S06.E06: Pastry

[Athena]

Episode Summary:

 

Quote

With bread, biscuits and cakes under their belts, the bakers must now prove their skill with pastry.

 

First, the bakers make frangipane tarts for their signature challenge - shortcrust pastry holding a silky-smooth frangipane cream. Fruit is the obvious addition, but one baker hopes that a pina colada-flavoured tart will win the judges' approval.

 

Paul sets the technical challenge, a traditional cheese-filled pastry from Cyprus - the flaouna. The bakers are faced with ingredients they've never heard of that make a particularly pungent filling. Once the bakers have overcome the smell, they just need to work out what a flaouna looks like - a mini pizza, a Cornish pasty or none of the above?

 

The showstopper is the classic 70's canape, vol-au-vents. Bitesize puff pastry that should be delicate, light and stuffed with tasty fillings. The bakers approach this challenge with trepidation; one refers to vol-au-vents as his nemesis. Getting the puff folded and chilled in time causes problems for more than one, but it's no holds barred when it comes to the fillings as the bakers choose an array of flavours and combinations that really impress the judges.

[Occasional Hope]

I shall never eat a flaouna; the flavours sound disgusting.

[LaChavalina]

That was a horrid technical, wasn't it? A couple of the contestants made me laugh out loud this week. At least they all have a good sense of humor. I don't know how Mary and Paul could pretend to blind judge that technical challenge with half the contestants bursting into laughter as soon as the judges stepped in front of their dishes. Tamal: Why on earth would you see sesame seeds in a recipe and then put them on the inside????

 

Then the signature bake... They kept going on about how big this recipe was in the 70s and all I could think was, "They're going to bake a bread bowl to put your keys into?" I also laughed--again--at Tamal's fantasy pulled pork sandwich.

[pamplemousse]

I really like Nadiya, I do, but I think she should've been eliminated because IMO she didn't actually complete the Showstopper. Instead of making vol-au-vents, she made pastry bites with two different dips. I don't think she did well enough in the Signature and Technical (of which she came in fourth) to make up for not finishing the Showstopper even if her two fillings/dips were incredible. IMO she would've had to have been the best in both Signature and Technical to make up for her Showstopper.

 

Alvin's Signature wasn't baked right, but it was completed in the sense that he got a frangipane tart up in the time allotted. He came in last in the Technical but he did finish the flaounas. And even though his vol-au-vents were underbaked, they were completed and at least one of the types tasted very good according to the judges.

[Niuxita]

I got so emotional watching the tears streaming down Nadiya's face during the judging of the showstopper. :(

 

Alvin was annoying me, so I can't say I'm sad he's gone. I'm shocked, though. I wasn't expecting either of the remaining ladies to outlast any of the dudes.

 

What does Flora have to do to get some goddamn recognition?! She hasn't gone below third place in the technical challenges and her feedback is almost always positive, but it's like Paul and Mary forget she even exists every time they talk about who they'd consider as Star Baker. Blergh. 

 

Speaking of SB, glad to see the title moving around a bit. Mat absolutely deserved it.

[Athena]

I do not enjoy seeing Nadiya crying, but her vol au vents fillings sounded delicious.

 

Tamal makes me laugh and smile. He's quite dreamy. He really was adorable when he described his dream sandwich.

 

This was probably one of my least favourite technicals as well. It's not that I'm opposed to eating it, but it felt even more obscure and random than usual.

 

I think Flora has certain strengths and she could pull one of the wins from behind like previous contestants. However, she has weaknesses in things. Her Signature didn't really work and she's shown faults in past weeks so I'm not surprised she's been overlooked. At any time, she could have a good week like Mat and do well on all three challenges.

[Pallida]

I have a love-hate (but not that extreme) relationship with Flora.  Something about her bugs me, but then she makes comments I really appreciate.  I liked that she apologized to the people of Cyprus.  I was glad that Mary finally called her out on the additional things she keeps adding though.  I imagine it's completely unintentional, but she keeps adding things that aren't part of the week's focus, and it seems like they are in her comfort zone, so she's simply adding them to have a "strong element" when the week's focus is weaker.

 

I wonder if Paul and Mary took into account multiple weeks in deciding whether to choose Nadiya or Alvin, or if it was because they recognized that Nadiya ran out of time but executed the showstopper correctly, while Alvin did not execute things correctly.  

 

I enjoyed the history lesson on the town that makes giant pies, but I realized my Americanness was shining through when I was confused by what they would have used for filling until I saw a notice at the very end that it was savory pie.  

[Kromm]

What does Flora have to do to get some goddamn recognition?! She hasn't gone below third place in the technical challenges and her feedback is almost always positive, but it's like Paul and Mary forget she even exists every time they talk about who they'd consider as Star Baker. Blergh. 

Ah, once again Paul H's subtle bias against giving young female bakers Star Baker shows up. You could tell Mary was much more impressed by Flora's bakes than he was.

[shandy]

Wow, this was nostalgic.

 

The vol au vents/vols au vent (don’t want to be upsetting the French) took me back to all those 90s weddings with lobster newburg/lobster salad in puff pastry. The alternate filling was something like condensed mushroom soup - shudder.  And chicken à la king, c’mon Alvin, you catered for the VFW in a former life. It did look so much nicer than the swill I remember. He was breaking my heart, but I couldn’t ride the drama every week. He made half way, and that is an achievement.

 

I’m puzzled by Flora. She is not TV natural like sweet Martha from last season but they are quite similar – obviously from families with sophisticated European food knowledge, but whereas Martha giggled, warbled and gossiped, Flora is brooding.

 

Paul treats everyone like a dumb baker’s apprentice. I’m not sure whether this makes him value the women less, but he spent most of season 5 ripping into Nancy. My favorite La Hollywood moment is still the increasingly desperate pawing of her microwave nuked fruit bread to find something wrong.

 

Those fla.. things. Yes Paul, you worked in Cyprus. We get it.

Edited September 11, 2015 by shandy

[Danny Franks]

I find it curious that someone has a complete disaster, each week, singling themselves out for elimination. Having watched the first three episodes of the season on iPlayer, it seems to happen consistently. I'm not saying the show is rigged in any way, but I guess it's just the way stress and pressure gets to people.

 

This time it was Alvin's turn. And I'm glad in a way, because he hasn't looked like he was having any fun for most of the season. Just stress and repressed panic, every week. The others have all seemed like they were enjoying themselves, even when things went wrong.

 

Sure Nadiya's vol-au-vents were unfinished, but I bought Paul's explanation that she had shown the skills, but run out of time due to an unwise decision to start again on her pastry. Alvin might have given them completed vol-au-vents, but they weren't baked.

 

I still love Nadiya and Flora, and feel it is getting a little unfair that Flora is being overlooked. She's been consistently good in the technical challenge, which seems like the most accurate measure of ability. But she's strayed a little with her signature bakes, which seems to offend Paul. Or maybe it's her youth and optimism that offends Paul.

 

I was kind of hoping that Ian's decision to use guinea fowl eggs ('I haven't cooked with them in many years') and squid ink would be his undoing. Sadly not. But it seems like the bias of the judges was on show when they bemoaned how unexpected it was that his vol-au-vents hadn't risen perfectly.

 

I need to find out what the other sandwich Tamal has at the top of his list is, because the pork one sounded amazing.

[Kromm]

I still love Nadiya and Flora, and feel it is getting a little unfair that Flora is being overlooked. She's been consistently good in the technical challenge, which seems like the most accurate measure of ability. But she's strayed a little with her signature bakes, which seems to offend Paul. Or maybe it's her youth and optimism that offends Paul.

I don't know if she's overly pollyannaish. She comes off as fairly grounded. But yes, it's clearly Paul who refuses to reward her. Mary is the one who brings her up positively when talking to the hosts, and who compliments her most face to face. Paul will bring her up in those situations if it's a negative.

I recall him using the same approach with Martha (except Martha maybe WAS a bit of a Pollyanna). I think he just feels more connected to middle aged men than young girls, and while he'll occasionally reward an older woman, that's about his limit.

I think it's worth noting that Technical Challenges are blind judging, and the only example of that on this show. So her doing so much better in those than the non-blind judging should speak volumes.

Edited September 11, 2015 by Kromm

[Danny Franks]

I think she comes off as very grounded as well. There's a genuine sweetness and wit to her that I like a lot. People criticised her for being posh, but I think there's a difference between truly posh and just well brought up. She definitely seems to be the latter.

 

I can see where the criticism about her sticking things onto the bakes comes from. It does look like she's got a tendency to go for something she knows well, and add it when it probably didn't need to be added. Perhaps that's down to some self-doubts that she has, because from the way she looks so terrified whenever her work is judged, I don't think she realises how good she is. Or maybe she's already wise to the fact that Paul Hollywood won't give her any praise if he can avoid it.

 

Those chocolate vol-au-vents looked amazing, by the way. Marks & Spencer should be selling those.

[Athena]

Ah, once again Paul H's subtle bias against giving young female bakers Star Baker shows up. You could tell Mary was much more impressed by Flora's bakes than he was.

 

Paul was actually accused of being biased to a young female contestant in a previous season.

 

Personally, I don't think the technical carries more weight than the other two challenges. We've seen winners with spottier history of technicals, but winners usually have a bag of technique, presentation, and flavours. I think there are other bakers including Nadiya who just have had better flavours in than Flora.

[Niuxita]

I think she comes off as very grounded as well. There's a genuine sweetness and wit to her that I like a lot. People criticised her for being posh, but I think there's a difference between truly posh and just well brought up. She definitely seems to be the latter.

 

I agree. A previous poster referred to her as "brooding," which I'm not sure I agree with. If you want to talk brooding under-20 contestants, I think s4's Ruby (whom I still loved) fits the bill much more.

 

Re: Paul's bias or lack thereof, what I think it is is that they seem to REALLY be pushing for a male winner this season.

 

Personally, I don't think the technical carries more weight than the other two challenges.

 

Maybe not, but Paul and Mary always make a point to emphasize when a contestant did badly on a signature bake, for example, but then came first in the technical (or viceversa), so it's always seemed to me that the performance in a technical challenge does affect a contestant's standing.

Edited September 11, 2015 by Niuxita

[Danny Franks]

I agree. A previous poster referred to her as "brooding," which I'm not sure I agree with. If you want to talk brooding under-20 contestants, I think s4's Ruby (whom I still loved) fits the bill much more.

 

Yeah, I wouldn't call her brooding either. She seems very focused, but then they all do. Some of you guys have been saying that this group hasn't gelled as well as previous ones, and there's not as much interaction between them, but Flora seems to be friendly whenever she does speak to one of the others.

 

They all do actually, and I wonder how much of their interaction is left in the editing room, to amplify tension. I mean, there's no way they all spend a solid half hour or hour kneeling in front of their ovens, watching stuff bake. I know that Tamal likes the rest of them, including Ian, and I haven't picked up on any vindictive bitchiness from anyone else either.

Edited September 11, 2015 by Danny Franks

[Athena]

Maybe not, but Paul and Mary always make a point to emphasize when a contestant did badly on a signature bake, for example, but then came first in the technical (or viceversa), so it's always seemed to me that the performance in a technical challenge does affect a contestant's standing.

 

I definitely think the technical challenge carries weight in judging and they do consider it in the weekly SB/elimination. It helps form the week's overall standing along with the Signature. If anything, the one that carries the most weight is the Showstopper. They even emphasized that Alvin would have to had a "miracle" for him to win that one. Something I do like about this show is that technique and flavour do edge out presentation. A couple series ago, one contestant who was middle of the pack in his first two challenges won SB over others who had slightly better initial challenges. However, Paul and Mary loved the flavour so much and even said it was one of the best things they'd ever tried in in the GBBO, they gave it to him. I was pleasantly surprised by that.

 

 

They all do actually, and I wonder how much of their interaction is left in the editing room, to amplify tension. I mean, there's no way they all spend a solid half hour or hour kneeling in front of their ovens, watching stuff bake. I know that Tamal likes the rest of them, including Ian, and I haven't picked up on any vindictive bitchiness from anyone else either.

 

I don't think there's actually any vindictiveness. I think the group has gelled more or less at this point. They may not be as super close knit as some other groups in the past, but they all seem to like each other so I'm good with it. This is still better than 99% of American reality shows where the editing makes you think everyone hates each other.

 

I think Flora is a serious baker, not exactly brooding. She's a bit older than Martha too and already in University (or about to be?) so I can see her as slightly more focused in her style.

[Rinaldo]

A couple series ago, one contestant who was middle of the pack in his first two challenges won SB over others who had slightly better initial challenges. However, Paul and Mary loved the flavour so much and even said it was one of the best things they'd ever tried in in the GBBO, they gave it to him. I was pleasantly surprised by that.

That was Ryan's "key lime pie" from Season 3, and yes, it must really have been something. Mary and Paul both mentioned that others were better on the other challenges, and their usual principle was to go for consistency and the best overall average for the three challenges when awarding Star Baker... but Ryan's pie was so outstanding, they had to recognize it. Mary's last words after the episode concluded were that the first thing she wanted to do was go home and bake one for herself.

 

(I put "key lime pie" in quotation marks because it has nothing to do with Key limes from Florida, and also because I'm still irritated at Paul for proclaiming, in an "American pie" challenge, that the most essential way to improve an American-style pie is to make it less American.)

[Schweedie]

So pleased to find there's a forum for Bake Off here!

 

This time it was Alvin's turn. And I'm glad in a way, because he hasn't looked like he was having any fun for most of the season. Just stress and repressed panic, every week. The others have all seemed like they were enjoying themselves, even when things went wrong.

 

I need to find out what the other sandwich Tamal has at the top of his list is, because the pork one sounded amazing.

 

I think that's exactly what's been bothering me about Alvin. I'm pretty sure it's not a coincidence I finally felt like I was coming around to him last week when he was having a pretty good week and seemed a little more relaxed. It's like you say, even when things go wrong for the others they still seem to be able to look at the situation with a sense of humour (to a certain point, at least). Like, Mat and Tamal always crack me up with their comments and reactions - Mat's "I've made these a couple of times... Not really!" made me laugh - but Alvin's always just seemed so worried and stressed it made me nervous. I'm sort of relieved to see him go.

 

Also, because I'm a nerd who follows Tamal on Twitter: the other sandwich was a meatball, caramelised onion and cheddar toasted ciabatta, heh! Which does sound delicious. (Also, Sandy, Nadiya and Tamal got together to watch this episode, how cute is that?)

 

Already after the first episode I called Nadiya, Tamal and Flora as my favourites - very happy to have them all still standing and mostly doing well. I hope Flora being sort of told off about her extras will make her give them up, because a lot of the time they just seem to drag her bake down.

[Kromm]

Paul was actually accused of being biased to a young female contestant in a previous season.

 

Personally, I don't think the technical carries more weight than the other two challenges. We've seen winners with spottier history of technicals, but winners usually have a bag of technique, presentation, and flavours. I think there are other bakers including Nadiya who just have had better flavours in than Flora.

Yeah, I recall now. So perhaps this is overcompensation in the other direction (specifically so he isn't accused of being a perv).

(I put "key lime pie" in quotation marks because it has nothing to do with Key limes from Florida, and also because I'm still irritated at Paul for proclaiming, in an "American pie" challenge, that the most essential way to improve an American-style pie is to make it less American.)

Paul may have spent a few months judging a US version of the show and plowing his co-star, but it was always clear that he has little regard for American baking. I still recall the disgust he had at certain American concepts, like using Peanut Butter in desserts (which I've seen a few Brits do on this show since, so maybe Paul has been overruled by consensus). 

I agree. A previous poster referred to her as "brooding," which I'm not sure I agree with. If you want to talk brooding under-20 contestants, I think s4's Ruby (whom I still loved) fits the bill much more.

 

Re: Paul's bias or lack thereof, what I think it is is that they seem to REALLY be pushing for a male winner this season.

Ruby is the one Paul supposedly wanted to bone, right?  Am I recalling correctly?

Turns out he wouldn't have landed her anyway: Great British Bake Off favourite Ruby Tandoh comes out on Twitter... and jokes she's finally putting those Paul Hollywood rumours to bed

 

So I think the sequence is he has his way with Marcela Valladolid. Gets in trouble with the press. Comes home to the UK and seems to flirt with Ruby. Gets in more trouble with the press. So then plays it extra careful being extra-Simon Cowellish with any future cute young things on the show.

Edited September 11, 2015 by Kromm

[Rinaldo]

I'm certainly not disputing the incident in the US... that happened. But over the course of the UK series, Paul has not seemed (to me) to have any overall gender bias. We've had all-male final 3s as well as all-female and mixed ones. His (and Mary's) choices haven't always been exactly the same as mine (of course I can't taste the results), but they've made sense to me and I don't see any hidden scheme at work.

[halopub]

They all do actually, and I wonder how much of their interaction is left in the editing room, to amplify tension. I mean, there's no way they all spend a solid half hour or hour kneeling in front of their ovens, watching stuff bake. I know that Tamal likes the rest of them, including Ian, and I haven't picked up on any vindictive bitchiness from anyone else either.

 

The show is certainly much less manipulative than its American counterparts but of course it's not immune from convenient editing and story crafting. We saw that a bit last year in ways minor ("one contestant supposedly being eliminated for premade fondant rather than just a poor bake") and major ("fridgegate").

 

It's cool that you can give us some insight from Tamal and it's great to hear that he found the other contestants to be likeable. I hope you and your girlfriend pester him for details as the season goes on.

 

Did anyone else catch Extra Slice? It seems like Alvin, just like Ugne, does stunning work away from the clock and the cameras. Guest panelist Marcus Wareing was, characteristically, both cruel and kind when he told Alvin he could have gone all the way had he produced the plum frangipane on the day. Wareing seemed genuinely impressed by the redemptive bake Alvin brought.

[Rinaldo]

One thing that I wouldn't call manipulative, but doesn't represent the reality of their experience, is indeed the many long stretches of time when everyone has something in the oven and all they can do is wait. Sometimes there's a filling or something that can be worked on, but often there isn't. Surely during those times there's a lot of conversation and getting to know each other. But all that down-time can't make it into an already packed hour of TV, so we jump immediately from into-the-oven to remove-from-the-oven.

[Brookside]

One thing that I wouldn't call manipulative, but doesn't represent the reality of their experience, is indeed the many long stretches of time when everyone has something in the oven and all they can do is wait. Sometimes there's a filling or something that can be worked on, but often there isn't. Surely during those times there's a lot of conversation and getting to know each other. But all that down-time can't make it into an already packed hour of TV, so we jump immediately from into-the-oven to remove-from-the-oven.

 

I love the fact that you often see someone with a mug of tea in hand when they're obviously waiting for something to bake.

That was a horrid technical, wasn't it? A couple of the contestants made me laugh out loud this week. At least they all have a good sense of humor. I don't know how Mary and Paul could pretend to blind judge that technical challenge with half the contestants bursting into laughter as soon as the judges stepped in front of their dishes. Tamal: Why on earth would you see sesame seeds in a recipe and then put them on the inside????

 

Then the signature bake... They kept going on about how big this recipe was in the 70s and all I could think was, "They're going to bake a bread bowl to put your keys into?" I also laughed--again--at Tamal's fantasy pulled pork sandwich.

 

I' assume they're not actually sitting there during the blind judging - I expect it's  just editing.  Otherwise, like you say, it would be too obvious.

[3 is enough]

Poor Alvin.  He was always so stressed. I hope he enjoyed himself at least a little bit.

 

I have a question concerning Tamal.  Since there is no topic for current contestants, I will ask here.  Maybe one of our UK members can enlighten me.  Tamal is a "trainee anesthetist", which, I assume, means he is doing a residency in anesthesiology.  How in the world can he get all those weekends off to be on the show?

My daughter recently started an internal medicine residency in the US, and she only gets four days off a month, and those days rarely fall on a weekend.

It appears that GBBO is filmed on consecutive weekends.  Do UK medical residents have better hours and weekends off?  

 

I really like the contestants who are left.  I am going to be sad to see any of them leave at this point.

Edited September 14, 2015 by 3 is enough

[Rinaldo]

I assume they're not actually sitting there during the blind judging - I expect it's  just editing.  Otherwise, like you say, it would be too obvious.

Well, they are actually sitting there in a row -- we can see them in the same shot with the long table and the four behind it. But I agree with the essence of your hypothesis: at some point (maybe before Paul & Mary return?) a camera may go down the row and ask for general reaction shots from each of them that they can later patch in. Or something like that.

 

And while on the whole I'm willing to consider the editing honest, I do think they intentionally intensify the everything's-happening-in-the-last-seconds-OMG-will-I-finish? nature of the last minute or so of a bake, with fast cuts and excited music. Probably people start rushing to finish when the 5- or 10-minute call is made, and it all gets edited together as if everything happened in the last 20 seconds. (In one or two cases I've seen a telltale discontinuity, like an un-iced cake when we've already seen it get iced.) As I said, I don't really mind, and I don't consider it a real falsification.

[Danny Franks]

It's cool that you can give us some insight from Tamal and it's great to hear that he found the other contestants to be likeable. I hope you and your girlfriend pester him for details as the season goes on.

 

Ha. Well, she asks him plenty, but he's keeping it all buttoned up tight. Apparently he's rather amused by his heartthrob status, though. My main priority is sourcing some of the stuff he makes, and trying it for myself (eating it, not actually baking it).

 

I have a question concerning Tamal.  Since there is no topic for current contestants, I will ask here.  Maybe one of our UK members can enlighten me.  Tamal is a "trainee anesthetist", which, I assume, means he is doing a residency in anesthesiology.  How in the world can he get all those weekends off to be on the show?

 

 

"Trainee" is a slightly misleading term, in my view. I'll give this my best shot, as my girlfriend is also a trainee anaesthetist, and has repeatedly explained how the programme works. I'm just too bamboozled by all the terminology to fully get my head around it. Tamal is a fully qualified doctor, having completed medical school and two years of foundation training. It's after that when doctors can choose a specialty to pursue, which involves a further seven years of training, through the basic, intermediate and advanced levels, before the doctor achieves consultant status.

 

As for weekends off, it depends on how the rotas are designed. The training rotas are less punishing than staff grade rotas (doctors not currently pursuing specialty training), as far as I can tell. The emphasis is on learning and consolidating that learning, and with anaesthetics, there is a lot more work around the various drugs available, when and how and where and why they should be used. They still have long days, but generally only five a week (sometimes less, if they're on nights or if they have audit days, set aside for clerical work).

[shandy]

I'm not a physician but I'm doing a doctorate that has hospital work attached - I can't add much to Danny's illuminating post but I know a few residents who are Irish. (Ireland's hospitals had severe budget cuts  - thanks IMF - so many are doing residency in the US) They are stunned by the hours involved in a US residency program (70 hours plus)  The Europeans have a  max 48 hour week  and they've harmonized training across the EU bloc. Tamal can probably juggle with that. Good luck to your daughter. 

 

Tamal isn't the first medical guy on GBBO - I find it interesting. 

[3 is enough]

Thank you, Danny Franks and shandy.  

 

Tamal isn't the first medical guy on GBBO - I find it interesting.

Maybe the type of personality that is drawn to medicine is also drawn to baking?  My daughter loves to bake-she isn't at Tamal's level, but she is pretty good.

[Athena]

My main priority is sourcing some of the stuff he makes, and trying it for myself (eating it, not actually baking it).

 

Danny, please report back your findings. :)

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I don't think the technical carries more weight than the other two challenges.

If anything, the one that carries the most weight is the Showstopper.

My overall feeling (which I've had since S1) is that the showstopper is the most heavily weighted challenge. If a baker does terribly in both the signature and the technical, they can still save themselves with an amazing showstopper. Likewise, bombing on the showstopper seems much more detrimental than coming in last in the technical or bombing the signature.

I agree that Alvin has not seemed to be enjoying himself which makes it hard for me to root for him, despite some of his flavor combinations (he was obviously much more at ease when talking about his family but visibly stressed during most of the baking segments). ITA that Paul was very clearly disdainful of a lot of American baking/flavor combinations on the American version of the show, so part of me loved that bakers like Ugne and Alvin were making him have at least one bite of something that he was obviously used to or not convinced would be good. For that reason, I will really miss having Alvin on the show. (side note: I think that Paul is also not very up to date on baking/food trends because I remember he said he had never heard of having chocolate and bacon together, a combination that was already pretty played out by the time the American version of the show was filmed in 2013)

 

Maybe the type of personality that is drawn to medicine is also drawn to baking?

On a related note, many of the bakeries that have opened in the Bay Area over the past 5-10 years are run/owned by lawyers who were using baking as a stress reliever from work and then decided they hated their jobs so they quit and became full time bakers.

 

Tamal makes me laugh and smile. He's quite dreamy. He really was adorable when he described his dream sandwich.

The fact that he ranked this sandwich as his second favorite really appealed to my nerdy list making heart.

 

Also, because I'm a nerd who follows Tamal on Twitter: the other sandwich was a meatball, caramelised onion and cheddar toasted ciabatta, heh! Which does sound delicious. (Also, Sandy, Nadiya and Tamal got together to watch this episode, how cute is that?)

Ha, thanks for that info! I would definitely eat both of his top two sandwiches. And I find it totally adorable that some of the bakers got together to watch this episode together!

[tenativelyyours]

I really liked Alvin so I was sad he went this episode.  I felt though the disappointment he felt he was delivering with his less than satisfactory efforts was taking a toll on him.  His constant apologies just made me sad.

 

I did like how Mel was trying to crack some joking innuendo about his balls and he just plowed through and the look on Mel's face was priceless.

 

Tamal is cracking me up.  He and Nadiya both are funny as all get out.  I enjoy their self-deprecation.  I like Fora more and more.  I was thinking at first she was some kind of trust fun baby (and she might be) with an air of half-lark half-entitlement.  Instead I think she is just a bit wry and realizing just how difficult it all must be.

 

I think for Alvin going home over Nadiya it not only fell to the range of the week's challenges but the edibility of their efforts.  Nadiya had all the components but not the completion.  But Alvin's in some ways is just as incomplete since the pastry was not right and the one filling was also not right.  I think the chicken a la king was the one Paul and Mary did relaly like.  His performance on the prior two challenges also were lower than Naidya's when combined as to taste as well as execution it seemed.  I was still sorry to see how it affected him since I think if he could have just baked worst than the others it would have been a happier effort and result for him. 

[Primetimer]

Who's in the upper crust, and who flakes out?

View the full article

[Amethyst]

IA that Alvin was getting more stressed and not enjoying himself anymore.  I actually thought his sounded the tastiest (I'm a sucker for comfort foods like casseroles) but they were poorly executed.  Despite Nadiya also doing badly on her showstopper, she's been better overall.  So Alvin goes home.

Flora doesn't bother me, but she doesn't make any real impression, either.  Even with Paul ignoring her, she's pretty easy to overlook, I'm sorry to say.  

Vol-au-vents sound yummy, given the right fillings.

Go, Mat!  His vol-au-vents looked great.  I had to laugh at all the others falling over.

Edited July 23, 2016 by Amethyst

[zxy556575]

Oh, Alvin. Busting out that old military mess hall/elementary lunchroom favorite, chicken à la king. At least it wasn't tuna! I kid, because all those vol-au-vent stuffings sounded very tasty. Pulled pork and puff pastry, kmn.

Seems like Nadiya maybe should have stuck it out with her original batch of puff pastry dough despite the unmixed chunks of butter, but hindsight.

[GaT]

Poor Alvin, I liked him, but he always seemed so stressed.

Is it just me, but does this season seem a lot tougher than previous seasons? Flaounas & vol-au-vents are not the kind of things the average home cook is going to be experienced in.

I don't think I'm ever going to believe cod & clementine is a good flavor combination. 

Edited July 23, 2016 by GaT

[Rinaldo]

4 hours ago, lordonia said:

Oh, Alvin. Busting out that old military mess hall/elementary lunchroom favorite, chicken à la king.

My own association with it is not at mass-feeding lunchtime (though the description is fair), but as home-cooking comfort food -- what Mom would make when someone was sick, or when it was otherwise important to feel warm and loved. But interestingly to me, it seems to be rather exotic and little-known in the UK. Alvin referred to it as an American favorite he had encountered. And Paul called it delicious, as if it was a novel combination to him.

4 hours ago, GaT said:

Is it just me, but does this season seem a lot tougher than previous seasons? Flaounas & vol-au-vents are not the kind of things the average home cook is going to be experienced in.

I don't think it's tougher, not when previous seasons' Technicals have included Schichttortes, Prinsesstårtas, Frasiers, and Kouign-Amanns. The point of many of the Technicals is to challenge them with something they've never seen and will have to envision from the recipes. Vol-au-vents, being a Showstopper, they were able to research and practice (and the main component, puff pastry, is something they're all expected to have mastered). This competition is not for "the average home cook."

[Rinaldo]

7 hours ago, PreviouslyTV said:

Who's in the upper crust, and who flakes out?

View the full article

Oh, Mark. You can't claim two men for your eternal true love. Enjoy Mat (who is indeed a cutie) and leave Tamal to me....

(BTW, the "named for an Italian nobleman" business was a joke.)

[cardigirl]

Very sad that Alvin went home. Nadia escaped by the narrowest of margins. Boo. 

Edited July 23, 2016 by cardigirl

[dubbel zout]

On September 13, 2015 at 6:53 PM, Brookside said:

I love the fact that you often see someone with a mug of tea in hand when they're obviously waiting for something to bake.

This is one of my favorite things about the show. Just kicking back with a cuppa.

[Winter Rose]

Congrats to Mat for winning Star Baker. He's had some tough challenges so I hope this gives him a boost. It's also nice to see some sharing the wealth for winning Star Baker.

IA about Alvin. He was flirting with elimination even before this week. I think the competition just got him and that, in itself, affected how his food turned out.

And Tamal is just too adorable <3 That is all.

[meep.meep]

Was it this week that Tamal realized he'd cursed himself by suggesting that he could win Star Baker, only to whiff the Technical?  That was funny.

Mat deserved to win.  And you could tell Alvin was going home from the beginning.

[Rinaldo]

6 hours ago, cardigirl said:

Very sad that Alvin went home. Nadia escaped by the narrowest of margins. Boo. 

A narrow margin is still a margin. I'm inclined to cheer (rather than boo) for her; she is contributing lots of good stuff, but had some bad times this week. Personally (and recognizing that it's easy to second-guess from the comfort of home), I think she made a mistake making a second batch of puff pastry. Half the time they were given just isn't time enough to do it right (and doing it superbly would be the only excuse for starting over). She should have gone ahead with her first batch, even with its lack of lamination, and gotten everything assembled. Because her eventual pastry shells weren't great anyway.

2 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

This is one of my favorite things about the show. Just kicking back with a cuppa.

There must be a lot more of that than we see, because there are times when everyone is simultaneously waiting 30 minutes for something to finish baking, and of course the editing skips over that. It was also interesting to see (not to beat a dead horse about how they're "supposed" to act during technicals) that they were all sharing information and procedures about this one, it being a mystery to all of them. 

[cardigirl]

2 hours ago, Rinaldo said:

A narrow margin is still a margin. I'm inclined to cheer (rather than boo) for her; she is contributing lots of good stuff, but had some bad times this week. Personally (and recognizing that it's easy to second-guess from the comfort of home), I think she made a mistake making a second batch of puff pastry. Half the time they were given just isn't time enough to do it right (and doing it superbly would be the only excuse for starting over). She should have gone ahead with her first batch, even with its lack of lamination, and gotten everything assembled. Because her eventual pastry shells weren't great anyway.

There must be a lot more of that than we see, because there are times when everyone is simultaneously waiting 30 minutes for something to finish baking, and of course the editing skips over that. It was also interesting to see (not to beat a dead horse about how they're "supposed" to act during technicals) that they were all sharing information and procedures about this one, it being a mystery to all of them. 

I liked Alvin, and was sad to see him eliminated over someone who didn't finish her showstopper.  I agree that Alvin seemed more stressed the last couple of shows, but feel that had anyone else not finished a challenge, that would have been it for them.   Your mileage may vary, of course. I'm allowed to feel my feelings.

[Rinaldo]

Of course, that's why I stated it in terms of my own reactions. We all see it differently. It can be mentioned, though, that Alvin himself didn't finish the showstopper in week 2 -- he presented the components of his biscuit box without actually building it. And it was Marie who was eliminated that week.

[tvchick]

WaPo recap of episode 6:

episode 6 recap

[zxy556575]

14 hours ago, GaT said:

I don't think I'm ever going to believe cod & clementine is a good flavor combination. 

It made me turn down my mouth, too, but when I thought about it, fish and citrus have always gone together. It's usually lemon or lime, but there are a lot of recipes for mild white fish baked or simmered in an orange sauce.

[cardigirl]

38 minutes ago, Rinaldo said:

Of course, that's why I stated it in terms of my own reactions. We all see it differently. It can be mentioned, though, that Alvin himself didn't finish the showstopper in week 2 -- he presented the components of his biscuit box without actually building it. And it was Marie who was eliminated that week.

 True enough, you win. 

[Zahdii]

The Great British Baking Show

Season 3, Episode 5: Alternative Ingredients

The remaining bakers face baking challenges without sugar, gluten or dairy. The theme is using alternatives for ingredients usually used in baking. For the signature, the bakers are given the challenge of baking a cake without sugar. The technical challenge is to make 12 identical gluten-free pita breads. In the showstopper, the bakers make an ice-cream roll using dairy-free ice cream.

http://www.pbs.org/video/2365777850/

====================================

The Great British Baking Show

Season 3, Episode 6: Pastry

With bread, biscuits and cakes complete, the bakers must now prove their pastry skills. For the signature challenge, the bakers make a frangipane tart that must be open-topped and use shortcrust pastry. In the technical, the bakers strive to make flauones – a cheese filled pastry made in Cyprus. Vol-au-vents are set as the Showstopper.

http://www.pbs.org/video/2365777855/

[GaT]

41 minutes ago, lordonia said:

It made me turn down my mouth, too, but when I thought about it, fish and citrus have always gone together. It's usually lemon or lime, but there are a lot of recipes for mild white fish baked or simmered in an orange sauce.

That's exactly what my thought process was too, but lemon/lime are sour and clementines are sweet so I'm still pretty leery of it. I guess if you somehow took away the sweetness it could be good, but sweet & fish is disgusting IMO.

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, Rinaldo said:

Of course, that's why I stated it in terms of my own reactions. We all see it differently. It can be mentioned, though, that Alvin himself didn't finish the showstopper in week 2 -- he presented the components of his biscuit box without actually building it. And it was Marie who was eliminated that week.

Exactly.  As soon as they loved her flavors, I knew she was going to stay.  Not finishing, or turning in an absolute disaster like when Dorret's mousse didn't set, is very hurtful.  But there are still enough contestants where bad flavor is seen as worse than not finishing completely.  I haven't taken a tally but I get the sense that is how the judges prioritize as long as a good faith effort to finish was made. 

I liked both of the bottom people but yes, in a way it was a relief to see Alvin go since he has seemed more stressed.