S12.E09: Patisserie Week

[buttersister]

Paul can shove all the way off with his handshakes. The show has a trophy for the winner and each week there's a star baker. That's the game. The handshake is Paul boosting himself. He's short, aging and somewhat recently divorced, maybe a  therapist would help?

Quote

I don't know why Crystelle was shocked she got Star Baker; she got a handshake in the Signature,

Stupid handshake and a "flawless" showstopper. It's the semi-finals, she knows how this works. So disingenuous at best. 

[Adiba]

7 hours ago, pfk505 said:

 

 

 

 

... And none of you think you're reading just a little bit much into this?

I thought this was a platform to comment on the show, state our opinions, snark, etc.?  Unless one works on the show or is a judge, no one knows what really goes on behind the scenes.
I just don’t happen to understand the judging in this episode and was expressing such. If someone doesn’t agree, fine.

Edited November 21, 2021 by Adiba

[Deskisamess]

On 11/18/2021 at 9:20 PM, AZChristian said:

I remember Ruby Tandoh from one of the earlier seasons.  She had perfected the "poor me" look and seemed really fake.  She has since bashed the show and - in particular - Paul Hollywood.  

That Ruby implied in some online comments that Paul flirted with her and that he wanted to sleep with her. She was a big old fake, and was acting the entire time. A couple of years after her season, she mentioned it again when she came out as a lesbian. She made a comment like, "sorry Paul, I like girls."

[Deskisamess]

On 11/19/2021 at 8:40 AM, dleighg said:

I thought the judges were awfully kind to Chig's apples, which were lumpy.

Didn't Chig say his Apple were "pink lady"? Those apples are actually bumpy looking. My husband threw some away once because of it, he thought they were spoiled.

You'd think every baker would know by now that matcha is the kiss of death.

[Deskisamess]

On 11/19/2021 at 4:41 PM, Ellaria Sand said:

I see no reason why all four bakers could not go thru to the finale. If there ever was a season to do it, it was this one. This was simply a matter of producers wanting the drama of eliminating one of these excellent bakers. What a shame!

Seriously? It's a competition show. There is no reason to advance everyone. Then the same could be said in the final if everyone does well. "They should all win" would be outlandish, and would ruin what's left of the show. Jürgen's showstopper was boring, and his use of beets and matcha took him down. The gate was well done, but the entremets were the challenge, and his were boring and plain looking. Sticking a dagger in them didn't help.

I love Noel, but he should have been banished from the tent this week for his annoying behavior.

[theatremouse]

On 11/19/2021 at 3:26 PM, dleighg said:

so (this is a serious question)

are they supposed to know this particular bake? So if you don't know you're just screwed?

 

Probably they expect them to know certain staples, but also I can't recall the exact wording, but I think the instructions did say to cut out the biscuit to fit the tin. That to me is a distinctly different instruction than press it into the tin and up the sides. Not that it'd say it in those words if they were expected to do the sides, but I don't think it would've been phrased the way it was either.

30 minutes ago, Deskisamess said:

Didn't Chig say his Apple were "pink lady"? Those apples are actually bumpy looking. 

I thought he said that as a joke to compensate when the judges were saying the color wasn't especially apple-ey. I didn't think he genuinely had planned them as pink lady apples all along.

[Ellaria]

19 minutes ago, Deskisamess said:

Seriously? It's a competition show. There is no reason to advance everyone. Then the same could be said in the final if everyone does well. "They should all win" would be outlandish, and would ruin what's left of the show. Jürgen's showstopper was boring, and his use of beets and matcha took him down. The gate was well done, but the entremets were the challenge, and his were boring and plain looking. Sticking a dagger in them didn't help.

Yes - seriously! And yeah, I'm aware that it's a competition. I didn't suggest that all should win and I don't understand why you assumed that's what I was saying. I suggested that IF it was THIS close, MAYBE sending four highly qualified bakers thru to the finale ONCE isn't such a bad thing.

Frankly, not showing their reasoning for sending him home is what is creating some of the problem. You can assume that it was because of beets and macha. We don't have confirmation of that.

Ans it's perfectly fine for us to disagree.

[AZChristian]

There was at least one occasion where no one was eliminated, but that was counter-balanced by the fact that someone had left for (I think) medical reasons.  That balanced out things out to the number of contestants who were supposed to be there at the end of that episode.  I also seem to recall a season where there was an episode where two people were eliminated, as was planned by production to ensure that only three people went through to the final.

I agree.  It's a competition.  People know the rules going in.  Sometimes it sucks, but good bakers who stumble are eliminated as a result.

[dleighg]

54 minutes ago, Deskisamess said:

Didn't Chig say his Apple were "pink lady"? Those apples are actually bumpy looking.

to be fair, he only called them pink lady after the color didn't come out as red as he intended :) 

[Cetacean]

4 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

There was at least one occasion where no one was eliminated, but that was counter-balanced by the fact that someone had left for (I think) medical reasons.

Yes, it was due to one of the contestants having to go for medical treatment so they decided not to do an elimination that week.  However, in the following week they eliminated two.

[Deskisamess]

17 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

There was at least one occasion where no one was eliminated, but that was counter-balanced by the fact that someone had left for (I think) medical reasons.

The episode after BakedAlaskaGate didn't send anyone home, because Diana Beard left for medical reasons.

And on one season, they were missing one baker (Terry?) for an episode because he was ill, so that episode no one was sent home. But the next episode 2 were sent home.

[SG429]

47 minutes ago, Ellaria Sand said:

Frankly, not showing their reasoning for sending him home is what is creating some of the problem.

OTOH if matcha/beets were the determining factor in their discussion among 4 otherwise equal efforts we'd kind of lose that suspense at the end. It's also much harder to give us a "these are in line for star baker while these others could be in trouble" when it's only 4 left.

[Ellaria]

2 minutes ago, SG429 said:

OTOH if matcha/beets were the determining factor in their discussion among 4 otherwise equal efforts we'd kind of lose that suspense at the end. It's also much harder to give us a "these are in line for star baker while these others could be in trouble" when it's only 4 left.

My point is that we were given NO rationale for sending him home and that may be why there is so much discussion. We are left to speculate.

[ombre]

38 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

There was at least one occasion where no one was eliminated, but that was counter-balanced by the fact that someone had left for (I think) medical reasons.  That balanced out things out to the number of contestants who were supposed to be there at the end of that episode.  I also seem to recall a season where there was an episode where two people were eliminated, as was planned by production to ensure that only three people went through to the final.

I agree.  It's a competition.  People know the rules going in.  Sometimes it sucks, but good bakers who stumble are eliminated as a result.

That's fair.  I still would have liked a better sense of *why*.  For me, there's a sublime magic in taking a flavor that people don't much like and turning it into something they do like, which sounds like what Juergen did with his approach to matcha.  It seemed that Prue *did* see it that way - enjoyed not just the cake itself but the access to a new joy in something she'd previously disliked.  (*and* Juergen explained how to achieve a similar result, which means that it may be replicable and give others who dislike matcha a similarly magical moment - which to me seems a very small but very real gift to *countless* people!)  And, again for me, there was an elegant simplicity to his entremets which was balanced by the architectural detail of his gate.  And therefore, for me, there is a very missing explanation of why he was sent home.  He created a tasty, unified, beautifully executed centerpiece.  At least tell us why that wasn't better than Giuseppe's pieces, where the flavor was missing other than the cherry.

There may well be reasons for their choice.  Perhaps they wanted to focus on the bakes and thus ran out of time for the explanation.  Perhaps they wanted to get the online world debating the merits and excited for the finale.  But with the absence of the explanation, you get things like this - slightly nasty posts on the Interwebs!  That said, it is a real testament to how well the craft these episodes through the edits that we *don't* usually have these kinds of tiffs.  They do a truly extraordinary job of making each episode feel inevitable and right and an place of cozy order in a chaotic world. 

All of this is, of course, rubbing around the ankles of my intense distaste for Paul and the way that this sometimes seems to be The Paul Hollywood Show, Starring Paul Hollywood.  When they switched channels they could have said "Hey, Paul's gonna be elevated now simply by means of being the longest-running member of the show - maybe we should find a way to even that out."  Instead, they opted for a bit of a Great Man narrative.  I intensely dislike Great Man narratives, so this is the perennial fly in the ointment for me in what is otherwise a simply delightful show.  (And it means I *loooooove* the holiday eps, where everybody's gone off and come back and feels far more comfortable taking the piss out of Paul.)

[mellyf]

13 minutes ago, ombre said:

That's fair.  I still would have liked a better sense of *why*.  For me, there's a sublime magic in taking a flavor that people don't much like and turning it into something they do like, which sounds like what Juergen did with his approach to matcha.  It seemed that Prue *did* see it that way - enjoyed not just the cake itself but the access to a new joy in something she'd previously disliked.  (*and* Juergen explained how to achieve a similar result, which means that it may be replicable and give others who dislike matcha a similarly magical moment - which to me seems a very small but very real gift to *countless* people!)  And, again for me, there was an elegant simplicity to his entremets which was balanced by the architectural detail of his gate.  And therefore, for me, there is a very missing explanation of why he was sent home.  He created a tasty, unified, beautifully executed centerpiece.  At least tell us why that wasn't better than Giuseppe's pieces, where the flavor was missing other than the cherry.

There may well be reasons for their choice.  Perhaps they wanted to focus on the bakes and thus ran out of time for the explanation.  Perhaps they wanted to get the online world debating the merits and excited for the finale.  But with the absence of the explanation, you get things like this - slightly nasty posts on the Interwebs!  That said, it is a real testament to how well the craft these episodes through the edits that we *don't* usually have these kinds of tiffs.  They do a truly extraordinary job of making each episode feel inevitable and right and an place of cozy order in a chaotic world. 

All of this is, of course, rubbing around the ankles of my intense distaste for Paul and the way that this sometimes seems to be The Paul Hollywood Show, Starring Paul Hollywood.  When they switched channels they could have said "Hey, Paul's gonna be elevated now simply by means of being the longest-running member of the show - maybe we should find a way to even that out."  Instead, they opted for a bit of a Great Man narrative.  I intensely dislike Great Man narratives, so this is the perennial fly in the ointment for me in what is otherwise a simply delightful show.  (And it means I *loooooove* the holiday eps, where everybody's gone off and come back and feels far more comfortable taking the piss out of Paul.)

I agree with a lot of this...especially the last paragraph. I really do feel like overall, it had to be a very nit-picky decision, and I own the fact that if it was Giuseppe that had been eliminated, I'd be devastated (and probably angry). Honestly, I feel like Jurgen was given a pass last week, with the sausage rolls, and that Lizzie should have stayed, but I hope that since we can't taste the bakes that there are logical reasons for why a contestant is eliminated and why another gets Star Baker. I do wish they'd have given the summary at the end for why Jurgen was eliminated.

That said, I've really gotten annoyed by how much fawning there is over Paul Hollywood (and his handshakes). I wouldn't say I've gotten to the "intense dislike" stage, but I'm definitely heading in that direction if he's allowed to continue unchecked, as so far he seems to be. It needs to be clear that Paul and Prue are on an equal footing, but unfortunately, I don't think they are.

[Iseut]

As a judge, Paul should reeeeeeally leave the comedy bits (such as they are) to Noel and Matt. When he came out in that Elvis getup my eyeballs rolled so hard they popped right out of my head and into the tent where they became surprise entremet fillings.

[Suzn]

13 hours ago, pfk505 said:

... And none of you think you're reading just a little bit much into this?

No.  I have no idea why that seems far-fetched to anyone.  Don't you think it is a bit naïve to think that the producers and Paul don't have preferences about how things play out?

Edited November 21, 2021 by Suzn

[iMonrey]

I thought I wouldn't need closed-captioning anymore after Lizzie left but it turns out I need it for Chigs sometimes too. "Just a massive sammie dodger innit?" What? Also "I am now cacking it." What does cacking mean? And at one point, even closed-captioning couldn't understand what he was saying: "[mumbles] entreme!"

On rewatch, Jurgen's entremes did not look at all appetizing, which Paul commented on. They weren't just plain looking, they were a slimy, sickly looking green color. Granted, Giuseppe's entremes were green too but they were a darker green and less unappetizing. 

Weirdly, I think it most likely came down to either Giuseppe or Jurgen, the two front runners this whole season. Who knows what the deciding factor was. I think I would have eliminated Giuseppe because of his boring looking showstopper, if I'm being honest, but I just like Giuseppe more than Jurgen, so I'm fine with the decision. 

[Suzn]

2 hours ago, ombre said:

All of this is, of course, rubbing around the ankles of my intense distaste for Paul and the way that this sometimes seems to be The Paul Hollywood Show, Starring Paul Hollywood.  When they switched channels they could have said "Hey, Paul's gonna be elevated now simply by means of being the longest-running member of the show - maybe we should find a way to even that out."  Instead, they opted for a bit of a Great Man narrative.  I intensely dislike Great Man narratives, so this is the perennial fly in the ointment for me in what is otherwise a simply delightful show.  (And it means I *loooooove* the holiday eps, where everybody's gone off and come back and feels far more comfortable taking the piss out of Paul.)

I am sad that Paul is taking away a lot of pleasure I've gotten from the show.  I'm not quite at the point of not watching but it could happen.

1 hour ago, mellyf said:

That said, I've really gotten annoyed by how much fawning there is over Paul Hollywood (and his handshakes). I wouldn't say I've gotten to the "intense dislike" stage, but I'm definitely heading in that direction if he's allowed to continue unchecked, as so far he seems to be. It needs to be clear that Paul and Prue are on an equal footing, but unfortunately, I don't think they are.

The fuss about the handshakes has increased and is out of proportion now.  The bigger the fuss over Paul's handshakes, the more Prue's importance is diminished.  I wonder how she feels about it.

39 minutes ago, Iseut said:

As a judge, Paul should reeeeeeally leave the comedy bits (such as they are) to Noel and Matt. When he came out in that Elvis getup my eyeballs rolled so hard they popped right out of my head and into the tent where they became surprise entremet fillings.

But it's The Paul Hollywood Show, Starring Paul Hollywood!  The alleged comedy bits were already cringeworthy, but with Paul's participation it goes to new lows. 

[festivus]

28 minutes ago, Suzn said:

The fuss about the handshakes has increased and is out of proportion now.  The bigger the fuss over Paul's handshakes, the more Prue's importance is diminished.  I wonder how she feels about it.

They made a point to show in this episode her saying to Jurgen that she would have given him one. I think it was probably more for the edit of Jurgen leaving than it was to show Prue's displeasure. But... I do think it makes it seem as if her input isn't as important as Paul's and I'd not be happy if I was her. 

I was sad about Jurgen leaving but I was sadder last week about Lizzie. I found him sweet but a bit boring. This will be my favorite final three ever, I think they are all lovely people. I might just give a slight edge to wanting Giuseppe to win but I truly will be happy with any of them. 

[justmehere]

2 hours ago, mellyf said:

It needs to be clear that Paul and Prue are on an equal footing, but unfortunately, I don't think they are.

 

47 minutes ago, Suzn said:

The bigger the fuss over Paul's handshakes, the more Prue's importance is diminished.  I wonder how she feels about it.

I was glad that they showed Prue saying that if she gave out handshakes, she would have given one to Jurgen in the signature. The handshakes probably should stop altogether.

(Edit to add below: sorry, I couldn't get the quote thing to work on an edit)

festivus said:

I do think it makes it seem as if her input isn't as important as Paul's and I'd not be happy if I was her. 

This, too. 

Edited November 21, 2021 by justmehere

[MisterGlass]

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

On rewatch, Jurgen's entremes did not look at all appetizing, which Paul commented on. They weren't just plain looking, they were a slimy, sickly looking green color. Granted, Giuseppe's entremes were green too but they were a darker green and less unappetizing. 

I think this is one where YMMV.  To me, Jurgen's looked like a natural, pleasant green and Giuseppe's looked artificial, almost plastic.  I think there was a conversation like this last year about what color blueberry desserts should be.

[sarasue59]

1 hour ago, Suzn said:

I am sad that Paul is taking away a lot of pleasure I've gotten from the show.  I'm not quite at the point of not watching but it could happen.

The fuss about the handshakes has increased and is out of proportion now.  The bigger the fuss over Paul's handshakes, the more Prue's importance is diminished.  I wonder how she feels about it.

But it's The Paul Hollywood Show, Starring Paul Hollywood!  The alleged comedy bits were already cringeworthy, but with Paul's participation it goes to new lows. 

I loved how she told Juergen twice that she would have given him a handshake if it were up to her.  I could tell that he felt left out and on the block after the first challenge.  I was surprised that his win in the technical didn't give him more of an edge.   But then, that never seems to.  

 

[Ceindreadh]

3 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I thought I wouldn't need closed-captioning anymore after Lizzie left but it turns out I need it for Chigs sometimes too. "Just a massive sammie dodger innit?" What? Also "I am now cacking it." What does cacking mean? And at one point, even closed-captioning couldn't understand what he was saying: "[mumbles] entreme!"

 

Cack is slang for shit.  Basically Chigs was saying he was on the verge of crapping his pants he was under so much stress. 

[sharifa70]

I actually loved the look of Giuseppe’s tower. I liked the clean, spare design and the surrounding entremets. Granted, I also like Crystelle’s more elaborate design but Giuseppe’s just seemed very peaceful.

[meep.meep]

5 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I thought I wouldn't need closed-captioning anymore after Lizzie left but it turns out I need it for Chigs sometimes too. "Just a massive sammie dodger innit?" What? Also "I am now cacking it." What does cacking mean? And at one point, even closed-captioning couldn't understand what he was saying: "[mumbles] entreme!"

Massive Jammie Dodger - a kind of sweet with jam

[caitmcg]

43 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

Massive Jammie Dodger - a kind of sweet with jam

In fact, that was more or less the technical in Biscuit Week, though they took pains to refer to them as “jammie biscuits” rather than using a familiar brand name (just as they avoided saying Twix when they made a homemade version).

[bunnyface]

Heart. Broken.  

But honestly, as soon as 3 got handshakes and one didn't, I knew it was over.  

[anniebird]

On 11/18/2021 at 7:18 PM, magdalene said:

 

Well, I am rooting for Guiseppe to win this. As long as it's not Chrystelle, who gives me big phony vibes trading on her looks and pretending big eyed "Oh my I am so shocked I am doing so well". While underneath it all is the soul of a barracuda.  That one is no Ruby who was genuine and gorgeous on top of it.

And I thought Ruby was a complete phony so there you go.

Edited November 22, 2021 by anniebird

[magdalene]

2 hours ago, anniebird said:

And I thought Ruby was a complete phony so there you go.

Which one? There have been two you know. Ruby Tandoh, very young and too little confidence in her bakes.  Not even twenty when she was on and people were vicious to her.  And 2018's Ruby Bhogal, competent and classy and fun to watch. 

I am actually not in the habit to hate on the female bakers, including the ones who have gotten a lot of online hate, like Ruby Tandoh or the lady with the pouty lips whose name I can never remember but she won bake-off and she deserved the win.

But there is something about Chrystelle that sets off alarm bells in me. I want to take a step back from the TV when the camera is on her. I have no logical explanation for it.

Edited November 22, 2021 by magdalene
to add to my thoughts

[Cherpumple]

I don't mind the idea of the Hollywood handshake - it's nice to have a mechanism by which the judges can recognize exceptional work - but it bothers me that it ONLY comes from Paul and is built up as this magical thing. I wonder if Prue has ever wanted to add her own comparable gesture to put her on equal footing, and was shot down by either Paul or the producers. It just seemed weird to me that she told Jurgen that she would have given him a handshake during the signature bake, rather than just going ahead and doing it, and it made me think that maybe she's not "allowed" to do it.

[Dobian]

Best semifinal ever.  When Crystelle got star baker I thought it would be between Chigs and Giuseppe.  You could see Giuseppe gulp, he was so nervous.  I felt Jurgen was safe since he won the technical and his signature was good, only slightly below the others.  His showstopper looked "good enough."  Then they said Jurgen's name and it was such a shock.  This was his title to lose.  But I could understand why.  They were all bunched together going into the showstopper, and his flavors and design underwhelmed compared to the others.  He lost by the thinnest of margins.  I felt bad for him, great for the other three.  Bittersweet.  The final is really up in the air, any one of them can win it.

[sarasue59]

11 hours ago, bunnyface said:

Heart. Broken.  

But honestly, as soon as 3 got handshakes and one didn't, I knew it was over.  

I was going to come on and say just that.  I mean, be a little more subtle as to who you're going to knife this week.  

[laredhead]

There have been several mentions of a practice tent.  Is it just as elaborate as the one they use for filming the show?  Do the contestants all practice there together, or are they on a schedule and don't see what the others are making?  Any information on this practice tent?   

[AZChristian]

17 minutes ago, laredhead said:

There have been several mentions of a practice tent.  Is it just as elaborate as the one they use for filming the show?  Do the contestants all practice there together, or are they on a schedule and don't see what the others are making?  Any information on this practice tent?   

Here's some information on the practice tent.  Production pretty much HAD to come up with a way for the bakers to practice.  Before Covid, they got to go home during the week and could practice there before coming back for the two days of shooting.  For the 2020 and 2021 seasons, they've all been a bubble at a very nice hotel.

[chaifan]

9 hours ago, Cherpumple said:

I don't mind the idea of the Hollywood handshake - it's nice to have a mechanism by which the judges can recognize exceptional work - but it bothers me that it ONLY comes from Paul and is built up as this magical thing. I wonder if Prue has ever wanted to add her own comparable gesture to put her on equal footing, and was shot down by either Paul or the producers. It just seemed weird to me that she told Jurgen that she would have given him a handshake during the signature bake, rather than just going ahead and doing it, and it made me think that maybe she's not "allowed" to do it.

I'd bet money that Paul has it in his contract that only he is allowed to give handshakes.  And I'd also bet money that the contract contains a strict prohibition against anyone disclosing this. 

Yeah, Prue could come up with something different to express the extraordinary accomplishments.  But any judge coming up with their own "thing" this late in the game would just seem silly and competitive. 

I think Prue got the idea across fully well by saying she would have given Juergen a handshake.  And it seemed to be a bit of a dig against Paul.  But maybe I'm reading a bit much into that. 

 

 

[Dobian]

2 hours ago, sarasue59 said:

I was going to come on and say just that.  I mean, be a little more subtle as to who you're going to knife this week.  

I didn't think Jurgen was finished when only he didn't get the handshake.  After he won the technical (putting the four into a virtual dead heat), if he had come out and done a boffo showstopper, I believe they would have been forced into a position to make the technical the tiebreaker and Chig would have been sent home.

[libgirl2]

13 minutes ago, chaifan said:

I think Prue got the idea across fully well by saying she would have given Juergen a handshake.  And it seemed to be a bit of a dig against Paul.  But maybe I'm reading a bit much into that. 

 

 

No, you aren't. I felt the same way. Not just a dig, but also letting everyone know her opinion counts but now I'm wondering if it only counts when she agrees with Paul. 

I don't mind the handshakes but they shouldn't be used to exclude anyone. And if you start handing them out left and right, they lose any "specialness" they had. 

[justmehere]

On the same page as the practice tent article that AZChristian linked to, there was a link to an article about Jurgen:

Jürgen overcome with emotion as he admits he was ‘relieved’ not to make final

There's a short video clip as well.

(Wasn't sure where to put this - relates to the episode but also is Media and Extra Slice. Please move if necessary.)

 

Edited November 22, 2021 by justmehere

[libgirl2]

1 hour ago, justmehere said:

On the same page as the practice tent article that AZChristian linked to, there was a link to an article about Jurgen:

Jürgen overcome with emotion as he admits he was ‘relieved’ not to make final

There's a short video clip as well.

(Wasn't sure where to put this - relates to the episode but also is Media and Extra Slice. Please move if necessary.)

 

thank you for sharing that. 

[Enigma X]

The "Hollywood" handshake bothers me period, but what adds to its annoyance is what so many have mentioned. It downplays Pru's (and before Mary's) opinion. It is not as if Paul consults with his fellow judge on whether the contestant deserved a handshake. It is his opinion alone. With that said, I still find the whole thing stupid and more as an ego boost for Paul than anything else.

[Iseut]

2 hours ago, justmehere said:

On the same page as the practice tent article that AZChristian linked to, there was a link to an article about Jurgen:

Jürgen overcome with emotion as he admits he was ‘relieved’ not to make final

There's a short video clip as well.

(Wasn't sure where to put this - relates to the episode but also is Media and Extra Slice. Please move if necessary.)

 

Aww, Jurgen. Too pure. On his Insta he did a little promo for Extra Slice while snuggling his bunny, Humphrey. It was almost too much. My hearrrrrrrrrt! 

[Suzn]

3 hours ago, Enigma X said:

The "Hollywood" handshake bothers me period, but what adds to its annoyance is what so many have mentioned. It downplays Pru's (and before Mary's) opinion. It is not as if Paul consults with his fellow judge on whether the contestant deserved a handshake. It is his opinion alone. With that said, I still find the whole thing stupid and more as an ego boost for Paul than anything else.

ITA.  It's another way Paul builds himself up and gets attention and downplays Prue's importance.  From the look on her face when she said she would have given Jurgen a handshake, she's not happy about it, but I'm sure she has no say so.

Edited November 22, 2021 by Suzn

[blueray]

6 minutes ago, Suzn said:

ITA.  It's another way Paul builds himself up and gets attention and downplays Prue's importance.  From the look on her face when she said she would have given Jurgen a handshake, she's not happy about it, but I sure she has no say so.

This bothered me too. She is also a judge and if she wants to give someone a handshake or something she should be allowed. She has just the same amount of say that he does. So this should count. 

[SuprSuprElevated]

On 11/18/2021 at 12:30 PM, Jordan Baker said:

Crystelle is always shocked when she does well, and it doesn't always read as genuine to me.

This.  100%

Edit - My opinion that Crystelle utilizes theatrics at certain times is not an indication that I don't like her, or that I'm a misogynist, or a sexist, or any other ist.  I myself employ theatrics at certain times, when storytelling, or perhaps when defending myself in front of a traffic court judge.  It's not that serious.  This is a competition show featuring amateur bakers, not a scientific expose on genomics.

But it is a darn good competition show featuring amateur bakers.

Edited November 22, 2021 by SuprSuprElevated

[chaifan]

I'm giving myself a Paul Hollywood Handshake.  (um, ok, yeah, that sounds just a bit dirty)

Part of my post from Ep. 8, Free From Week:

• After this week, I could see Juergen not making it into the finals.  I think if he had another off week and Crystelle had an on week, she'd get through.  But, next week is Patisserie, and that may be Chig's undoing as a relatively novice baker.  Those are usually harder challenges, a lot more precision is needed.  I would be shocked to see Guiseppe not make it to the final 3.

 

 

[Kiddvideo]

I noticed on 2nd watch that Noel mentioned that this would be the hardest week for the contestants to be asked to leave, to get so far and not make it to the finals. Meanwhile Matt expressed sympathy for the judges.

I don’t remember Noel being this thoughtful of the contestants in previous years. (Also with Maggie and George this season.) I always felt it was a contest between him and Matt to see who could be the bigger jackass. For this season I’ll remember Matt for comparing his shaved head to George’s sugar dome, which I’ll give him was funny.

[SemiCharmedLife]

14 hours ago, laredhead said:

There have been several mentions of a practice tent.  Is it just as elaborate as the one they use for filming the show?  Do the contestants all practice there together, or are they on a schedule and don't see what the others are making?  Any information on this practice tent?   

Last season on An Extra Slice, we were able to see a few behind the scenes bits from inside the practice tent (as well as a get together in the hotel).  It looked as though each baker had a sectioned off tent area to practice in.  They were having a lot of fun interacting with each other.  One of the bakers was taking the video and "interviewing" the others (why can't I remember the name of the "messy bekker" from Scotland?)

[MerBearHou]

When Juergen’s voice broke just slightly after he was voted off…well, you could tell he was so hurt and was trying to seem stoic.  My heart broke for him too.  This is the only elimination this season that really got to me.

[Alexander Pope]

On 11/20/2021 at 3:30 AM, Rickster said:

I think Jurgen was the best baker of the season from a technical point of view, but lagged a bit in creativity, both in design and flavors, which did him in this episode.

I will never forget the hideous baby cake Jurgen made.  And he has been praised for other bakes which to my eyes were not visually appealing.