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Harry Potter - Wizards Of Baking

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TITLE*:  HARRY POTTER:  WIZARDS OF BAKING

CATEGORY*: COMPETITIVE REALITY

NETWORK:  FOOD NETWORK

RELEASE DATE:  NOVEMBER 14, 2024

SYNOPSIS:  

Nine teams of pastry chefs and cake artists are tasked with crafting spellbinding edible showpieces inspired by moments and themes from the Harry Potter saga. James and Oliver Phelps (Fred and George Weasley) bring exceptional charm and behind-the-scenes anecdotes as hosts of this magical series, joined by culinary judges, Carla Hall and Jozef Youssef and more iconic Harry Potter stars.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: 

HEADER: 

ruffy666

ruffy666

I'm actually enjoying this show because the bakes are all incredibly impressive.  Better than, for example, Holiday Wars.  Even though we've seen most of these bakers before, they're all incredibly talented and creative and it shows.

But man what is up with Carla on this show, it's like someone gave her a bottle of quaaludes.  She is popular because of her fun, lively personality; I assume she's trying to match the energy of her co-host but her weird, deliberate and super-serious delivery of every syllable feels so phony.

  • Like 2
RoxiP

RoxiP

I am really enjoying this show because the bakers have shown such excellence, plus seeing all the Harry Potter stuff is cool.  Yes, most of these bakers have been on other shows but I suspect there are only a few truly elite bakers who love competition who are willing to invest their time in this competition - didn't one of the guys say he won School of Chocolate - another great competition show?

The Weasley twins are so cute.  I know they aren't really the Weasley twins (the Phelps twins) but that is what I think of when I see them. 

  • Like 2
Ms Lark

Ms Lark

I'm enjoying the show for the most part and, yes, the Weasley/Phelps twins are adorable. The bakes and builds are fun. I like Carla a lot, but she's the wrong choice here. Need a Brit judge to deal with the British palate. Yoiks. Southern American isn't the right fit. Seriously. She's probably slowing down and enunciating since, unfortunately, most of the bakers can't understand what she's saying.

I did not care for this week's "advantage" of 10 min freeze. Ten minutes is a long time in a competition. If the team with the advantage wanted to be very Slytherin they could have put the freeze into effect 10 minutes before the  cutoff. That would be truly evil.

[SIDE RANT] Too many of these baking competitions do not think through their twists, advantages, weird flavor pairings, etc. Many are completely unfair and really unnecessary. Especially when they are unevenly distributed. Plus, give them enough damn time to execute their designs. I want to see fully manifested bakes from these pros and am/pros, not someting you'd see on "Nailed It!" (No side-eye for Nailed it, I love the show.)

  • Like 2
AZChristian

AZChristian

9 hours ago, Ms Lark said:

I did not care for this week's "advantage" of 10 min freeze. Ten minutes is a long time in a competition. If the team with the advantage wanted to be very Slytherin they could have put the freeze into effect 10 minutes before the  cutoff. That would be truly evil.

That would be more likely on an American series.  LOL.  And it was something I mentioned to Mr. AZC as a way to guarantee a win.  But the winning team from last week was the same team that won last week, I believe.  They didn't need to be Slytherinish to win.

tv echo

tv echo

(edited)

I agreed with the judges that Chris and Miko deserved the win this week. Their dementor was amazing. 

Meet the Teams Competing in 'Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking'
By: Kathleen Knowles   Nov 14, 2024
https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/harry-potter-wizards-of-baking/photos/meet-the-teams-harry-potter-wizards-of-baking 

‘Harry Potter’ Twins James and Oliver Phelps on ‘Wizards of Baking,’ New HBO Series: ‘People Will Always See Us as Fred and George’
By K.J. Yossman   Nov 14, 2024
https://variety.com/2024/tv/global/harry-potter-twins-james-oliver-phelps-wizards-baking-hbo-series-1236206348/ 

Edited by tv echo
Rammchick

Rammchick

Of course I didn't taste the cakes, but it sounded to me like Elizabeth and Juan's offerings had more wrong with them than Chris and Miko's (Elizabeth's cake texture was crumbly; Juan's cake was way too spicy).  Plus, although it wasn't executed 100% perfectly, I thought Chris and Miko's concept was much more inventive (even if Fawkes did look great).

  • Like 1
tv echo

tv echo

(edited)

Chris and Miko's transforming portrait concept was something I've never seen before on a baking show and much more difficult to pull off than building Fawkes. Even though they didn't say so, I think the judges considered what the two non-winning teams did in previous challenges in deciding who got to go to the finale.  

Edited by tv echo
  • Like 1
RoxiP

RoxiP

I wasn't as enamored of Chris and Miko's piece.  The concept was cool but it wasn't as effective as I thought it would be and it seemed very messy to me.  Of course they were my least favorite team so I probably am more than a little biased.

Kind of cool that Jordan (sorry, can't remember his partner's name right at this moment) and his partner made it to the finale.  Although they've been consistently good they've kind of been a little under the radar.  Way to step it up when it counts!  

  • Like 3
mlp

mlp

Darn.  I didn't realize there was a forum for this show until just now.  I think I looked for one before it was created and then never went back and looked again.

Anyhow, I loved the show.  I knew nothing about Harry Potter going in other than he was a boy wizard - never read the books or saw the movies.  So I was fascinated by the beautiful sets and special effects.  I loved the twins too.

Most of the bakers were very good and some of their creations were just dazzling.  I remembered Jordan from years ago when he was on one of the FN baking shows and, I think, won.  His sugar work was marvelous.  I was happy that team won.

I'd love another season of this quality but I suppose the Harry Potter theme doesn't lend itself well to a series.

  • Like 1
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tv echo

tv echo

(edited)

I was actually surprised that Elizabeth and Juan didn't win. They were most consistently excellent throughout the competition with some amazing pieces (like the horse patronus and the golden snitches).

But I guess the judges really do consider only the individual challenge in deciding the winner. I agree with the result. Zoe and Jordan's creation was better in terms of design, details and execution (imo). They really came on strong toward the end of the competition.

I think Elizabeth and Juan made a mistake in having such a closed-in creation, where you only had this narrow corridor to look into the inside. They should've had a more open sided piece.

Still, I thought the last three teams were all amazing.

Edited by tv echo
  • Like 3
tv echo

tv echo

(edited)

James and Oliver Phelps Say Filming Wizards of Baking on the Harry Potter Set Felt Like 'Returning to High School' (Exclusive)
By Tabitha Parent   December 18, 2024
https://people.com/james-and-oliver-phelps-say-filming-wizards-of-baking-on-the-harry-potter-set-felt-like-returning-to-high-school-exclusive-8763535 

Quote

“It was really bizarre,” said James, who played Fred Weasley, of returning to the Great Hall to announce the winner of the baking competition. “I had a quick flashback of 11 years of memories of filming in there, from the first time I ever walked through the doors to filming the in the fourth movie, when they turn into old men and all that. Many memories flashed my mind in a split second. Then, we announced the winner, and some people's lives changed forever. It was quite a cool moment to be a part of.”
*  *  *
“Imagine if you went back to your high school,” James joked about returning to Leavesden. “You have so many memories from there, from years ago, and it's got a lick of paint now, and it looks a lot nicer than it used to, because the studios are literally the best studios in the world there … Being able to share that with Bonnie Wright, and Evanna Lynch and Warwick Davis — we had a lot of reminiscing whilst we were there."
*  *  *
For Oliver, returning to the sets wasn't just about reminiscing on the past but also creating new memories — sharing that he brought his oldest daughter to the set for some of the show's filming.

“I never thought I’d ever be in there with my daughter, you know, so stuff like that was really cool to do," he said, though he admitted that his daughter was less enthralled with the Potter of it all than she was with seeing the towering final cakes.
*  *  *
“She's not really too familiar with any of the Potter films or anything, but she's really into baking shows and really loves the creative side of it. She was more interested in seeing the final cakes than seeing the Great Hall, really,” he said.
*  *  *
"The bakers are big fans, so it means a lot to them," James told PEOPLE. "We made a point of saying to them, 'You are the first people to create a bake like this here.' The only other people that have ever cooked for the Great Hall was in the movies ... so this is an honor in itself. And they completely knew that."
*  *  *
"On the day we were filming, we walked up to the head table and just pulled up a chair and sat down," he recalled. "You could see the guys who work at the studio tour going like, 'Whoa, whoa! No, you can't.' It was as if we'd just gone to the British Museum and just pulled out a sarcophagus and just jumped in. So some things never change in that regard."

Edited by tv echo
AZChristian

AZChristian

10 hours ago, mlp said:

I'd love another season of this quality but I suppose the Harry Potter theme doesn't lend itself well to a series.

There were so many possibilities that weren't even touched upon.  There are 7 books, 8 movies, and an upcoming TV series.  So - IMO - LOTS of remaining possibilities!!!

They could even branch out to the "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" world.

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MerBearHou

MerBearHou

I thought this series was so charming, led by the delightful Weasley / Phelps twins.  The baking was impressive and the sets where they were able to bake and present were wonderful for anyone to see on their TV and especially for us Harry Potter fans.  The HP actors from the movies were great additions -- they seemed really into the competition aspect and were moved to be back in that environment that had been so special to them.

Jordan and Zoe were my favorites all along.  Zoe was wonderful and I remember liking Jordan from seeing him on another FN competition.  

Carla was a great host -- I'm a huge Carla fan.  I'm indifferent to Josef but he didn't bother me as a host.

  • Like 1
  • Applause 2
Rammchick

Rammchick

4 hours ago, AZChristian said:

There were so many possibilities that weren't even touched upon.  There are 7 books, 8 movies, and an upcoming TV series.  So - IMO - LOTS of remaining possibilities!!!

They could even branch out to the "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" world.

If Is It Cake? is anything to go by, there are a lot of very talented people who could appear on this show.  And it was only 6 episodes, which went down very nicely (instead of some of the other shows that seem to go on forever).

  • Like 1
mlp

mlp

6 hours ago, AZChristian said:

There were so many possibilities that weren't even touched upon.  There are 7 books, 8 movies, and an upcoming TV series.  So - IMO - LOTS of remaining possibilities!!!

They could even branch out to the "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" world.

I didn't realize there was so much material to draw from.  I'll keep everything crossed that the PTB who manage the museum saw value in allowing filming there.

  • Like 1
  • Love 1
AZChristian

AZChristian

1 hour ago, mlp said:

I didn't realize there was so much material to draw from.  I'll keep everything crossed that the PTB who manage the museum saw value in allowing filming there.

I've been fortunate enough to visit the studio.  It was - and probably still is - pretty busy during the hours it is open.  I assume they had to do the filming at night for the baking show.  But if JK Rowling wants them to continue with the baking, it WILL continue.  That lady has contracts to ensure that she has to put her stamp of approval on ANYTHING having to do with the Potter Universe that she created.

  • Like 2
tv echo

tv echo

(edited)

This was recorded after episode 2 aired - it's interesting to hear about how they auditioned, how they first met to be teamed up, what it was like working with the Phelps twins, and lots of behind-the-scenes stuff...

Wizards of baking Q & A with Zoe and Jordan
Sugar Street Studios   Nov 26, 2024

Edited by tv echo
  • Like 1
RoxiP

RoxiP

I thought Elizabeth and Juan's finale piece was a better representation of the Great Hall but I agree - it was too narrow.  Zoe and Jordan's piece seemed a bit more spectacular but it didn't really read Great Hall to me, but both pieces were definitely finale worthy.  I also agree that the dragon was clunky but so was the snow on the other piece.  

Rammchick

Rammchick

On 12/21/2024 at 3:50 PM, mlp said:

I keep wondering how the trophy was managed.  There were two people on a team and one trophy.  It would be hard to share when the bakers don't even live in the same country.

You must have heard me saying that out loud!  And interesting that there was no cash prize for this show.  There are not too many FN shows like that.

On 12/20/2024 at 3:18 PM, AZChristian said:

I've been fortunate enough to visit the studio.  It was - and probably still is - pretty busy during the hours it is open.  I assume they had to do the filming at night for the baking show.  But if JK Rowling wants them to continue with the baking, it WILL continue.  That lady has contracts to ensure that she has to put her stamp of approval on ANYTHING having to do with the Potter Universe that she created.

There are those who boycotted watching this because of her.  I get that.  

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