Blue Ribbon Baking Championship - General Discussion

[bilgistic]

TITLE*: Blue Ribbon Baking Championship

CATEGORY*: Reality Competition

NETWORK: Netflix

RELEASE DATE: August 9, 2024

SYNOPSIS: Blue ribbon-winning bakers from state fairs across the US face off for the first time in an epic baking showdown to win top honours and $100,000.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Hosted by Jason Biggs and Sandra Lee

HEADER: Blue Ribbon Baking Championship - General Discussion

[ShowsILoveToHate]

I watched this and really liked it. It was different enough, and I enjoyed each weeks theme. 
 

I hope they do another season. 

[bilgistic]

We're in the middle of this and enjoying it so far. Where are all my Food Network baking championship folks??

Sandra Lee's outfits are INSANE.

[anniebird]

I just started - I recognize her voice but her face looks totally different. Did she have a lot of work done?

[susannot]

I'm here!  Cannot stand Sandra Lee, but I'm here for my boy Jeff who is a hometown hero.

[chessiegal]

Awww...... Aunt Sandy has been through a lot. We're fellow breast cancer survivors.

[ruffy666]

I think I'm naturally predisposed to watch any baking competition so I'm enjoying this even though all of the judges are kind of on the annoying side.  Bill Yosses was a judge on some other show on Hulu and I found him vaguely off-putting there, too.  Nice to see Sandra Lee again even though her face is frozen with botox and filler and her outfits are straight off the Project Runway loser's rack and her comments are sometimes pretty weird.

[chessiegal]

17 minutes ago, ruffy666 said:

and her comments are sometimes pretty weird.

Hee. That was part of the fun of her cooking show Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee. It sure wasn't the food.

[bilgistic]

We finished this last night. I almost cried at the end. The person I predicted to win did win. Everyone was so kind and supportive of one another, and it was lovely to see. I hope this show comes back for another season or five. It felt like a Food Network show that was sold to Netflix for some reason. I kept trying to figure out if it was a real fair or just built/set up for the baking show. I'm leaning toward the latter.

Sandra's outfits got crazier every episode.😂 I would've eaten every single thing made in the last episode.

[anniebird]

I haven't finished watching yet but I have the feeling that Eileen expects to win and will be very surprised (and unpleased) if she doesn't. 

[TVbitch]

I am watched, but for Netflix shows, I don't dare come to the forum until I am finished, cuz I hate getting spoiled! It was pretty good. Not quite up to the level of GBB or Food Network's Baking Chamionships, but I enjoyed it. The judges were okay, but their comments were often hard for me to fully understand what their overall assessment was, whereas on GBB or HBC I think the judging is a lot clearer.

As for  Jason Biggs, um, I don't know how much they paid for him, but I did not find him to be particularly interested in baking. He seemed to be there just so he could make jokes about having sex with a pie in American Pie. So as far as I am concerned, they could save money (if there is a) next season with a non-celeb host.  

[TVbitch]

 

On 8/17/2024 at 12:18 PM, anniebird said:

haven't finished watching yet but I have the feeling that Eileen expects to win and will be very surprised (and unpleased) if she doesn't. 

I'm not sure exactly what it was about her, but she was really unlikeable to me! Just kind of cold and robotic with a bigger ego than her bakes warranted. Maybe her personality (if indeed she has one 😂) just did not translate to TV.  

Edited August 19 by TVbitch

[MsMalin]

Watched the first 3 fps yesterday and I am liking it. Tired of the schtick on Food Networks baking shows in fact I only watched halfway thru the last one.

These bakers all seem to be excellent. And it has GBB vibes.

Aunt Sandy has been thru a lot with cancer and Andrew Cuomo.

[Ancaster]

On 8/13/2024 at 3:46 PM, bilgistic said:

We're in the middle of this and enjoying it so far. Where are all my Food Network baking championship folks??

Sandra Lee's outfits are INSANE.

I still can't get over her infamous Kwanzaa cake.

I can't post a workable link for some reason, but if you just Google "Sandra Lee Kwanzaa Cake" you'll get results.

[MerBearHou]

I’m on Episode 4 and am so enjoying it.  Good to see Aunt Sandy again (and oh yes, the infamous Kwanzaa Cake is must viewing) and Jason is fun and innocuous enough.  Bryan and Bill are certainly knowledgeable and the group of bakers reminds me of GBB — no drama, just nice bakers.  I can see why people don’t warm to Eileen but I like her fine — she’s just sort of perfect and very poised.  She’s obviously really sharp.  My favorites are Ron and Felicia.  Nathan’s many huge rings crack me up.  Doesn’t wear them during baking obviously, but they’re right back on during the judging on the hay bales.  I’m so glad to have stumbled upon this show — it’s a treat.  

[Ancaster]

On 8/17/2024 at 12:18 PM, anniebird said:

I haven't finished watching yet but I have the feeling that Eileen expects to win and will be very surprised (and unpleased) if she doesn't. 

On 8/19/2024 at 11:43 AM, TVbitch said:

 

I'm not sure exactly what it was about her, but she was really unlikeable to me! Just kind of cold and robotic with a bigger ego than her bakes warranted. Maybe her personality (if indeed she has one 😂) just did not translate to TV.  

I'm kind of meh on this so far.  I like Eileen.  She's quiet and gets down to business.  Although the contestants seem like nice enough people and there's none of the backbiting or pettiness or nastiness of some other cooking shows, there are too many here trying to be "characters" and to get noticed for my taste.  Maybe that's what they're like at home, but they're not the kind of people I like to hang out with and I don't like them on my TV screen.

(I don't think Eileen expects to win and I suspect she's perfectly nice, just low key and serious.)

Edited August 24 by Ancaster

[Eliza422]

Just finished all the episodes- my second favorite person won, so that was nice. I enjoyed the show (after the shock of how different Sandra looks, and those outfits!!)….. but the show itself was kind of meh. It was missing some essential energy or something, I can’t quite put my finger on it. I’m not looking for food network baking championship style shenanigans, just feel like they could have done something else. I suppose they thought the fair concept was going to provide that, but to me that  was just window dressing. 
if they do more seasons I’ll watch - I can’t seem to resist a baking show. 

[tessabq]

Some of the recipes from the show. Sadly, the one I wanted was Nathan's carrot cake and it's not included.

https://sundaynightfoods.com/blogs/recipes/tagged/netflix-blue-ribbon?page=1

[jabRI]

I really warmed up to Felicia by the end.  Broke my heart thats she's in her 50's and still dreaming of home ownership. 

[EC Moran]

I enjoy watching cooking and baking shows probably because I grew up in a household with a pro chef dad and excellent home cook mom, so I'm a stickler for details and I love seeing a kitchen come to life. However, I felt that the show's selection of contestants was very uneven. How is it that a professional baker who owns a bake shop and knocks out  baked goods every week is pitted against home bakers and this is considered evenly matched? As a result, the competition was unfair and unsatisfying to watch especially since the pro baker had very big a mistake in one of their bakes. The show is very meh especially since unfairness is baked into the contest itself (pun intended).

Edited September 2 by EC Moran

[jabRI]

Except for Nathan  who was also a barber, were there other 'professional' chefs?  Eileen had a different business, no one else mentioned doing this professionally.  Not disputing, just curious!

[ruffy666]

omg i just watched the semi-final and i'm unreasonably annoyed at the outcome

Spoiler

if you have a challenge with a minimum height component, baking TARTS is probably the dumbest recipe you could possibly choose.  meeting the height requirement purely through the use of a metal structure seems >>this close<< to cheating as far as i'm concerned.

overall i don't mind the contestants who went through to the final, but to give Eileen FIRST PLACE and say (paraphrasing) it was the most unique creation so far in the competition is ... is ... well it's gotta be pure ragebait, i don't know what else it could possibly be.  if i were one of the other competitors i'd be ultra annoyed at that comment.

 

[LeDucDiableBleu]

I was disappointed that the young woman (I'm sorry I forgot her name) went to much effort to make cupcakes in the shape of rubber duckies for the game her booth was representing, but lost against others whose bakes didn't resemble their booth game at all. And the winner of that game didn't even have any baked components. But overall I enjoyed this show.

[jabRI]

I agree about Nathan's fair vote where he didn't bake, but to be fair, it wasn't a requirement, just to make a desert.  That's the judge's fault.  That being said, it must have tasted good for him to win,

 

I don't think Felicia did herself any favors with the oreo entry, made no sense for the 'game'.  But what an orange creamsicle taste had to do with a fish grab, you got me!

[CharlizeCat]

On 8/22/2024 at 10:58 PM, Ancaster said:

Sandra Lee's outfits are INSANE.

I was doing a little digging and found an extensive interview with her from a site for cancer survivors. This show has been her dream for a very long time and she shopped it to several networks, including Food Network, which passed.

She is thrilled to be on Netflix, but back to the point. She is having a lot of fun with the crazy outfits and is trying to dress like a "country music star." That makes sense. I kept mentally describing her attire as "Grand 'Ol Opry" meets "Lawrence Welk."  I am glad she is healthy and having some fun. 

I am meh on the show as well.  I am only on Episode 3, but I like Ron, (but fear he will go soon because he seems pretty one-note with pies), the teacher from California, and the barber from Idaho. I don't particularly like the comedian co-host or the judges. That former White House chef could give Paul Hollywood a run for his money. 

[dahling]

Eileen grew on me, she's just serious and confident (with good reason).  

Didn't care for Nathan sniping on her in his talking heads when he was teamed up with her in the team challenge, and she was nothing but complimentary about him behind his back.  

I think the disparity in skill was a combination of the conceit of the show (blue ribbon winners from various fairs) and just casting (of course we want a gay barber from Idaho). 

This was passable. Aunt Sandy was cray cray and I liked the other two judges. I'm down for another season. 

Edited September 10 by dahling

[Starry-Eyed]

This was a lot of fun! Enough like the season Food Network competitions to scratch that itch, but a nice break from some of the irritating production stuff. I only let myself watch an episode a day to stretch it out, and I liked all the competitors by the end. I think the young woman, Cat, was a bit of a production darling, but I really liked her too, so I didn't mind.

[jabRI]

I agree, I liked it too.  My only issue is that this wasn't a 'desert' competition, I think they should require a baking element in each challenge, to even the playing field and keep it interesting.