S12.E10: The Final

[Athena]

Quote

The bakers make a classic carrot cake and create a grand Mad Hatter's tea party banquet. Who will be crowned the winner of The Great British Bake Off 2021?

Original UK Air Date: November 23, 2021

[Aulty]

At which point did the technical challenge, initially designed to test bakers on following a recipe and occasionally leaving out detailed instructions for basic elements, take a turn to guess ville via baker's intuition and a short trip to the engineering district?
Who would buy a cook book where the recipe for Belgian buns just says: Make them buns?

[ShortyMac]

Forgot about social media/Twitter, and spoiled myself for the winner. Congrats, Giuseppe!

[libgirl2]

11 minutes ago, ShortyMac said:

Forgot about social media/Twitter, and spoiled myself for the winner. Congrats, Giuseppe!

Me too. 

[Wee S]

I was so happy for Guiseppe!

I was quite suspicious of the edit early on, as it heavily featured him. This made me think he'd either won, or messed up.

Turns out, it was both!

Well done Italy for their continued cultural dominance this year! Forza Italia!!!

[Ceindreadh]

1 hour ago, Aulty said:

At which point did the technical challenge, initially designed to test bakers on following a recipe and occasionally leaving out detailed instructions for basic elements, take a turn to guess ville via baker's intuition and a short trip to the engineering district?
Who would buy a cook book where the recipe for Belgian buns just says: Make them buns?

IIRC, the technicals in the Final are usually very sparse as by then, anybody left should have basic baking knowledge.

[jmt111]

1 hour ago, ShortyMac said:

Forgot about social media/Twitter, and spoiled myself for the winner. Congrats, Giuseppe!

Me too, but I’m so glad for Giuseppe. 

[Danny Franks]

I guess kissing that spatula on the head really did make a difference.

Really pleased for Giuseppe. He seems like a thoroughly nice, goodhearted and affable man. I worried for him when his oven turned off and he seemed to lose focus, but I think Noel actually helped him shrug it off by teasing him about baking needing heat. Honestly, I think the edit made that out to be a bigger problem than it was. Our oven at home heats up in about five minutes, and I'd bet those ovens do so even more quickly.

Poor Crystelle, but even I could see that focaccia looked... weird, when she took it out of the oven. I thought she was the favourite coming into this, and seemed like the most likely winner right up until the moment Paul cut into that bread. She'd have had to have really stood out in the signature to still be in with a shot.

Chigs was playing catch up the whole way, and I guess he came close but Giuseppe was just that bit better.

For a change from the last couple of years, none of the challenges were too obscure or complicated or ridiculously vague, and the end results were pretty impressive. I thought all of the showstopper bakes looked really good (except the raw one) and the signatures as well.

The montage of Freya and Lizzie visiting everyone, then the reunion, was genuinely heart-warming and a strong endorsement for this lockdown format being continued in some form. They all just seem to have bonded so much and it's produced some really nice television. Although keeping them away from their families would obviously be a problem.

[MerBearHou]

I came here to be spoiled and will now happily watch the finale knowing the pleasing outcome.  So very, very happy for the wonderful Giuseppe!  

[magdalene]

Got spoiled online. I am quite pleased with this outcome.  Might as well say congrats to Guiseppe! His smile lights up a room.

[Straycat80]

Got spoiled on SM. But I’ll enjoy watching Friday on Netflix. I figured from the beginning either Giuseppe or Jurgen would win, so congratulations to Giuseppe, he deserved the win. 

[Lovecat]

2 hours ago, magdalene said:

Got spoiled online. I am quite pleased with this outcome.  Might as well say congrats to Guiseppe! His smile lights up a room.

Good thing this isn’t the Dateline forum…anyone described as having a smile who lights up a room usually is the one who’s found dead.

On topic, I was spoiled on Instagram, but I’m not mad about it.  Can’t wait to watch the finale this weekend with a piece of leftover pumpkin pie (giving Paul Hollywood the finger the whole time, because “American pie” is effing delicious, you big snob)!

[zibnchy]

Didn't realize how much I wanted Chigs to win until Giuseppe's name was announced. I was skeptical of Chigs at first but he really won me over.

Can anyone explain what Crystelle did to her focaccia to make it so horrible?

[Rickster]

Giuseppe was my co-favorite with Jurgen, so not disappointed. I’ll watch Friday or over the weekend.

Not sure what it means, but this will be the first season in a couple that I will have watched from beginning to end. I guess I am waving the surrender flag to Channel 4 (not a fan of any of the personnel changes from the BBC days).

[Aulty]

1 hour ago, zibnchy said:

Can anyone explain what Crystelle did to her focaccia to make it so horrible?

It looked like she inadvertently confit (= slow cooking in oil at a low temperature, great for goose legs but won't work with dough) it. There were a lot of comments about the amount of oil she put on it. Oven must've been just below frying temperature. It was weird.

[AZChristian]

Ooooh.  There are rumors of a Crystelle/Chiggs romance blooming.  Those would be some beautiful babies!!!

[Enigma X]

Giuseppe and Lizzie were my favorites. So glad Giuseppe won.

[SemiCharmedLife]

On 11/23/2021 at 3:08 PM, Danny Franks said:

I guess kissing that spatula on the head really did make a difference.

Really pleased for Giuseppe. He seems like a thoroughly nice, goodhearted and affable man. I worried for him when his oven turned off and he seemed to lose focus, but I think Noel actually helped him shrug it off by teasing him about baking needing heat. Honestly, I think the edit made that out to be a bigger problem than it was. Our oven at home heats up in about five minutes, and I'd bet those ovens do so even more quickly.

Poor Crystelle, but even I could see that focaccia looked... weird, when she took it out of the oven. I thought she was the favourite coming into this, and seemed like the most likely winner right up until the moment Paul cut into that bread. She'd have had to have really stood out in the signature to still be in with a shot.

Chigs was playing catch up the whole way, and I guess he came close but Giuseppe was just that bit better.

For a change from the last couple of years, none of the challenges were too obscure or complicated or ridiculously vague, and the end results were pretty impressive. I thought all of the showstopper bakes looked really good (except the raw one) and the signatures as well.

The montage of Freya and Lizzie visiting everyone, then the reunion, was genuinely heart-warming and a strong endorsement for this lockdown format being continued in some form. They all just seem to have bonded so much and it's produced some really nice television. Although keeping them away from their families would obviously be a problem.

I'm sure Crystelle and Chigs are wishing they had kissed that spoon now!  

I'm happy for Giuseppe's win.  He is a very accomplished baker and carrying on with the family legacy.  Seeing his dad on that video message really choked me up (along with Giuseppe).  

Even though the bakers weren't as flawless as they were last week, this final was a good one, with all three being so close.  It was great to see Crystelle win her first technical.  I think Chigs is amazing, how he was able to accomplish such a level of baking after only 12 18 months!  I was very impressed with his Showstopper.

I loved the ending montage- we've come to love the bakers and it's so nice to catch up with what they are doing, and to know they are staying in touch with each other is heart warming.  

I can't wait for the holiday episodes!

[Lois Sandborne]

Even though I didn't make a strong connection with this season, I loved the finale. I was endeared by how shocked and thrilled Giuseppe was by his win, and they were very clever tying in all of his family stories at just the right time to really tug those heartstrings.

It was sad to see Jurgen eliminated last week, but this still felt like the most talented final three ever. I'm sure Jurgen would've made it the most talented final four.

I've just made carrot cake for my Thanksgiving dinner, and I have to say they all put my basic little cake to shame. Hers didn't look especially attractive, but I'm going to try some sort of pistachio frosting like Crystelle's next time.

I loved the more traditional final showstopper too. No building fires or blowing glass, just bake this variety of spectacular things. I thought they all looked wonderful. Chigs's biscuits with the strawberry, pepper, and elderflower jam were beautiful. I'm not sure how Paul was unable to taste everything in that mix, it seems like such a perfect balance of flavors.

I missed having all the past contestants there at the end, but Freya and Lizzie's road trip did help make it an especially nice update, and the dedication was a nice touch too.

Edited November 25, 2021 by Lois Sandborne

[TVbitch]

This clearly meant the world to Giuseppe. His dad had me blubbering, and I thought he was going to pass out during the announcement, so I'm glad he won the plate. Before putting her focaccia in the oven, Crystelle poured more oil in and said she learned that during bread week, so we can blame Paul! Chigs did himself proud, and if he walks away with Crystelle, that is way better than a plate! Of course, Jurgen took them out for ice cream, being an ice cream inspector and all. There was a lot of talent this season and I'm sure we will see some of them again.  

I must say though, I think the squirrel was over-acting. And for goodness sake, someone tell Prue there is a giant orange spider on her chest!  : D  Happy holiday season everyone!  

[Mellowyellow]

15 hours ago, AZChristian said:

Ooooh.  There are rumors of a Crystelle/Chiggs romance blooming.  Those would be some beautiful babies!!!

Omg!!!! I didn't hear any rumours but I distinctly remember thinking (in a completely matter of fact way) during one episode as I watched those two: What good looking people with lovely features. Their kids would be gorgeous!

[Rickster]

Really nice article about this season’s winner in The Guardian:

“I Thought It Was Going To Be A Nightmare”

[pfk505]

I really felt awful for Crystelle, who I think might have taken the win had she not messed up the focaccia. I'd say she was in the lead after the technical, and the rest of her showstopper was good, but unfortunately that sank her. Which brings me to the main point I want to make, is that it appears to me (at least according to the edit) that the show seemed to break its own rules again, and I think Chigs should have won the week. I would hand it to Giuseppe over the whole season, he was much stronger than Chigs early on, but the editors could have done a better job showcasing why he should have won the week. The technical clearly means nothing nowadays, but show us why his signature and showstopper were clearly superior.

This remains my one gripe about the show, is that they will break their own rules at times for unknown reasons and keep someone around despite a poor week on the basis of previous performance when that's really not how its supposed to work (and does work most times).

With all that said, Giuseppe is a great winner and I loved the stuff with his dad. What a top guy.

[Danny Franks]

Beaten to posting that Guardian article. Oh well.

I particularly liked this bit of it:

Quote

“Noel and Matt are very considerate: their job is to be an ‘entertaining nuisance’ but they never intentionally bother you,”

Obviously, mileage varies for bakers but it was clear on the show that this is genuinely how Giuseppe saw them. He always seemed amused and happy to talk to them.

Edited November 25, 2021 by Danny Franks

[Trillian]

Eurovision, Euro Cup and  the GBBO! Viva L’Italia   🇮🇹

Edited November 27, 2021 by Trillian

[blueray]

Wow three great bakers. I am happy that Giuseppe won, despite burning his buns. I was thinking it would be Chigs as he had no obvious mistake. Crystelle obviously wasn't going to win when her bread was raw. I wonder how that happened, did she not put it in?

I cried when Giuseppe was talking to his family. I had a feeling he was going to go back to Italy, as I think that is where his parents live and his dad heath is failing :(. I was wondering if this season was a bubble and the final finally answered that. It is nice that they give the food to the staff, so it isn't wasted. And as usual I love the "where are they now" bit. 

[chaifan]

I thought I had been spoiled on the finale.  I saw two article headlines/photos, and they both mentioned Crystelle.  So I was sure she was the winner.  Then, when her focaccia was raw, I realized there's no way she could be the winner.  So it really was an unspoiled finale for me!

Giuseppe really was the right call.  His carrot cake was the best of all 3.  Still a mystery to me why he didn't make 3 smaller layers, I was certain that was going to be his undoing.  Yeah, he overbaked the Belgian Buns, but Chigs didn't even come close to what Paul was looking for.  Giuseppe's were beautifully presented, even if overdone.  I was glad that Crystelle finally got a technical win, even if she didn't win the whole thing.

I loved how Giuseppe hugged the trophy in the last shot before the montage.  His excitement and pure joy is just incredible to watch.  I'm so glad he and his dad will have the opportunity to make a cookbook. 

I hope Crystelle comes out with a cookbook.  I love her choice of flavors.  If they publish the recipe to her carrot cake, I will definitely try that.  But not 4 layers! 

I thought the road trip montage was fun.  When they first showed Freya and Lizzie and said "road trip around the country", my thought was, oh, that will take about 5 hours!  😉 I do love the Juergen took them out for ice cream! 

 

[AZChristian]

Just finished watching the finale, and my eyes are still wet.  We absolutely needed the positive distraction of such a wonderful show this year, and I am so glad we have had it.

Well done, all!!!!

[MisterGlass]

I enjoyed this on the whole and am happy for Giuseppe.  I loved the idea of the choux bun caterpillar.  That's an incredibly clever option for a party since you could always customize the length.  The layered hazelnut tart cake also looked really tasty.  I haven't seen something like the muffin with the little half window showing the fruit 'heart.'

Chigs's playing cards were fun with the heart cutouts, and the brioche mushrooms were perfectly on theme.  I was sorry his Cheshire Cat didn't have a smile since that's such a defining part.  Chrystelle's was lovely and I'm sorry for her focaccia.  I wondered if all the water was trapped in the bread by the oil.  Did I miss it, or did they judges not comment on the 'drink me' glasses of Chrystelle and Chigs?  His looked like a mocha and hers were green.

The technical irritated me to no end.  There is a big difference between telling a group of mostly English bakers 'make a Victoria sandwich' like they did one year, and telling them 'make a Belgian bun.'  From the ingredient list I was picturing something like a hot cross bun and instead it turned out to be a rolled and sliced bun.  I'm shocked they all came to that conclusion.

I have a very fixed definition of carrot cake, and so was not too interested in the variations.  I did think they all had rather large pieces of carrot.  They looked julienned, and I've always grated carrot for cake and muffins.

I may have missed it, but I didn't hear anyone take the opportunity to call out Matt as Tweedle Dee/Tweedle Dum.

[kay1864]

45 minutes ago, MisterGlass said:

Did I miss it, or did they judges not comment on the 'drink me' glasses of Chrystelle and Chigs?

I wondered about that too.

Overall, it must have been incredibly close.

Signature:

Chigs: a bit rubbery, great flavor, BUT visually impressive

Giuseppe: moisture seeped in, delicious flavor, “attractive and fairly level” (yeah, but melted)

The judges often use “I could see this in a Paris bakery”  C Yes, G No.

Technical:

C: too high, a bit too chewy

G: Massively overbaked, dry as a bone. (i.e., inedible, which is what ultimately ruined Crystelle’s chances)

Same criterion: C probably not, G No way

so at the midpoint… How could Giuseppe be “slightly ahead of Chigs”?

Edited November 26, 2021 by kay1864

[Ohiopirate02]

2 hours ago, chaifan said:

 

I thought the road trip montage was fun.  When they first showed Freya and Lizzie and said "road trip around the country", my thought was, oh, that will take about 5 hours!  😉 I do love the Juergen took them out for ice cream! 

 

Lizzie has been posting videos of their roadtrip on TikTok.  They looked to have an amazing time visiting the different contestants,  and Jurgen and Lizzie went on the roller-coaster in Brighton.   Lizzie did seem a bit put out with the 5 hour road trip which made me laugh.   Depending on which direction I drive, I can drive for 5 hours and still be in the same state. 

[kay1864]

Showstopper, negatives only:

C: Can’t taste elderflower or pepper

G: “Simple” design, choux too soft

BUT C got ”surreal, mad, impressive” look. G got “simple but effective”. But definitely not ‘magical’, which was in the instructions.

Based on all of the above… C should have edged out G.

 

Edited November 26, 2021 by kay1864

[krankydoodle]

What a great finale. I'm surprised no one dropped anything with all the running around they were doing, especially during that demanding showstopper. I felt terrible for Crystelle (who I didn't realize is only 26, younger than Lizzie which surprised me) when her final element in the showstopper was revealed to be raw.

I really like Crystelle and Chigs, but Giuseppe has been my favorite, so I was thrilled for him to win. His reactions to the video from his family and then to winning made me tear up.

ETA: I can't believe I forgot to mention Noel's amazing Phenomena shirt, which I loved. But I also have to say that I thought he was a bit intrusive a few times this episode despite having acknowledged and apologizing for that tendency last week.

Edited November 26, 2021 by krankydoodle

[kay1864]

Every week, the slate is wiped clean, and the contestants are judged for their three bakes, irrespective of how they performed on previous weeks.

Serious question: Is that rule modified for the final, or does it still apply?

[kay1864]

Oh, and who else thought that Crystelle had a twin sister, based on what we saw on her iPad?

[sharifa70]

I can’t believe how invested I get in this wonderful show every year: I was crying pretty much from the minute the showstopper time was up. I was rooting for all three of them…so happy for Giuseppe! 

[caitmcg]

With Giuseppe talking about his father’s poor health in the video segment and then after he won, I was half expecting the followup with him at the end to say his father had since passed away, so I’m glad that instead they’re collaborating on a family recipe book.

I'd have been happy to see any of them win. It was sounding very close on the showstopper until they got to Crystelle's focaccia. With them liking all four elements of the other two, with only minor nitpicking, that was obviously going to tank her chances despite arguably going into it with an edge. 

The casts of this show are always copacetic, but I’d have to agree with many that this season was chock-full of fun people who were always enjoyable to watch.

[magdalene]

On 11/25/2021 at 7:26 AM, Rickster said:

Really nice article about this season’s winner in The Guardian:

“I Thought It Was Going To Be A Nightmare”

What a lovely article about a lovely man!

[LeDucDiableBleu]

I'm super happy for Giuseppe and I was rooting for him for sure, but I was pretty underwhelmed with the finale. The carrot cakes nor Belgian buns looked appetizing to me. I thought Chigs' showstopper was the best visually. I loved his playing cards and mushrooms. Overall this showstopper reminded me of Rahul, Kim Joy and Ruby's finale showstopper, where they were tasked with something I thought would look spectacular but all ended up pretty plain. Also in my opinion, Noel and Matt add absolutely nothing to the show, and I've decided from here on out I'm going to fast forward all of their speaking parts. The 10 second skip forward on the app works great for that reason. I'm thrilled for Giuseppe and I will buy his cookbook. My favorite thing this year was his German Christmas biscuits.

[chaifan]

4 hours ago, MisterGlass said:

The technical irritated me to no end.  There is a big difference between telling a group of mostly English bakers 'make a Victoria sandwich' like they did one year, and telling them 'make a Belgian bun.'  From the ingredient list I was picturing something like a hot cross bun and instead it turned out to be a rolled and sliced bun.  I'm shocked they all came to that conclusion.

I'm surprised on a regular basis how the technical bakes all look so similar in the end when the description as to end decorating/finishing seem rather vague.

Here, there was some baking deductive reasoning at play.  You have dough, curd and sultantas (raisins).  If it were just dough and raisins, then that could be just about any type of shape, as the raisins could be mixed in with the dough, put on top, stuffed inside, etc.  But with the curd, they had to figure that would be spread.  So that means some type of rolled dough, like a cinnamon bun. 

From there, it was then a crap shoot as to size and shape.  Are they round or oval, or even those figure 8 twisty rolls I've seen in some bakeries?  How tall?  Giuseppe and Crystelle both cut theirs thin/short.  Did they actually know what they were doing, or was this dumb luck?  Chigs went much taller, since he rolled the dough the opposite way. 

What I thought was interesting is that they all came up with about the same amount of dough to use.  Did the sparse instructions say "make ___ grams of Belgian bun dough", or give any idea as to quantity of ingredients?  Because they always are given more than they need.

I've been continuously impressed by Chigs with the technicals.  There have been a few where the instructions simply say "make a ___ dough".  And he's known how to do each of those, by memory, after baking only for a year or so. 

 

[JustDucky]

I got semi-spoiled on social media (they showed the bit with that silly *Expletive Deleted* spatula), but I was still wondering how each baker would pull it off.  I would have been pleased to see any of the three win.

Chigs would have made it closer if not for that *Another Expletive Deleted* technical.  But!  For someone who has been baking for a year and a half, he did quite well!

I kind of knew Chrystelle was doomed when I saw how much *Slightly Mild Expletive Deleted* oil was going into her foccacia.  Everything else looked good, and I'm glad she got a Technical win under her belt.

Giuseppe and his dad made me cry.  And then he won, and his happiness made me cry more.  I will definitely buy his family recipe cookbook.

So happy to see that everybody remained close after the season was done.  Even Giuseppe was there in spirit, I bet.  (Wow, I wish I could visit Milan, much less live there.  Lucky *Halfhearted Expletive Deleted*.)  

[Cetacean]

I guess I am the only one calling foul on Guiseppe's win. 

I loved all three but he did not do all that well in the signature, blew the technical, and the comments on the showstopper were tepid.  Each show is supposed to be judged without taking into account any of the preceding episodes but clearly that was not the case. If this had been a freestanding show, he would NOT have won.

[emmawoodhouse]

12 minutes ago, Cetacean said:

I guess I am the only one calling foul on Guiseppe's win. 

I loved all three but he did not do all that well in the signature, blew the technical, and the comments on the showstopper were tepid.  Each show is supposed to be judged without taking into account any of the preceding episodes but clearly that was not the case. If this had been a freestanding show, he would NOT have won.

Who would you have considered the winner? Chigs?

[Cetacean]

1 minute ago, emmawoodhouse said:

Who would you have considered the winner? Chigs?

Probably.

[Quilt Fairy]

4 hours ago, krankydoodle said:

ETA: I can't believe I forgot to mention Noel's amazing Phenomena shirt, which I loved. But I also have to say that I thought he was a bit intrusive a few times this episode despite having acknowledged and apologizing for that tendency last week.

He was annoying beyond belief in this episode.  Everyone (particularly Giuseppi) was incredibly stressed and his antics did nothing to help. 

[Adiba]

I finally watched the final—Bravo, Giuseppe! I do think it must have been very close between him and Chigs, though. Chig’s showstopper did look very good.
Poor Crystelle, her showstopper would’ve been a contender if it weren’t for the focaccia. I wonder what happened there? Focaccia really isn’t that difficult to make compared to some other breads. Did she bake it at a high enough temperature for long enough? My focaccia takes 30 mins at a high temperature. A floppy focaccia is never good.

I was rooting for Giuseppe, but when they showed Chigs and Crystelle watching the videos from their families, I wanted them all to win. Giuseppe reaction to his parents’ video message was very touching. 

[MisterGlass]

2 hours ago, chaifan said:

But with the curd, they had to figure that would be spread.  So that means some type of rolled dough, like a cinnamon bun.

...

From there, it was then a crap shoot as to size and shape.  Are they round or oval, or even those figure 8 twisty rolls I've seen in some bakeries?  How tall?

I pictured it as a topping, a bit like a Danish or kolache.

Good point about shapes, even if they did realize it was rolled.

[irisheyes]

10 hours ago, blueray said:

Crystelle obviously wasn't going to win when her bread was raw. I wonder how that happened, did she not put it in?

She explained a bit on IG. Basically, she had so much oil that it never got hot enough to actually cook the bread. 

[buttersister]

I worked harder this week to remain unspoiled, so big payoff. Very happy for Giuseppe! When I heard Paul say Giuseppe looked like the winner from early on, I’d say the final decision takes in more than this one episode—especially when it’s close. Or maybe it’s the narrative of generations of Italian bakers vs. newbie?

In any event, I adored the ending and can’t wait for the Dell’Annos’ book. 
Felicitazion! 

[cardigirl]

I made a real effort to avoid being spoiled about the winner, so I really enjoyed the final and was on the edge of my seat the entire episode. I even cried a little when they announced the winner, I was that happy for Giuseppe! I don't usually get emotional about tv shows, but this finale and last year's finale were so heartwarming and the montages of the cast visiting each other after the show always gets me. Bravo show! I'll really miss you til the next batch of bakers start up.