S14.E01: Cake Week

[Athena]

Quote

Bake Off's back with new presenter Alison Hammond joining the team. It's Cake Week. The new bakers make vertical layers, choccy cake and a showstopping sponge animal menagerie.

 

UK Original Air Date: September 26, 2023.

US Netflix Date: September 29, 2023.

[Aulty]

I am curious what others think. I forgot it was on yesterday, the first time I've missed the kick off episode.
Allison, I liked, Noel, I am getting a bit tired of. The producers probably have all their fingers crossed he doesn't get dragged into the Russell Brand mess - they are (or were?) good mates iirc.

Paul is trying to be likable now?

The technical with the cake from the intro was cute, and I also enjoyed the vertical layer cakes - there is something similar with bread. Not sure if the 3D show stopper heralds another series laden with construction rather than baking, but animals are usually more forgiving than doing busts of people.
There were a few instanced of the bakers listing so many different flavours for their cakes, creams, ganaches that I couldn't even compute.

[CatLover74]

I think Alison did well for her first episode.  She didn't try to insert herself into every situation and generally take over.  The occasional over the top exuberance may grate later in the season, but for now it's endearing.  Some of those animal cakes in the showstopper were spectacular.  I agree on the amount of flavours sometimes being overwhelming.  Not just to know of the existence of so many different flavours, but to know enough about them to know with any degree of certainty that they pair well together.

[BookEater]

4 hours ago, Aulty said:

I am curious what others think. I forgot it was on yesterday, the first time I've missed the kick off episode.
Allison, I liked, Noel, I am getting a bit tired of. The producers probably have all their fingers crossed he doesn't get dragged into the Russell Brand mess - they are (or were?) good mates iirc.

Paul is trying to be likable now?

The technical with the cake from the intro was cute, and I also enjoyed the vertical layer cakes - there is something similar with bread. Not sure if the 3D show stopper heralds another series laden with construction rather than baking, but animals are usually more forgiving than doing busts of people.
There were a few instanced of the bakers listing so many different flavours for their cakes, creams, ganaches that I couldn't even compute.

They are supposedly going back to baking basics this year and so far so good. Even the 3D animal showstopper challenge wasn't too outlandish compared to previous years, so here's hoping that it lasts!

I too liked Allison, she seems to have struck the right balance of interacting with the bakers and putting them at ease without getting under their feet or annoying them.

As for Paul, he was almost reminiscent of Paul from the early years of the show before he really leaned into the humorless stick-in-the-mud role.

[Lois Sandborne]

Yay, Bake Off is back! What a good first episode. I like all of the contestants so far, and what feels more momentous to me, I think I actually managed to get some impression of each one of them. I love Tasha already, and I want to hear Nicky talk forever. I liked Amos too; sad to see him go.

I read ahead of the season that the producers have promised to get back to basics and get rid of all the construction and cooking and 3D type challenges. This was a good start toward proving that; a pretty simple set of classic, but interesting challenges that still let all of the bakers show off their individual skills and styles. I especially loved the technical with them having to make the cake from the intro. Dan's rhubarb and custard vertical cake from the signature was the standout to me. There do seem to be a few front-runners, like Dan, Abby, and maybe Cristy. But who really knows. I might as well save my predictions for after we hit Patisserie Week.

I was puzzled by Paul and Prue insisting that blueberries don't have any flavor. Does the UK have some particularly wimpy variety? They're delicious here without a lot of dolling up; that's why they end up in everything from muffins to pies to cheesecake. But anyway. I love Alison Hammond, and she and Noel were cute together so far. I think they're going to make a good team.

 

[MSterling]

Yes, I giggled with the cast at Prue saying, "So Nicky, tell us about your beaver." Paul's expression as he turned away was hilarious. Yes, my favorite line of the episode and I had to rewind a few times to watch it again.

[Ohiopirate02]

5 hours ago, MSterling said:

Yes, I giggled with the cast at Prue saying, "So Nicky, tell us about your beaver." Paul's expression as he turned away was hilarious. Yes, my favorite line of the episode and I had to rewind a few times to watch it again.

I saw the official GBBO Tik-Tok account has already pounced on Nicky's beaver cake.  Those clips had me rolling, and were very reminiscent of the SNL sketch with Betty White and her muffins.

[dleighg]

Having your buttercream curdle twice seems careless. I looked it up and it's because the butter was too cold. Amateur error.

I was impressed at how well the hearing-impaired woman speaks. Does anyone know the backstory of her impairment? I see she wears a device.

[MsMalin]

So good to have this comforting show back on. I watched it as soon as I woke up this morning.

As usual I like all of the contestants and liked the challenges. Also liked Allison very much. 

I too was surprised at the lack of blueberry love. I always have blueberries in the house and have found that those from Chile are just bursting with flavor. I make the best blueberry pie on the planet.

Oh how I love this show!

[dleighg]

Twice I heard Paul call something "moreish." I had to look it up:

UK informal approving. /ˈmɔːr.ɪʃ/ uk. /ˈmɔː.rɪʃ/ (of food) having a very pleasant taste and making you want to eat more: These peanuts are very moreish, aren't they?

[TVbitch]

The new host seems chill, maybe even a bit bland, but after having to endure a bunch of OTT and "all about me" hosts on various Bake Offs, that is just fine with me! 

Seems like a nice, capable group. I was kind of hoping for a non-elimination first bake. 

1 hour ago, dleighg said:

Having your buttercream curdle twice seems careless.

"To lose one buttercream may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness." - Oscar Wilde, 'The Importance of Being Earnest.' 😁

[cynicat]

This might be the first time I have ever chuckled at the opening.  

[dleighg]

38 minutes ago, cynicat said:

This might be the first time I have ever chuckled at the openin

I agree. It was surprisingly well done.

[AZChristian]

I think my blood pressure just went to a nice, soothing number that my doctor would love.  I laughed, I cried, and I LOVED every minute of it.

[Straycat80]

I’m so happy this show is back. I liked the opening, the new hostess, a nice, likeable group of bakers. I laughed so much especially on all the beaver comments. 
I felt so bad for Amos. I like how supportive everyone is to each other on this show whether you won or lose. 

[anniebird]

This was a very enjoyable episode from start to finish - it feels like the good old GBBO is back and I loved that the technical was the raspberry cake that we've been looking at for years and years.

 

[dleighg]

Didn't Amos do very well in the technical? Second perhaps? Guess that proves that the technical doesn't count for much.

[Quilt Fairy]

11 hours ago, dleighg said:

I was impressed at how well the hearing-impaired woman speaks. Does anyone know the backstory of her impairment? I see she wears a device.

That surprised me as well.  Also that Noel said the interpreter would be signing "BSL", which took me a second to realize must be British Sign Language.  I've only ever seen sign language referred to as ASL.  

Blueberries have no flavor?  Prue, what blueberries are you eating? 

[Salacious Kitty]

48 minutes ago, dleighg said:

Didn't Amos do very well in the technical? Second perhaps? Guess that proves that the technical doesn't count for much.

Yeah, I thought the technical would save Amos. His cake must have been SUPER dense. 

[justmehere]

10 hours ago, TVbitch said:

I was kind of hoping for a non-elimination first bake. 

Agreed. Give everyone a chance to get over opening jitters and then send home 2 in the second week. 

Great first competition and a great group. I'm encouraged by the straightforward bakes. Hope that less-convoluted challenges continue, which hopefully means enough time to complete the tasks.

It was nice that so many had really good flavors even if appearance wasn't the best.

Couldn't pick a favorite this early, but definitely enjoy listening to Nicky's accent. 

[caitmcg]

The signature was a little more difficult than most cake week signatures have been, when they're the very first challenge of the competition. Often they've been standard things like drizzle cakes, fruit cakes, and regular Swiss rolls, and the vertical swirl cake is definitely a bit more technically challenging. I did like that while the technical was a cake that has the iconic look for the show, it's also a very common layer cake where they were being judged on their mastery of the components and there were no big losers.

1 hour ago, dleighg said:

Didn't Amos do very well in the technical? Second perhaps? Guess that proves that the technical doesn't count for much.

I've always assumed it's something like 25% each for the signature and technical, 50% for the showstopper, more or less. Doing great in one of the first two can help you, but there's no coming back from really tanking the showstopper. He did great in the technical, was sort of middling in the signature (he had issues with his chocolate drizzle and the whole thing was a kind of messy), and his showstopper was a disaster. You could really see how very dense and heavy his cake layers were. 

1 hour ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Also that Noel said the interpreter would be signing "BSL", which took me a second to realize must be British Sign Language.  I've only ever seen sign language referred to as ASL.  

Sign languages have their own grammar and vocabularies, and there is a huge number used worldwide, even at the local dialect level.

[HelloooKitty]

ASL stand for American Sign Language. Most countries have their own sign language. AusLan is the Australia one. 
while a few may share some signs, each should be treated as a separate language. Just bc you can speak ASL, it doesn’t mean you will be able to understand someone someone speaking BSL. 
 

Tasha’s cochlear implant probably has played a big part in how clear her speech is. But, not everyone gets the same level of benefit from a cochlear device- it’s not at all “one size fits all” and there are a variety of strong feelings about them within the deaf community. 
 

 

I don’t want to make any assumptions about Tasha’s level of hearing but my guess is that she is aware when she is spoken to and can make out a percentage of the words and make out even more if she’s looking at the person and they are enunciating carefully. The interpreter makes sure she isn’t missing any details and becomes aware of all she needs to hear while in a noisy kitchen with lots of ambient noise to filter through. 
sign may very well be her first language. In any case being bilingual helps her insure she is understood and allows her to communicate more efficiently and with more of the people she serves at her job. 
 

 

also, does anyone know the name of the American Actor Amos reminded me of?

Edited September 30, 2023 by HelloooKitty

[libgirl2]

31 minutes ago, HelloooKitty said:

ASL stand for American Sign Language. Most countries have their own sign language. AusLan is the Australia one. 
while a few may share some signs, each should be treated as a separate language. Just bc you can speak ASL, it doesn’t mean you will be able to understand someone someone speaking BSL. 
 

Tasha’s cochlear implant probably has played a big part in how clear her speech is. But, not everyone gets the same level of benefit from a cochlear device- it’s not at all “one size fits all” and there are a variety of strong feelings about them within the deaf community. 
 

 

I don’t want to make any assumptions about Tasha’s level of hearing but my guess is that she is aware when she is spoken to and can make out a percentage of the words and make out even more if she’s looking at the person and they are enunciating carefully. The interpreter makes sure she isn’t missing any details and becomes aware of all she needs to hear while in a noisy kitchen with lots of ambient noise to filter through. 
sign may very well be her first language. In any case being bilingual helps her insure she is understood and allows her to communicate more efficiently and with more of the people she serves at her job. 
 

 

also, does anyone know the name of the American Actor Amos reminded me of?

Stanley from The Office? 

[peeayebee]

On 9/27/2023 at 4:34 PM, Lois Sandborne said:

I was puzzled by Paul and Prue insisting that blueberries don't have any flavor. Does the UK have some particularly wimpy variety? 

I thought that was weird, too. I like blueberries baked in stuff, but I'm not a HUGE blueberry fan. Still, I would say that have flavor.

 

11 hours ago, cynicat said:

This might be the first time I have ever chuckled at the opening.  

Not me. I thought it went on much too long.

BUT!... It's so so nice to have the show back. I honestly love all the contestants so far, though I don't know their names yet. I was so pleased to see the older guy do so well with his bakes. And the Scottish (?) lady who made the beaver cake is great. Love her sense of humor.

Paul sure did talk a lot about flavors being punchy.

I hadn't heard of a vertical cake before. Is that an English thing? Or did they make that up for this episode. I have to admit, when they were describing it, I couldn't understand what they were talking about. It's actually pretty cool.

Amos reminds me of someone, too. Wendell Pierce?

[caitmcg]

15 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

hadn't heard of a vertical cake before. Is that an English thing? Or did they make that up for this episode.

They've been a bit of a thing for several years. If you search for vertical roll cake online, you will see many recipes, including on a lot of American sites.

I forgot to mention in my earlier post that, as an Oaklander, I was amused by Amos's green-and-yellow 'A' sweater, as it's an A's sweater, down to the font, just minus the 's.

[tljgator]

The only thing that might have outdone the beaver jokes would be someone doing an "Are You Being Served" homage to Mrs. Slocum's pussy (IYKYK).

Really solid start to the season -- liked all the contestants, liked the challenges, liked the new co-host. Hopeful for a return to form (even if I'll always miss Mary)!

[Domenicholas]

I've heard somewhere (though I may be wrong) that one of the things that make British Sign Language and American Sign Language vastly different is that BSL often uses both hands to sign, but ASL (which is derived from French Sign Language), uses one hand for a lot, if not most, of its words.

I liked how Paul spoke slower to Tasha and enunciated his words, which makes me assume that Tasha can read lips somewhat.

[Phebemarie]

Amos reminded me of Aaron Neville.  
 

The lamb was adorable.  

[dleighg]

9 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Also that Noel said the interpreter would be signing "BSL", which took me a second to realize must be British Sign Language. 

I learned about BSL from watching Silent Witness. Yes BSL is British Sign Language, and interestingly, BSL vs ASL is not like the difference between British and American English, since neither SL is not based on English at all, other than occasionally spelling out words. 

Regarding the vertical cake, it seemed most of them were fat rather than tall owing to them adding on more layers after one another. One of the cakes *was* tall and VERY neat which seems quite impressive.

[ombre]

I actually gasped when Amos was sent home. A gasp! In the first episode! It seemed that there were plenty of people who'd been more consistently bad and he'd had that knockout technical. 

On blueberries - I hate cooked blueberries (they're a perfect fruit when raw. It's such a waste of perfection!), but recently became aware that part of what I hate about commercial "blueberry" baked goods is that they're used as a sweet flavor and much of what I love about blueberries is their tartness. And *then* I discovered that there are some areas where the blueberries tend more towards just sweetness (looking at you, maine) and so people whose tastes were developed through those blueberries have a very different sense of what "blueberry" should taste like - in Maine, most blueberry stuff seems to just be sweet and people seem to think that's as it should be and thus anybody whose tastes were shaped around the idea that maine blueberries are the epitome of blueberry also thinks it should just be sweet. Whereas I, someone who thinks there should be a complex flavor profile to blueberry stuff, think that cooked blueberries are flavorless because they lack the zing of the tart fresh blueberries. Which is a very long way of saying that I can understand why they might be wary of blueberry flavor and consider it flavorless. 

On the whole, a genuinely enjoyable hour. I was utterly unimpressed with last season but am really rather excited to see this one. There are so many ways that a bake can go wrong without making even the simple challenges races against the clock and contraventions of the laws of gravity. There is as much drama in the question of "is this too soon? Too long" as in the race against the clock. It's fun to see human beings nervously drinking a cuppa as they debate those questions. It's fun to see them swiping nibbles of one another's ingredients and just interacting in those down times. You can imagine being in that situation. Cheers to the production company for finally going back to that more varied texture of storytelling! 

And a deep and profound gratitude to the lady who thought that yep, it's time to add a mess of beaver jokes to bake off. Genius. Well played. 

[AZChristian]

13 hours ago, HelloooKitty said:

also, does anyone know the name of the American Actor Amos reminded me of?

Tyler Perry???

[Straycat80]

13 hours ago, HelloooKitty said:

 

also, does anyone know the name of the American Actor Amos reminded me of?

Forest Whitaker

[HelloooKitty]

13 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

Stanley from The Office? 

No, that’s not it. Someone I vaguely remember from I think a movie. I feel like he was wearing long basketball shorts  and a jersey over a t-shirt. Maybe purple and gold colors ? Isn’t that the lakers?

also not Tyler Perry or Forest or Aaron Neville. 
 

Wendell is closest but I don’t think it’s him bc 1) I haven’t seen a ton of stuff he’s been in and 2) his characters tend to be well dressed/pulled together. 
my mental image of the actor is of him in very casual clothes. (See above)

 

BSL does use more 2 handed signs than ASL. But just like spoken language, people develop their own slang/shortcuts for words. Like how Tasha explained her sign for Paul Hollywood and morphed into the sign for parrot bc pollywood-Polly-Polly want a cracker-parrot. 

Edited September 30, 2023 by HelloooKitty

[blueray]

I really like this group of people, none of them are annoying which is always nice to see.

I was however disappointed that the show spoiled the joke at the beginning. I would have laughed at "Nicki tell me about your beaver" but the intro had to go ruin it :(.

Anyhow, I agreed with sending Almos home as he was at the bottom of all the rounds. And I could help but thinking that his Wale, looked like the time I tried to paint one (my friends all made fun of me lol). It's hard having no artistic abilities. To bad it didn't taste good either.

[dgpolo]

3 minutes ago, blueray said:

Anyhow, I agreed with sending Almos home as he was at the bottom of all the rounds.

He was not. He was 2nd in the Technical.

[blueray]

On 9/29/2023 at 7:10 AM, dleighg said:

I was impressed at how well the hearing-impaired woman speaks. Does anyone know the backstory of her impairment? I see she wears a device.

I've worked with people that have hearing aids, it maybe because she lost her hearing as a kid (instead of say a infant). She learned to talk first. I also got the impression that she can read lips, so she was able to understand what Prue and Paul were saying at the show stopper, unless the interceptor was off screen?

2 minutes ago, dgpolo said:

He was not. He was 2nd in the Technical.

Oh right, I forgot about that. Opps.

[HelloooKitty]

Tasha has a cochlear implant which is very different from a hearing aid.

The interpreter is always present, even if just out of shot. You can see her focus shift back and forth even when you can’t see him. 
reading lips is very very difficult and not like it’s shown in movies and tv. People don’t enunciate and lip shape is only a small portion of making a phonate. Even very talented lip readers don’t get every word. They tend to “fill in the blanks” based on context and assumption. 
 

 

[Shrek]

Admittedly I haven't lived there for 20 years but I didn't even know Blueberries were a thing until I holidayed in Florida & I was a produce manager for 15 years so they may well be tasteless in the UK. 

The same would apply to sign language being different for each country as I always knew it as just sign language when growing up in the UK and it had never occurred to me that each country had a different version until I heard of ASL so I understand the confusion of some people.

The world has certainly changed & shrunk in the last 25 years & we are all learning new things daily if not sometimes hourly.

[kittykat]

Hooray for Bake!  So happy it's back and and was a good one.

I heard about the move to go back to basics and this was definitely good start.

The vertical cakes were cool.  I'd heard of them but didn't realize it was just a sideways swiss roll, nice twist on an old classic.  And so many of them pulled theirs off well which showed they actually had enough time.  Most of them looked delicious.

Absolutely loved that the technical was the missing raspberry cake.  More of that! A moment of silence for Prue and Paul's bellies for consuming all that chocolate.  I imagine that took a couple of hours to judge since they needed breaks after every three I'm guessing.

Agree that the showstopper was just the right amount of gimmick especially since not everyone opted for rice krispie supports.  Dowels are common in any structure or multi layer caker so those made sense. And the results show. Disappointed that there were multiple dogs but no cats. And we all learned that if there's anything that can unite the world it's a well timed beaver joke.

Sorry for Amos leaving but his choice to deliberately bake a dense cake with no support did him in.  Personally I felt Nicky or Dana probably did just as bad across the board but usually the worst showstopper gets the axe.

Thumbs up to Alison she definitely creates a warm presence and she seems to play of Noel well.  And Noel's sweater! Fever to Tell is one of my favorite albums.  YYYs must have approved the plug.

[Spicysweet]

21 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

That surprised me as well.  Also that Noel said the interpreter would be signing "BSL", which took me a second to realize must be British Sign Language.  I've only ever seen sign language referred to as ASL.  

Blueberries have no flavor?  Prue, what blueberries are you eating? 

ASL simply means American Sign Language. Change the nationality, and the first initial changes. 😊

I love blueberries and think they have loads of flavor. That was weird for her to say they don't!

 

[HelloooKitty]

Oh, something that could be fun to look for is to see if they are utilizing an assisted listening device for Tasha. ALDs would transmit sound directly to her implant for processing instead of it having to “pick it up”. It would come in very handy during time calls. They come in different forms but I’d look for one of the hosts to be wearing a neckloop with a long looking pendent in it or something that looks like a pen. 
 

I just think it’s really interesting to see what accommodations they have put into place and I think it’s a good thing for those who don’t realize what accommodations might even be needed (just bc it’s not something they have ever had to think about) to see challenges they might not have thought of and how we can meet those to insure everyone has what they need to succeed. 

Edited September 30, 2023 by HelloooKitty

[dleighg]

I'm too lazy to go back and check, but did the baker of one of the signature bakes (the vertical spiral) say that it was inspired by a Cosmopolitan cocktail-- but it he didn't mention cranberries???? It *was* pink as I recall.

[peeayebee]

I may go back, but yes I remember him saying his inspiration was a Cosmo, his first cocktail on his 21st?

I have to admit that I had thought of ASL as being universal, so I was thrown for a bit by the BSL mention. I'm glad to learn.

[PrincessPurrsALot]

On 9/29/2023 at 3:22 PM, dleighg said:

Didn't Amos do very well in the technical? Second perhaps? Guess that proves that the technical doesn't count for much.

They also said that there was not a lot of difference in the quality of the technical bakes, so this one wouldn't count for much. 

So far I like everyone.  They all seemed excited to be there.  They were stressed but not OTT/poor me.  Alison seems like a good addition so far.  It's a shame that Amos showstopper was so poorly baked.  The cake was really dense and looked gluey.  He seemed like a really nice guy. 

[hendersonrocks]

Such a promising start! I’m hopeful this season will be more enjoyable with the show going back to the basics, no theme weeks, and fielding another delightful group of bakers. There are a few who already seem well above the rest as far as skill but it will be interesting to see if that holds true. And no, I don’t remember anyone’s name yet so can’t even say who I am thinking of. The poppy seed forager, the rugby player (that cow was adorable!), the showstopper winner.

One thing I really appreciate about the show is how they acknowledged the interpreter but didn’t dwell on the disability. They did the same several seasons ago with Briony, if I remember her name correctly. Bake off just gets down to the business of baking and is clear everyone is talented and has what they need to succeed.

[MerBearHou]

9 hours ago, kittykat said:

Sorry for Amos leaving but his choice to deliberately bake a dense cake with no support did him in.  Personally I felt Nicky or Dana probably did just as bad across the board but usually the worst showstopper gets the axe.

I knew when Amos said he wasn’t using dowels or supports that he was done for.  I was sorry to see him go in this first week and his tears just made me so sad.  He did so well in the Technical and I expected him to win that round.

He reminds me a little of Andre Leon Talley.  

Allison was a nice addition in this first episode.  Hope that continues to be true — I really liked her.  

Edited October 1, 2023 by MerBearHou

[Eliza422]

Quick question for British folks - what particular regional accent does Alison have? That one seems relatively common, but beyond RP /Northern-ish (I know ther are variations!) /Cockney(?) some of the more subtle variations escape me.

[dleighg]

4 hours ago, Eliza422 said:

Quick question for British folks - what particular regional accent does Alison have?

thanks for asking- I had the same question! All I can think is "working class" which isn't really correct, i.e., not BBC or "Queen's" English LOL.

[andromeda331]

I would have had a hard time judging the showstopper. They all looked so adorable. The dogs and the bird. I thought the whale looked adorable too. The beaver was cute. It wouldn't have mattered if they didn't taste good.

 

20 hours ago, HelloooKitty said:

Tasha has a cochlear implant which is very different from a hearing aid.

The interpreter is always present, even if just out of shot. You can see her focus shift back and forth even when you can’t see him. 
reading lips is very very difficult and not like it’s shown in movies and tv. People don’t enunciate and lip shape is only a small portion of making a phonate. Even very talented lip readers don’t get every word. They tend to “fill in the blanks” based on context and assumption. 

Thanks for letting us know. I assumed it was a hearing aid. Mostly because Tasha reminded me of my elementary school best friend who was deaf in one ear, wore a hearing, spoke, lip read and used sign language. I knew sign language at the time because my cousin was completely deaf. I have a feeling Tasha will probably be one of my favorites if not favorite. 

[libgirl2]

11 hours ago, hendersonrocks said:

Such a promising start! I’m hopeful this season will be more enjoyable with the show going back to the basics, no theme weeks, and fielding another delightful group of bakers. There are a few who already seem well above the rest as far as skill but it will be interesting to see if that holds true. And no, I don’t remember anyone’s name yet so can’t even say who I am thinking of. The poppy seed forager, the rugby player (that cow was adorable!), the showstopper winner.

One thing I really appreciate about the show is how they acknowledged the interpreter but didn’t dwell on the disability. They did the same several seasons ago with Briony, if I remember her name correctly. Bake off just gets down to the business of baking and is clear everyone is talented and has what they need to succeed.

Abbi is the poppy seed forager. I like her. She looks like she stepped out of 1940s England.