of fun and I am really enjoying how funny he is.

[Rammchick]

36 minutes ago, Omeletsmom said:

RBI is absolutely the best thing about this show.  He is clearly having a lot of fun and I am really enjoying how funny he is.

I wish he could be the judge on all the baking competitions!

[kj4ever]

18 hours ago, Rammchick said:

I wish he could be the judge on all the baking competitions!

I loved him when he was on Halloween Baking Championship and his own show, Sweet Genius.  He really gets the right amount of praise with a little constructive criticism right.

[mlp]

I thought all three teams did well last night although I did think the one with all the little robots was in third place.  I loved all the little dust monsters and couldn't decide between that display and the one with the big monster in the hot tub.  I would have been happy with either winning.  

[Spunkygal]

Robots v. Aliens might have been my favorite episode ever. The bakes were pretty clean, the flavors sounded yummy and the stories were so cute. Banana bourbon brûlée filling? Yes please! The dust bunnies were so clever. Really, I loved all three entries. RBI’s robot impersonation was dorky and adorable. 

[40Love]

On 9/21/2021 at 11:14 PM, Spunkygal said:

In order to encourage better creations, I wish they’d let them build the structure a day in advance and then let them slap on cake, fondant, decorations, etc., the next day. Maybe then they’d have time to smooth fondant and fine-tune the details. 

Does anyone remember the old baking show they used to do on a Disney soundstage years back? They included cake and sugar artists... and had a full day (12 or 15 hours, I think) for the challenge. It was a long time because I always wondered how the live audience could sit there watching them that whole time. Even with all that time and extra team members, some of the creations still had flaws. 5 hours for these challenges is not long enough. Seems like they should give them at least 8 hours.

[mlp]

3 hours ago, 40Love said:

In order to encourage better creations, I wish they’d let them build the structure a day in advance and then let them slap on cake, fondant, decorations, etc., the next day. Maybe then they’d have time to smooth fondant and fine-tune the details. 

On one hand, I agree.  On the other, the bakers know how much time they will be allotted so they shouldn't plan displays that can't be completed in 5 hours.  The bonus bake does cut into their time but, after the first season, it shouldn't be a surprise so they should plan for that too.   

I do wish all these shows would dispense with the fiction that the themes are a big surprise and the team leader sketches out a fully realized display in 30 seconds.  It's also obvious that the teams know what kind of cake they're going to make for the bonus bake and whatever ingredients they'll need are available.

[Ms Lark]

On 10/6/2021 at 1:25 PM, Omeletsmom said:

RBI is absolutely the best thing about this show.  He is clearly having a lot of fun and I am really enjoying how funny he is.

I'm hoping, with Bobby Flay's defection, they'll give RBI his own show again. There's a big opening there!

[Rammchick]

11 hours ago, Ms Lark said:

I'm hoping, with Bobby Flay's defection, they'll give RBI his own show again. There's a big opening there!

I hope Bobby Flay takes Giada with him -- and Guy Fieri -- but yeah, I know, no hope of that .  Oh definitely more RBI!

[Pepper the Cat]

I love this show. I think it is the best cake competition around.

The first Holiday episode was good. I liked all the cakes, esp the 11 Pipers Piping.

[mlp]

I really like this show too.  The host is cute and I love all three of the judges.  None of those four are intrusive so we get to watch the actual baking and creating.  So far, all of the bakers have been pleasant and hard working.

I thought the winning cake with three French hens was just great.  The other two teams had excellent ideas with cute characters but seemed to have been a bit too ambitious so they weren't able to finish a polished cake.  

[Rammchick]

22 hours ago, mlp said:

I thought the winning cake with three French hens was just great.  The other two teams had excellent ideas with cute characters but seemed to have been a bit too ambitious so they weren't able to finish a polished cake.  

It's so true, that the teams with overly complicated and overly ambitious designs rarely win.  This was a perfect example -- the design was basically simple but executed so cleanly and so well, and their dynamic elements all worked.  Plus, the overall idea was clever, it fit the brief and had a nice sense of humor.  Other teams would do well to study this.  Spend your time perfecting a simple design and don't present a sloppy display because you ran out of time with all the fiddly details.  The team with the big candy cane crane had such a cute idea, and some of their elements were really great, but the crane really let them down.  Because it was so big and was such a focal point, there was no getting around how bad it looked.  

[libgirl2]

On 11/2/2021 at 2:56 PM, mlp said:

I really like this show too.  The host is cute and I love all three of the judges.  None of those four are intrusive so we get to watch the actual baking and creating.  So far, all of the bakers have been pleasant and hard working.

I thought the winning cake with three French hens was just great.  The other two teams had excellent ideas with cute characters but seemed to have been a bit too ambitious so they weren't able to finish a polished cake.  

I loved those French hens. The whole thing looked so clean, clever and creative. I knew that cake with the crane was doomed. Not only was the fondant work bad, why wasn't it white with red instead? It looked blah. The other one was pretty good, but I agree that if you are putting in a fireplace, have the flames light up. 

[Texasmom1970]

On 10/14/2021 at 9:53 AM, Rammchick said:

I hope Bobby Flay takes Giada with him -- and Guy Fieri -- but yeah, I know, no hope of that .  Oh definitely more RBI!

Ohh it is like you are reading my mind. If they cleaned house these would be my picks as well. 😊

[Grizzly]

From Reindeer Games (RBI as a reindeer is quite an image), what show has Jeff been on? I know I've seen him on something else. His team's piece was pretty gravity defying. I also liked beach volleyball. I wanted to eat their main cake. Curling waa good but they needed to do just 1 activity, curling or skiing and make it bigger. Compare the size of their reindeers to the others. Show is called Big Bake.

[mlp]

Jeff and his wife were on Cake Wars long ago.  I remembered him as soon as I saw him (and heard him talk  :) ).  I liked him back then and liked him this time around too.

[mlp]

I couldn't decide which team I wanted to win, the Santas grilling or the snowball fight.  I was leaning toward the grilling display because I liked the lead guy better than the people on the other team.  

I recognized Janet on the hot tub team immediately.  She made final four on a holiday baking show several seasons ago and was a favorite of mine.  I was rooting for her at first but that snowball fight display ended up being a mess.

[emmawoodhouse]

Snowball fight won. The little guy waving the white flag cracked me up. It was the hot tub that was a hot buttered mess. The grilling guy was a bit extra for viewing late night.

[Spunkygal]

Each team had a recognizable participant—-Janet, Karina and Tina!  Tina was just on Halloween Wars! Loved the snowball fight! Those elves and the Clauses were adorable. I LOL’d at Eddie and the other guy doing the funky chicken. So cute! I want to say that Janet was on the gingerbread showdown a year or so ago. 

[libgirl2]

3 hours ago, mlp said:

I recognized Janet on the hot tub team immediately.  She made final four on a holiday baking show several seasons ago and was a favorite of mine.  I was rooting for her at first but that snowball fight display ended up being a mess.

That's where I know her from!!! 

[mlp]

5 hours ago, emmawoodhouse said:

Snowball fight won. The little guy waving the white flag cracked me up. It was the hot tub that was a hot buttered mess.

You're right.  I knew that and don't know why I typed snowball fight in error.  The hot tub was definitely a mess.

[Pepper the Cat]

Loved all three but the hot tub was def washed out.

The snowball fight was fun!

I love how enthusiastic the judges are. Esp Harry. She always seems to be having such a fun time.

[Texasmom1970]

Ron Ben Israel always seems so happy and kind. And I love his unique sense of style!

[libgirl2]

5 hours ago, Texasmom1970 said:

Ron Ben Israel always seems so happy and kind. And I love his unique sense of style!

He was so serious in Sweet Genius so I was surprised to see how much fun he is! 

Edited November 18, 2021 by libgirl2

[Spunkygal]

7 hours ago, Texasmom1970 said:

Ron Ben Israel always seems so happy and kind. And I love his unique sense of style!

He always has a twinkle in his eye! 

[Grizzly]

Did Eddie and Riley have a dance off? I would have been pissed if the team that just covered a remote control helicopter with fondant had won. Ditch the buildings and make your own helicopter. But their figurines looked like dolls. The rocketship was a good idea and well executed. I was rooting for the hotrod but they didn't have any details on their mountain. Loved RBI's blazer.