S12.E09: Patisserie Week

[anniebird]

On 11/21/2021 at 9:04 PM, magdalene said:

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.

Ruby Tandoh - at first I sympathized with her and then it just got tiresome when she did the same tremulous "Oh it's so bad"  shtick week after week.  I really liked Candace, the lady with the pouty lips - she had a sense of humor - I like Chrystelle for the same reason.

[magdalene]

34 minutes ago, anniebird said:

I really liked Candace, the lady with the pouty lips - she had a sense of humor

Candace!  For some reason I can never recall her name.  She was very funny on the holiday bake off she did later too.

[LeDucDiableBleu]

Well I have to eat my hat because I was sure Jurgen wouldn't have been eliminated. I really enjoyed him as a contestant, and him being intellectual and not one of "the beautiful people." I also liked that he was into books and music and not so much science and engineering. It seems like lately we've been inundated with cooking+science themes on tv in general. But I realize this is a baking show so as much as I enjoyed his personality if Paul said his baking's not up to par then he had to go.

[MagicEyes]

Lizzie, Freya, and Jurgen on a roller coaster! 😊

https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPd2HMChY/

[Margo Leadbetter]

I stopped watching GBBO when Matt came on board because I found him so off-putting and un-funny (hasn’t changed) but my daughter recommended I check out this season because the contestant pool was so good and I’m glad I did. Just finished bingeing yesterday.

I’m sorry but not sorry to see Juergen go. He reminded me a lot S3’s Brendan, who I thought was an excellent technical baker but just seemed to be lacking…soul for lack of a better word. Personality-wise they were very similar as well and while it shouldn’t have had any bearing on their standing in the competition, I never quite warmed to either.

As far as his elimination over the others, while his showstopper centerpiece was much more complex than some and wasn’t made out of rice puff treats like others, aside from aesthetics, I wonder how much those structures factored into the final judging. I guess as long as it was made out of something edible, taste really didn’t matter.  IIRC, I don’t remember seeing anyone actually taste them (which they did with Nadia’s rice puff peacock). But if aesthetics were the determining factor, he definitely had the edge over Guiseppe’s extremely simplistic showstopper and Chigs’s somewhat clumsy tree, although his gate did look quite burnt. I actually thought it was going to be Guiseppe who’d be eliminated because his showstopper was so simple and the green so in-your-face.

I laughed when Chigs said his apples were pink lady apples. Much like S3’s James (still my all-time fave contestant) when he said his derelict barn showstopper was just what he intended, it was a good save. (Although I think John is still salty that it won over his Colosseum.) 

Of the two Rubys, Ruby T was just exhausting and not fun to watch. Ruby B and Crystelle are outsized personalities with BIG reactions who ARE fun to watch. But none of the three ever struck me as not being genuine and I side-eye anyone who accuses them of trading on their looks to get where they are. (FTR though, I do remember S2’s Rob, arguably one of the series’ best looking contestants but a train-wreck from the get-go, being accused of making it as far as he did because of his looks.)

This season, I think all three are worthy finalists and I’ll be happy with whoever wins. 

Edited December 1, 2021 by Margo Leadbetter
Edited because I can’t type to save my life and I never notice the fuckton of mistakes I make until well after the fact.

[Adiba]

1 hour ago, Margo Leadbetter said:

I stopped watching GBBO when Matt came on board because I found him so off-putting and un-funny (hasn’t changed) but my daughter recommended I check out this season because the contestant pool was so good and I’m glad I did. Just finished bingeing yesterday.

I’m sorry but not sorry to see Juergen go. He reminded me a lot S3’s Brendan, who I thought was an excellent technical baker but just seemed to be lacking…soul for lack of a better word. Personality-wise they were very similar as well and while it shouldn’t have had any bearing on their standing in the competition, I never quite warmed to either.

As far as his elimination over the others, while his showstopper centerpiece was much more complex than some and wasn’t made out of rice puff treats like others, aside from aesthetics, I wonder how much those structures factored into the final judging. I guess as long as it was made out of something edible, taste really didn’t matter.  IIRC, I don’t remember seeing anyone actually taste them (which they did with Nadia’s rice puff peacock). But if aesthetics were the determining factor, he definitely had the edge of Guiseppe’s extremely simplistic showstopper and Chigs’s somewhat clumsy tree, although his gate did look quite burnt. I actually thought it was going to be Guiseppe who’d be eliminated because his showstopper was so simple and the green so in-your-face.

I laughed when Chigs said his apple were pink lady apples. Much like S3’s James (still my all-time fave contestant) when he said his derelict barn showstopper was just what he intended, it was a good save. (Although I think John is still salty that it won over his Coliseum.) 

Of the three Rubys, Ruby T was just exhausting and not fun to watch. Ruby B and current Ruby were outsized personalities with BIG reactions who ARE fun to watch. But none of the three ever struck me as not being genuine and I side-eye anyone who accuses them of trading on their looks to get where they are. (FTR though, I do remember S2’s Rob, arguably one of the series’ best looking contestants but a train-wreck from the get-go, being accused of as making it as far as he did because of his looks.)

This season, I think all three are worthy finalists and I’ll be happy with whoever wins. 

I never thought any of the good-looking contestants were purposely using their looks. What I thought was that looks can subtly, subconsciously influence the judging (and maybe the producers when casting). There is a thing called “pretty privilege.”  
That said, I think Crystelle is a good baker and probably a lot of fun to be around (if she’s not being too OTT). And while I found Ruby T. to be a little tiresome, by the final I didn’t mind her so much—especially when her mother said that Ruby actually was a perfectionist and really hard on herself.

The problem I have is when the judges talk out of both sides of their mouths. “Style over substance “ vs. “lacking finesse” and “only this week matters” vs. “best overall baker,” etc. sometimes seem to change with Paul’s whims? 
Still enjoy the show, though. I just come here to voice my complaints.

[caitmcg]

2 hours ago, Margo Leadbetter said:

IIRC, I don’t remember seeing anyone actually taste them (which they did with Nadia’s rice puff peacock). But

That was Candice who made the peacock, and I don’t recall thaf they tasted the body, which was made of puffed rice, i think only the tail, which made from different flavors of biscuits. In that same episode, Justina used puffed rice, too. As with the showstoppers in this semifinal, the parts they used them for were structural, but not the parts they were actually tasting. 

[Margo Leadbetter]

14 minutes ago, caitmcg said:

That was Candice who made the peacock, and I don’t recall thaf they tasted the body, which was made of puffed rice, i think only the tail, which made from different flavors of biscuits. In that same episode, Justina used puffed rice, too. As with the showstoppers in this semifinal, the parts they used them for were structural, but not the parts they were actually tasting. 

Nadiya’s was first, for Chocolate Week I think. The body was puffed rice treats and the feathers were made out of blue and green modeling chocolate. And I’m pretty sure they tasted the body since I remember a big wedge being cut out of it. (ETA: Just checked the ep and they did indeed taste it.) Candice’s was very similar and she got a lot of flack for it, with people accusing her of copying Nadiya.

Edited November 25, 2021 by Margo Leadbetter

[limecoke]

On 11/17/2021 at 12:20 PM, Aulty said:

If I was a judge on a baking competition, using rice crisp

Well, it was part of the centerpiece so not meant to be eaten and judged. Considering Crystelle used a candle, it must have been within the rules of the challenge.

Based on the season in general, Jurgen probably should be in the final but someone had to go and on the day, it was him. Good flavors but not visually pleasing. Guiseppe beat him out on the visuals and in the Signature. Probably fair. I was ready for my favorite, Chigs, to go so yeah, really happy.

Edited November 29, 2021 by limecoke

[caitmcg]

1 minute ago, limecoke said:

Well, it was part of the centerpiece so not meant to be eaten and judged. Considering Crystelle used a candle, it must have been within the rules of the challenge.

Crystelle made the candle out of crisped rice. I think it all had to be edible, even if it wasn’t actually going to be eaten.

[Mr. R0b0t]

I gotta step up my "psychoanalyze strangers on the tv" game.

[unbiasedbeliever]

I think, by the semi-finals, Jürgen had added diversity both as an introvert and as an engineer who brought more culture to the table than anyone else.  Had the judges elevated their sights slightly, I believe they could have navigated their task with a little bit more “finesse.”

They based their decisions on the extroversion/introversion of the contestants because they didn’t appreciate his nuance.  You might attribute that to the necessity of the show, but it became too “Hollywood” even for Hollywood.  Jürgen was the obvious introvert out of the four which is also why he said he was relieved to be sent home, but Hollywood’s refusal to “love” the signature because of a lack of a third flavor says more about his dislike of Jurgen’s style than his skill.  
 

The judges also definitely have a partiality towards Western cuisine.  His centerpiece was intricately crafted, but they didn’t seem that fond of the simple elegance that often accompanies Asian cuisine.  They weren’t AS impressed by the taste of his Ube and sake chouxnuts in pastry week either, despite commenting on the striking purple color of the Ube.  I honestly feel that they called a strike a ball here just because they are more familiar with European-style design and taste.  Judging was a little stodgy.  No quotes.  

I don’t think the justification was NEARLY enough reason for dismissal, given Jurgen’s three-star baker record.  

Because it hinged so much on personality at a point when viewership and tension were highest, with Jürgen being the only one who wasn’t an extrovert, I don’t think the judges knew how to be completely unbiased.  Plus, he added on an extra layer of diversity with the Asian theme that they just didn’t how to handle, let alone appreciate.  This was arguably the biggest mistake on the judges’ part.  I honestly think that if they had judged the showstopper blind they wouldn’t have kicked Jürgen off.  

Edited January 22, 2022 by unbiasedbeliever

[MisterGlass]

On 1/21/2022 at 12:34 AM, unbiasedbeliever said:

I honestly think that if they had judged the showstopper blind they wouldn’t have kicked Jürgen off.

It would be interesting if they judged them blind.  I could see a path to it where the hosts present the showstoppers to the judges, delivering an explanation written by the contestants.