S02.E01: Welcome Self Taught Bakers

[The Crazed Spruce]

Season premiere!

Quote

Six self-taught baking teams arrive at the "Crime Scene Kitchen" to start their hunt for clues, leading them to the mystery dessert.

 

[DanaK]

That was fun. It was wild that the team that did the boardwalk cake (or whatever it was called) for the first challenge were the only ones to get it right. That choice seemed so left field until the judges explained the clues

[mertensia]

Hummingbird cake guess! My cup runneth over!!

Aw, I liked Daveon and his partner in baking.

I've never even heard of the Atlantic Boardwalk cake.

[AZChristian]

9 hours ago, mertensia said:

I've never even heard of the Atlantic Boardwalk cake.

Neither have I, but it was quite impressive that one team picked up on the saltine cracker crust clue.  Even though their bake wasn't perfect, it was closest to correct based on the clues.

[DanaK]

I continue to find it hilarious how much the other contestants react to the team that's being evaluated, especially when the evaluated team uses ingredients the others didn't; the funniest part is they don't know yet whether a particular ingredient used is correct

Edited June 6, 2023 by DanaK

[seacliffsal]

I really liked the brothers (step-brothers) so was sad that they lost.  I immediately thought of a Hummingbird Cake but then switched to a pineapple upside down cake when the one team found the pineapple jar.  I thought Curtis' explanation was a bit weak as he noted there was no evidence that any other fruit was used yet there were missing blackberries and pineapple rings, neither of which would have left an additional clue as there would be no waste.  Yes, I saw the evidence of the oranges, but other fruit could have been used in addition.  

Am glad this show is back, but am sorry the brothers went home-but maybe it's best they left before showing frustration, etc., as the show goes on and I can just think of their positive and friendly energy and not worry about anything else.

[freeser]

27 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

Am glad this show is back.

I am also glad to see this show return.  I find it fun and interesting.  

I was wondering - when the cooks think they know the mystery food (be it a cake or pie or whatever) are they expected to know the correct recipe by memory or can they look up the ingredients somewhere.  

Even if I knew the dessert was for sure an upside down cake or a key lime pie, I personally would not know exactly what went into it without checking a recipe.

[bobby2018]

Welcome back!

[eel2178]

54 minutes ago, freeser said:

I am also glad to see this show return.  I find it fun and interesting.  

However, I'm not happy with the format change. What happened to the winners of the first competition getting an extra clue for the next round? Now they're doing my pet peeve with Masterchef: your reward for cooking well is to not cook. That defeats the purpose of the whole premise of the competition.

[tennisgurl]

I'm really glad to see this show back again, its so much fun! I really suspected it was a pineapple upside down cake, I would clearly do terribly on this show. Joel's a great host, excited to see another season. 

Sad to see the brothers go, they seem delightful.

Edited June 6, 2023 by tennisgurl

[Driad]

It's fun but I'm disappointed they are featuring desserts again.  I don't have a major sweet tooth and have never heard of many of the desserts they make.

[eel2178]

17 hours ago, mertensia said:

I've never even heard of the Atlantic Boardwalk cake.

With that name, I would have assumed it was a funnel cake.

[Quilt Fairy]

7 hours ago, eel2178 said:

However, I'm not happy with the format change. What happened to the winners of the first competition getting an extra clue for the next round? Now they're doing my pet peeve with Masterchef: your reward for cooking well is to not cook. That defeats the purpose of the whole premise of the competition.

I'm not sure how well the "win an extra clue" worked last season.  Too often it seemed the team that won it were completely befuddled by what it was supposed to mean. 

[Tdoc72]

15 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

 

Am glad this show is back, but am sorry the brothers went home-but maybe it's best they left before showing frustration, etc., as the show goes on and I can just think of their positive and friendly energy and not worry about anything else.

Speaking of showing frustration, I think the daughter is going to stab her mother with a cake server at some point. She seemed real annoyed by her. 

[Ms Lark]

16 hours ago, Driad said:

It's fun but I'm disappointed they are featuring desserts again.  I don't have a major sweet tooth and have never heard of many of the desserts they make.

Apparently, they will be doing savory things, too. In an interview with Joel McHale, he mentions this. First part of long interview is about the show, latter half is about his other shows.  https://tvline.com/lists/joel-mchale-crime-scene-kitchenseason-2-stargirl-cancelled/crime-scene-kitchen-secrets/

I'm glad this show is back. Fun and silliness for the summer!

Edited June 7, 2023 by Ms Lark

[ruffy666]

I'm glad this show is back AND I'm glad it's mostly about desserts... there are plenty of other shows that focus on savory stuff, so I appreciate something a little different.  Chopped and Top Chef both tried desserts-centric shows and both ultimately failed so I'll take my wins where I can get 'em :)

[oldCJ]

On 6/6/2023 at 5:29 AM, DanaK said:

It was wild that the team that did the boardwalk cake (or whatever it was called) for the first challenge were the only ones to get it right.

 

On 6/6/2023 at 5:02 PM, AZChristian said:

Neither have I, but it was quite impressive that one team picked up on the saltine cracker crust clue.  Even though their bake wasn't perfect, it was closest to correct based on the clues.

Except they didn’t get the dessert right. The women got the crust right but the filling wrong. They only used lemon for the filling. The pie filling is lemon and lime. Plus their frozen whipped cream was literally inedible. The pie does not call for a frozen topping.

The team that got eliminated was the only team to get the filling right in the first round. Getting the actual flavor of the dessert right doesn’t count if you make the wrong crust??

Since when does the crust matter more than what is in the actual pie? And apparently freezing an element which is not supposed to be frozen doesn’t matter either?

That one military wife from reminds me so much of Chyna the wrestler or someone on American Gladiators. 

[eel2178]

8 hours ago, oldCJ said:

The team that got eliminated was the only team to get the filling right in the first round. Getting the actual flavor of the dessert right doesn’t count if you make the wrong crust??

Since when does the crust matter more than what is in the actual pie?

 

Even though their execution wasn't correct, they were the only ones who were actually trying for the correct dessert. 

[proserpina65]

8 hours ago, oldCJ said:

Since when does the crust matter more than what is in the actual pie?

I think the crust is what makes that particular pie stand out more from other pies, not the precise filling, so yes, that was the crucial element.

I disagreed with Curtis about the pineapple.  That jar clearly looked half empty.

[Lisapooh]

So glad this show is back, as a avid home baker with a true crime obsession—this is the ultimate summer diversion. If I had seen the saltines I would have known it was an Atlantic Beach pie. I've made them before, they are delicious and perfect for summer. I really hope they let them look up recipes once they make their guess, because even though I knew it was an Atlantic Beach pie (never heard it called boardwalk pie before). I would have no idea on exact measurementss. it's not something you make all the time. It's the saltine crust though that makes it distinct. 

[Mahamid Frauded Me]

I love this show. As a person who does not bake and can barely bake a cake from a box recipe, it is so interesting to see all the different styles and names of cakes out there. I don't think there is a better host out there, love Joe McHale

[Kaycee]

Great way to start Summer with the second season of Crime Scene Kitchen. I always play along with the clues and try to guess what is to be made.

The first bake the saltine crackers did throw me off and I guessed wrong in the end citrus pie with pie crust. The second bake the crime scene was a little confusing, the jar of pineapples did look like rings were missing leading you to believe pineapple needed to be in the final product. I came up with a Pineapple/Blood Orange upside down cake. I had fun away and sad to see Donovan and Dayveon being eliminated. 

[Grizzly]

This is a great show. They get very tricky with the red herrings. I've seen T before on Great Chocolate Showdown. He's cool.

[Driad]

Two of the pies had the toppings (one fruit and one meringue, IIRC) very asymmetrical and off-center. Did the bakers consider this more attractive, or did they hope that some diners would not want the toppings?

[blackwing]

I really enjoyed this show last season and I'm glad it's back.  I'm not sure if I like the format... last year the contestants seemed to have varying levels of experience.  This year it's 6 amateurs, 6 professionals, and they will combine at 6 left, so the final 6 will be 3 amateur, 3 professional?  I suppose this way there's more guarantee that not everyone in the top 6 will be professional, so there's that.

I could have sworn that last season, there were more than 6 teams at times.  I thought there were teams on opposite sides of the arena, so if they tried really hard, they could see what someone else was making.  But I can't remember clearly.  I do remember last season Thomas being completely clueless on what was being made but then he heard the team next door slamming their bake tray so he knew it was macarons.

On 6/6/2023 at 12:27 PM, eel2178 said:

However, I'm not happy with the format change. What happened to the winners of the first competition getting an extra clue for the next round? Now they're doing my pet peeve with Masterchef: your reward for cooking well is to not cook. That defeats the purpose of the whole premise of the competition.

On 6/6/2023 at 7:30 PM, Quilt Fairy said:

I'm not sure how well the "win an extra clue" worked last season.  Too often it seemed the team that won it were completely befuddled by what it was supposed to mean. 

Agree with the second post.  I like the new rule giving the winner an exemption from the elimination.  I thought the extra clues were confusing and often didn't help at all.

On 6/8/2023 at 3:29 AM, oldCJ said:

Except they didn’t get the dessert right. The women got the crust right but the filling wrong. They only used lemon for the filling. The pie filling is lemon and lime. Plus their frozen whipped cream was literally inedible. The pie does not call for a frozen topping.

The team that got eliminated was the only team to get the filling right in the first round. Getting the actual flavor of the dessert right doesn’t count if you make the wrong crust??

Since when does the crust matter more than what is in the actual pie? And apparently freezing an element which is not supposed to be frozen doesn’t matter either?

That one military wife from reminds me so much of Chyna the wrestler or someone on American Gladiators. 

The team that won the Safety Bake was the only one that attempted to make the actual dessert, what they called a Boardwalk pie but what Curtis called an Atlantic Beach pie.  None of the others even came close.  I was impressed with this team, particularly the perky one who said she researched a bunch of desserts at the library and remembered this one.  I have never even heard of it.

I was sad to see the stepbrothers get eliminated, but they were the only ones that didn't even make an upside down cake.  They called it an upside down cake but didn't put any kind of fruit on the bottom.

I'm still curious about whether some items are red herrings.  In the elimination bake, clearly, one stick of butter was used.  How was it used?  That's why the stepbrothers made a buttercream frosting.  The jar of pineapple clearly looked half-full.  Why was pineapple not used in the dessert?  If they wanted to make it clear, then they should have had an unopened can of pineapple.  Same thing with the blackberries.

Edited June 14, 2023 by blackwing

[Maverick]

On 6/14/2023 at 6:43 PM, blackwing said:

I could have sworn that last season, there were more than 6 teams at times.  I thought there were teams on opposite sides of the arena, so if they tried really hard, they could see what someone else was making.  But I can't remember clearly.  I do remember last season Thomas being completely clueless on what was being made but then he heard the team next door slamming their bake tray so he knew it was macarons.

 There were alternating teams that merged halfway in season 1 as well.   They just didn't have any distinction between them.  The contestants were just split into two groups.

On 6/14/2023 at 6:43 PM, blackwing said:

This year it's 6 amateurs, 6 professionals,

 The first group is not amateurs.  It's billed as self-taught vs. classically trained but most if not all of them work as bakers. 

[rlc]

My daughter was both impressed that I guessed Atlantic Beach Pie, and angry that I have never made it for her.