S13.E10: The Final

[Athena]

Quote

The finalists have one last chance to impress judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith with their creations in the hope of being crowned 2022 winner. The remaining contestants have to put together the perfect picnic for the signature challenge and create a summer classic for the technical. In the final showstopper challenge, the bakers must make a celebration of the planet

UK Air Date: November 15, 2022.

US Netflix Date: November 18, 2022.

[Aulty]

Good grief. A themed finale?

Remember, for the first couple of GBBO seasons (by UK reckoning) that picknick challenge was the showstopper in the finale, not the signature.
Personally, I would not call a Devon lemon a seasonal, British produce. Its a niche product that is not available (or affordable) for most people.

Another no bake technical. Using bread they made in the signature, thats a first.
I recognised that technical challenge from a very old fashioned cookbook I have (Anne Wilson's Classic Essential: Desserts and Puddings) and I always though it doesn't look very appealing. Coincidentally, that book also has that weird Sussex pond pudding with the whole lemon in they had to do last (?) year. If that is the source material for the challenge creators I foresee molasses or orange pudding for next year.
I hate the lack of instructions, but I think its fair to 'test' them on their agar agar knowledge because its a very common thing nowadays.

The showstopper - visually a bit underwhelming. As sculpture challenges almost always are.

Anyway, well done Syabira, and sorry to all the bakers that their season was so shite challenge-wise.

[SG429]

Nice to see Friends and Family back though it looked like a pretty chilly day.

[BellaBabe2022]

I'm glad that Syabira won. She was far from perfect, but I love that she stuck with her plan to make flavors that were part of her culture. I like all three bakers, but this may have been the weakest final in the history of the show.

[dleighg]

Agree that this final episode was a bit of a downer. They apparently didn't give them enough time to really perfect the worlk.

Why on EARTH (pun intended) did Sandro do two extra things for the picnic that were NOT PART OF THE JUDGING? It makes no sense.

I thought it was amusing that they were talking about seasonal, local items for the signature, to the point that Abdul had to source a British version of feta, while I'm looking outside at giant sculptures of rhinos and pandas. Very local fauna?

That technical looked absolutely disgusting to eat, done properly or not.

Syabira seemed the right choice to win, all things considered. But no one really distinguished themselves this episode.

[Ellaria]

16 minutes ago, dleighg said:

Why on EARTH (pun intended) did Sandro do two extra things for the picnic that were NOT PART OF THE JUDGING? It makes no sense.

The judges didn’t try the extra bakes, did they? That was Sandro’s downfall from the start - trying to do too much.

Seemed like time constraints were an issue again, particularly in the technical.

The showstoppers weren’t especially impressive. They looked like the bakes they’ve been doing every week.

This season wasn’t great. The bakers themselves seem like lovely people. However, time constraints and silly challenges (tacos, spring rolls) didn’t highlight their abilities as bakers. 

[dleighg]

17 minutes ago, Ellaria Sand said:

The judges didn’t try the extra bakes, did they?

I think Paul said he was going to try one of the extra things, but they didn't show him doing that or show any comments about it. Which is correct! They are not going to judge them so it is a waste of effort!

I also wanted to add that overall, those picnic baskets looked like a delicious assortment of things. I'd love to see some recipes! I'm not vegetarian but cook vegetarian quite a bit.

Edited November 18, 2022 by dleighg

[Kiddvideo]

I think Abdul should’ve won based on the quality of the final bakes. He did better in the first two rounds and the showstopper was a push.

[Cetacean]

Overall, a very disappointing season.  Not a single showstopper I would even want to buy, let alone try.  That bombe thing was, well, an abomination.  Soaked, soggy bread?  Yuck.

[libgirl2]

37 minutes ago, Cetacean said:

Overall, a very disappointing season.  Not a single showstopper I would even want to buy, let alone try.  That bombe thing was, well, an abomination.  Soaked, soggy bread?  Yuck.

There were a few bakes that looked yummy but the temptation wasn't quite as there as past seasons. They need to go back to beautiful and yummy things, not feats of engineering magic! 

[TVbitch]

I will never not watch bake off, but the season was pretty disappointing. I watch to see beautiful bakes that I want to stuff in my pie hole, not to see Paul and Prue have to break four different bits off of a shabby sculpture thingy to taste it and try to decide who's looks the least worst.  

[Adiba]

No big surprise, Syabira won, but her finale showstopper was unimpressive. She does seem to have good baking knowledge and the judges like her flavors. I don’t know about rosemary in a sweet bake, though—it can be really overpowering.

However, I would have been surprised if Abdul had won, and shocked if Sandro had. Sandro just couldn’t rein it in and simplify so that he could finish perfectly. If Abdul had gotten his profiteroles right, he might’ve had a chance.

Imo, there was too little time to get the summer pudding to set properly. A couple of my cookbooks have recipes for it, and one says overnight, preferably.

[libgirl2]

1 hour ago, Adiba said:

No big surprise, Syabira won, but her finale showstopper was unimpressive. She does seem to have good baking knowledge and the judges like her flavors. I don’t know about rosemary in a sweet bake, though—it can be really overpowering.

However, I would have been surprised if Abdul had won, and shocked if Sandro had. Sandro just couldn’t rein it in and simplify so that he could finish perfectly. If Abdul had gotten his profiteroles right, he might’ve had a chance.

Imo, there was too little time to get the summer pudding to set properly. A couple of my cookbooks have recipes for it, and one says overnight, preferably.

Sandro just over did it so many times. 

[blueray]

I was hoping Abdul would win as it would have been a nice surprise. Syabira has been the favorite for so long. But I guess they really liked her flavors.

I found it interesting that they didn't seem to try Sando's extra elements. I wonder if it was because they were showing him over doing what he was asked for and the judges just wanted to judge what was asked of them. Speaking of which, was it just me or that was a hard signature. I don't recall in past years them having to bake three different things for the signature. Of course the bread came up later. I like that they didn't waste the food in that case.

[libgirl2]

9 minutes ago, blueray said:

I was hoping Abdul would win as it would have been a nice surprise. Syabira has been the favorite for so long. But I guess they really liked her flavors.

I found it interesting that they didn't seem to try Sando's extra elements. I wonder if it was because they were showing him over doing what he was asked for and the judges just wanted to judge what was asked of them. Speaking of which, was it just me or that was a hard signature. I don't recall in past years them having to bake three different things for the signature. Of course the bread came up later. I like that they didn't waste the food in that case.

I wanted Abdul to win because I thought he started to really improve there at the end. Plus, he struck me as a really nice guy and I think a lot of people wrote him off early on. 

Edited November 18, 2022 by libgirl2

[dleighg]

Tangential topic: where on earth does Noel find his, um, rather eccentric clothing? I mean, they certainly are attention-getting, but I can't imagine what sort of store would actually carry those things.

[Cetacean]

Why was Noel absent last episode and part of this one?  Anyone know?

[Mediocre Gatsby]

2 hours ago, Adiba said:

Imo, there was too little time to get the summer pudding to set properly. A couple of my cookbooks have recipes for it, and one says overnight, preferably.

Paul saying that (at least) one needed another half hour to set proved to me that they once again cut the time too short. No one was wasting a half hour. 

41 minutes ago, Cetacean said:

Why was Noel absent last episode and part of this one?  Anyone know?

He was sick on the first day, they said. 

I'm happy with Syabira's win; I liked all of the contestants this year. 

[iMonrey]

Quote

This season wasn’t great. The bakers themselves seem like lovely people. However, time constraints and silly challenges (tacos, spring rolls) didn’t highlight their abilities as bakers. 

That's my takeaway as well. I didn't really care who won. They have made the competition too silly. You can't ask them to bake eighteen different things in just three hours and then nitpick them to death on neatness or size. And that technical bake was absurd. All three were unmitigated disasters.

Four and a half hours for the Showstopper seems like it should be enough, but not if the bakers are expected to construct elaborate structures out of five different kinds of bakes. That's just ridiculous. All three looked sloppy and amateurish. Even a professional baker who's been doing this sort of thing his/her whole life wouldn't have been able to pull something like that off given that kind of time constraint. 

I've been beating this dead horse for a long time now but I think it bears repeating. This isn't a competition to see who is the best baker out of twelve. It's a competition to see who can bake the fastest with the least amount of errors. And that's a very different thing.

They need to choose. If they want this to be a show where bakers make elaborate structures out of baked goods then they need to give them a realistic amount of time to do that. Otherwise you just get sloppy looking disasters. They can drop the whole Signature/Technical/Showstopper format and just have one elaborate bake with two days to complete it.

Otherwise? Go back to the original concept and make excellent pies, cakes, cookies and breads. There's plenty of potential for creativity and originality in flavors and decorations. I don't need the Leaning Tower of Pisa made out of macaroons and sponge cakes, thanks. And a hot mess of a disaster is not entertainment.

[leighdear]

3 hours ago, blueray said:

I found it interesting that they didn't seem to try Sando's extra elements.

Of course the bread came up later. I like that they didn't waste the food in that case.

It was a subtle "screw you for not listening to us".  Very petty. 

And as many people as are involved in this show, I can guarantee that not a single scrap of edible food is wasted. They never are on any cooking shows.

Of course Syabira won.  From episode 3, it was a foregone conclusion.  Nobody else ever stood a chance.  

I'm done with this shitshow.  It's devolved down into something unrecognizable and has lost everything that made it special. 

They killed it. 

[Straycat80]

Not my favorite season but I enjoyed it for what it was. I liked all the bakers. I knew Sybira won, I was spoiled via Facebook. I knew she would win from the get go, she did different things and flavors. The judges like that. 
I hope next season they listen to the critics and get back to basic baking, no cooking like they did with the Mexican theme, pizza and spring rolls. 
Now I’m off the watch the Christmas Baking show with the cast of Its a Sin. 

[kay1864]

TIL: a quail egg is vegetarian 🧐

[jpgr]

8 minutes ago, kay1864 said:

TIL: a quail egg is vegetarian 🧐

Most vegetarians fall into the "ovo-lacto" category, meaning they eat eggs and dairy, because the animals aren't killed to obtain the egg or milk. Vegans don't eat or use any animal products.

[kay1864]

5 minutes ago, jpgr said:

Most vegetarians fall into the "ovo-lacto" category

Ah ok, thx. They did say vegetarian, not vegan. I was thinking “vegetables” and it threw me off.

[SHD]

Based on the season, yes, Syabira. Based on this episode, Abdul. 

[Quilt Fairy]

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

All three looked sloppy and amateurish.

I agree.  I was far more impressed with the signature bakes.  

[SuprSuprElevated]

8 hours ago, TVbitch said:

not to see Paul and Prue have to break four different bits off of a shabby sculpture thingy to taste it and try to decide who's looks the least worst.  

[festivus]

They really need to get back to yummy bakes. This kind of crap reminds me of something off the Food Network and there's a reason why I don't watch that shit.  I don't like failure showstoppers and like has been said, judging which one is the least bad. 

Congrats to Syabira. She was my fave and I would want to try most of the stuff she made. She's also adorable.

[MagicEyes]

Was the audition process different this year? The skill level of the bakers last season was so much better than this season, and I’m just trying to figure out why. Were the bakers chosen for their personalities, and not their baking? The challenges were bad, but these bakers didn’t even have a lot of the basic skills that bakers in other seasons had. I’ve watched this show for many years, and this is so disappointing. It used to be so good, and now it’s worse than anything on Food Network. 

[SemiCharmedLife]

7 hours ago, dleighg said:

Tangential topic: where on earth does Noel find his, um, rather eccentric clothing? I mean, they certainly are attention-getting, but I can't imagine what sort of store would actually carry those things.

Found this article for you:  https://heatworld.com/shopping/fashion/noel-fielding-shirts-bake-off/

I chuckled when he came outside in his red plushie coat- a nod to Elmo?

[GaT]

Well, no surprise, Syabira won. She's been the clear winner since almost the beginning, even though I thought a lot of her flavors combinations sounded disgusting.

17 hours ago, dleighg said:

Why on EARTH (pun intended) did Sandro do two extra things for the picnic that were NOT PART OF THE JUDGING? It makes no sense.

9 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

Sandro just over did it so many times. 

I never understood what Sandro was trying to prove. He overdid it almost every episode, you would think that at some point he would learn & just do what he was supposed to & not add 10  more bakes than requested.

Did they not show all the contestants at the end? It didn't seem like they gave everyone the same spotlight like they usually do at the end.

[Cherpumple]

7 minutes ago, GaT said:

I never understood what Sandro was trying to prove. He overdid it almost every episode, you would think that at some point he would learn & just do what he was supposed to & not add 10  more bakes than requested.

I agree, especially since he seemed so strategic at other times, like when he deliberately chose a flavor that he knew Paul loved (can't remember which episode). He was frustrating to watch because he didn't listen. However, I do give him credit for re-doing some bakes in the final that didn't go well for him before. I respect that redemptive approach more than contestants who redo elements that they already got praised for.

This seemed like the most chilled out final ever. The contestants and judges seemed relaxed and giggly, which was nice to see, especially when Syabira and Sandro were cracking up about how terrible their technicals looked. It was a nice change from other dramas in the final like Rahul's exploding glass jar, Steph's emotional meltdown, and Alice's freakout over her parents' cancelled flight.

When I rewatch this season I definitely need to pay more attention to Abdul. He seems like a nice guy, but I literally forgot about him for several episodes and can't remember a single one of his bakes. It's bizarre.

[dleighg]

4 hours ago, SemiCharmedLife said:

a nod to Elmo?

I had the same thought :) 

[Johnny Dollar]

I wonder if Sandro had just stuck to the task at hand and didn’t constantly overdo things if he would’ve won. Of course his pies were underbaked, he had to take them out of the oven to bake the cookies/biscuits nobody tried.

That concoction with the soaked bread looked like the nasty things you’d see on TikTok. 

[MisterGlass]

I feel like the bombe technical is one of those recipes people developed to use up stale bread, like croutons, French toast, and bread pudding.  It sounded and looked like an unappealing texture.

I thought Abdul's showstopper was the prettiest, but Syabira seemed like the winner to me.

I was a little taken aback when Paul referred to honey as a potentially overwhelming flavor.  Maybe he meant overwhelming sweetness.

[TomGirl]

All I can say is, thank goodness Pru’s lipstick matched her glasses in this episode!

[SemiCharmedLife]

Congrats to Syabira!  She was an obvious winner of the finalists, especially when considering previous bakes, which the judges mentioned in their conversation.  I was surprised that her showstopper looked the way it did; the flavors must have been amazing.  I agree with other posters about Sandro trying to overachieve even to the bitter end.  I really wish he would have realized several episodes back that he can just do the challenge and execute it really well with the time it would take to make extra components.  I thought Abdul did a stellar job up until his final piece, where he had some issues with his macarons and choux pastries.  I think the challenges for the final were ridiculously complex and hope they are scaled back in the future.  I'm. looking forward to the holiday episodes!

[SG429]

8 minutes ago, SemiCharmedLife said:

 I agree with other posters about Sandro trying to overachieve even to the bitter end.

He was too preoccupied with The Handshake rather than with a quality product.

[kirklandia]

11 hours ago, SemiCharmedLife said:

Found this article for you:  https://heatworld.com/shopping/fashion/noel-fielding-shirts-bake-off/

Thanks for sharing this - I was happy to see this sweater! I had shared a screenshot of Noel wearing it with my high school graduating class Facebook group. We just held our Covid-delayed 50th reunion."The Class of 70 turns 70".

Edited November 19, 2022 by kirklandia

[leighdear]

Noel mentioned in an interview on the Graham Norton show that for tops & sweaters he tends to shop in the teen girl section of discount department stores.  *LOL*

ETA: And as a comedian, he was clearly joking when he said that. 

Edited November 21, 2022 by leighdear

[dleighg]

2 minutes ago, leighdear said:

Noel mentioned in an interview on the Graham Norton show that for tops & sweaters he tends to shop in the teen girl section of discount department stores.

well that does not square with the article posted above, where nearly all his sweaters were 300 or 400 pounds! Also, he wears very very oversized stuff, which I don't think is really teen girl fare, especially on his rather tall frame.

[kirklandia]

I guess Noel really likes this sweater!

[Nordly Beaumont]

I liked the way the final bakes looked like they were glowing, due to the yellow splotch on Noel's sweater being directly behind them!

[theatremouse]

On 11/18/2022 at 6:23 AM, dleighg said:

I think Paul said he was going to try one of the extra things, but they didn't show him doing that or show any comments about it. Which is correct! They are not going to judge them so it is a waste of effort!

I'm pretty sure he said was wasn't going to try the extra things, but that the tarts looked lovely. The way he said it came across to me as a sort of a "nice try but no extra points, but since I said your other stuff was bad here's a compliment".

21 hours ago, SHD said:

Based on the season, yes, Syabira. Based on this episode, Abdul. 

I knew there was no way overbaked macarons and flat choux would win. Her showstopper was uglier but properly baked. I think she and Abdul were pretty close before the showstopper, but I still would've given her the edge 2/3 through. So once he made any major mistake on the showstopper, I figured it was probably going to be Syabira.

[jrzy]

On 11/18/2022 at 6:11 PM, iMonrey said:

That's my takeaway as well. I didn't really care who won. They have made the competition too silly. You can't ask them to bake eighteen different things in just three hours and then nitpick them to death on neatness or size. And that technical bake was absurd. All three were unmitigated disasters.

Four and a half hours for the Showstopper seems like it should be enough, but not if the bakers are expected to construct elaborate structures out of five different kinds of bakes. That's just ridiculous. All three looked sloppy and amateurish. Even a professional baker who's been doing this sort of thing his/her whole life wouldn't have been able to pull something like that off given that kind of time constraint. 

I've been beating this dead horse for a long time now but I think it bears repeating. This isn't a competition to see who is the best baker out of twelve. It's a competition to see who can bake the fastest with the least amount of errors. And that's a very different thing.

They need to choose. If they want this to be a show where bakers make elaborate structures out of baked goods then they need to give them a realistic amount of time to do that. Otherwise you just get sloppy looking disasters. They can drop the whole Signature/Technical/Showstopper format and just have one elaborate bake with two days to complete it.

Otherwise? Go back to the original concept and make excellent pies, cakes, cookies and breads. There's plenty of potential for creativity and originality in flavors and decorations. I don't need the Leaning Tower of Pisa made out of macaroons and sponge cakes, thanks. And a hot mess of a disaster is not entertainment.

I so agree with everything you said,  I was irritated with these structures, nothing looked good to me,  I wouldn't have wanted to eat any of those.

[SemiCharmedLife]

19 hours ago, dleighg said:

well that does not square with the article posted above, where nearly all his sweaters were 300 or 400 pounds! Also, he wears very very oversized stuff, which I don't think is really teen girl fare, especially on his rather tall frame.

I can see teen girls loving the Elmo coat!  😂

But, I love Noel, unique fashions and all!

[ombre]

I cannot remember any other season when the bakers seemed so genuinely relieved to be done. In other years it's felt like a joke: yeah, we'll be glad this is done, but this has been fun and I'm glad I did it. But this year it felt exhaustedly heartfelt. Eff this tent and the horse it rode in on.  I wish them all well and would thank them for going through this for our entertainment. I hope it will help them achieve things they want to achieve. And I'm so glad they're done and can stop coming back to the tent. 

[NoThyme]

I am happy with the winner. However, can we find a way to replace Matt? 

[LeDucDiableBleu]

I was disappointed that all three of the technical bakes collapsed. They're simply not given enough time to do the bakes. That bombe thing seemed like something that would have been on the classic show with Mary, and I would have liked to have seen the different versions everyone came up with. But the only one we saw completed was the example at the judges table and that's not entertaining to me. Sandro seems like his main goal is being a social media influencer and to gain followers. Syabira and Abdul seem much more sincere about their love of baking. I'm thrilled with Syabira's win. However, this season really wasn't good and kind of put me off the show entirely. I don't even know why I watch it anymore to be honest. I have the Union Jack bunting in my kitchen because of this show, that's how much I used to love it.

[Suzn]

This season was a huge disappointment.  The challenges were terrible with so many being inappropriate with little to do with baking and then the travesty of the Mexican episode was insulting and didn't have the grace to even bother with the correct pronunciation of taco!  Paul was insufferable as possible and Noel's and Matt's so called comedy was lame at best. Add the inadequate time to do justice to the challenges and it was a train wreck from start to finish.  I will watch another season but I'm definitely losing interest in it.

Syabera appeared to be the obvious designated winner through most of the season.  I can't say that it was not deserved but I wasn't impressed with what she presented.  It seemed like none of the bakers were quite up to the level of those in previous seasons.