S06.E09: Chocolate

[stillshimpy]

So I want to mention a problem I have with the show-stoppers in general:  whereas there are a lot of very fussy, elaborate baked goods in the world and they used to be made for honored guests, festivals, etc. (and still are in some cases) it's bloody well ludicrous that they are supposed to turn out these things in relatively small amount of times.  

A professional baker would never (barring medical emergency or drug-induced blackout) try to ice a cake/cookie/pastry before it was properly cooled.  If something has an elaborate piping, they just stay the fuck up and pipe it, because these things are almost never served the same day they are made.  There are a couple of exceptions on that but generally speaking something that elaborate is constructed over the course of days. 

So it always bothers me when Paul and Mary are critical of "wonky" this or "crooked" that out loud and pretty much immediately.  If they want to have the bakers produce a show-stopper at least give them the bulk of a day.  Or if they want a time constraint, have a break where everyone goes off for lunch while everything cools.  I love this show but I go nuts right along with the contestants when they are trying to ice/pipe/decorate things that haven't had sufficient time to cool. 

Edited August 11, 2016 by stillshimpy

[snarktini]

22 minutes ago, stillshimpy said:

I love this show but I go nuts right along with the contestants when they are trying to ice/pipe/decorate things that haven't had sufficient time to cool. 

Me too, every week. Not a showstopper, but the tennis cake stuck out as an example: It needed to bake 2 out of the 3 hours. Figure at best 15-20 minutes to read, prep, preheat. 2 hours to bake. Leaving 40 minutes to cool and decorate. And they wonder why it's underbaked and poorly piped? It's so much better than other reality competitions, but it's still stupid. 

[Quilt Fairy]

I think we may as well agree that the tennis cake was just stupid, period.

[dubbel zout]

12 hours ago, stillshimpy said:

it's bloody well ludicrous that they are supposed to turn out these things in relatively small amount of times.

It seemed in the earlier seasons the bakers were given a reasonable amount of time to do the challenges, but now it feels as if they get the absolute bare minimum. 

5 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

I think we may as well agree that the tennis cake was just stupid, period.

Aside from the fruitcake (and some would argue that), everything else seemed to fall into the "technically edible but not really supposed to be eaten" category. I know Paul and Mary like to see how the bakers handle different materials and techniques, but it also seems kind of wasteful.

Edited August 11, 2016 by dubbel zout

[Rinaldo]

I think the judges sometimes (not always) try to find Technical challenges that are certain to be unfamiliar to all the bakers. Hard to do, when these are just the sort of people who will be curious and wide-ranging in their interests. So, in looking for the truly obscure, Mary this time may have reached too far. Or not, according to viewer's point of view: I enjoyed seeing this outré concoction, and their efforts with it.

As to timing on Technicals, they seem to allow time so that if bakers totally know what they're doing, i.e. getting it assembled and into the oven lickety-split, they'll have just enough time to cool off afterwards. If they have to hesitate or puzzle it out, then they'll suffer. Again I'll quote Nancy from a past competition: if you have the tricks of the trade at your command, then you'll manage it.

[Enigma X]

I love this show but not a fan of most of the technical challenges. In my estimation, the judges do pick something hoping that all the contestants are unfamiliar with it. That I have no problem with. My annoyance comes in knowing that they have picked something like that and have directions that are just ingredients, mix, and bake with no cooking times, proofing times, and measurements. To me, this does not test baking skill.

[MerBearHou]

I actually love the Technicals.  I feel like, for the most part, it's a level-playing-field of "lostness" and obscurity.  The fact that they cannot practice ahead -- bring their own ingredients and homemade baking devices -- they have no idea what's coming -- the instructions are uniform and very simple.  Well, I just get a kick out of seeing the different interpretations, how close they come to the desired treat, and how this really does stretch them as bakers.  They are so proficient (hence, that's why they're on this show) that they succeed 1000x better than I would ever be able to. 

[Mabinogia]

I love Technicals too. It does test their basic knowledge of baking. The instructions are such that, if they know how to make something like a meringue, they can make it with no problem, but if they don't, like Prison Paul with that particular type of cake, they have to use their knowledge of baking to wing it. I also love seeing all the different interpretations of the instructions. It also provides some of our best candid, fun moments as they all flounder and try their best.

Technicals are like Chopped. Open the basket and good luck. Showstoppers are like all those cake championships. Go big or go home. And signatures are like a bake sale. Make us something nice please.

I wish they had a bit more time for the showstopper because, since it is called showstopper, I am expecting to be blown away and though Nadiya's peacock was lovely, it was the only reall "showstopper" there. Tamal and Floras were messy and Ian's felt unfinished. But hey, that's the challenge, how much can you do with a certain amount of time to do it. Do they know ahead of time how long they get? I thought so because I remember someone mentioning being able to get it done but not in the timeframe so they were hoping something went right.

[Athena]

2 minutes ago, Mabinogia said:

Do they know ahead of time how long they get? I thought so because I remember someone mentioning being able to get it done but not in the timeframe so they were hoping something went right.

Yes. Both the showstoppers and signatures briefs are given to all the contestants so that they can plan and give their recipes and required ingredients to the show producers before filming. I think they can change things week to week and bring their own materials and ingredients but the show always has things for them on hand. 

[Rinaldo]

2 hours ago, Enigma X said:

I love this show but not a fan of most of the technical challenges. In my estimation, the judges do pick something hoping that all the contestants are unfamiliar with it. That I have no problem with. My annoyance comes in knowing that they have picked something like that and have directions that are just ingredients, mix, and bake with no cooking times, proofing times, and measurements. To me, this does not test baking skill.

Like Mabinogia, I feel that it does test their baking skill. They're given the same basic directions a pro would get, so the challenge is, can you instantly whip up a sponge, a genoise, a meringue? Do you know how to prep your pans, to fold in egg whites, to beat eggs or cream just enough? Do you know how long this sort of thing needs to bake? how to test for doneness? All of those are skills of a baker. Very often they're amazingly good at them.

[Mabinogia]

For me, the answer to every single one of those questions is...not if my life depended on it! I think that's why they amaze me so and why the technical fascinates me. The fact that they know these things impresses me. haha

[Enigma X]

1 hour ago, Rinaldo said:

Like Mabinogia, I feel that it does test their baking skill. They're given the same basic directions a pro would get, so the challenge is, can you instantly whip up a sponge, a genoise, a meringue? Do you know how to prep your pans, to fold in egg whites, to beat eggs or cream just enough? Do you know how long this sort of thing needs to bake? how to test for doneness? All of those are skills of a baker. Very often they're amazingly good at them.

I think they are not all the time being asked to whip up things that most bakers know actually. And most professional bakers do have time to get a recipe for obscure stuff. Again, it is just my opinion, but I am not a fan of the technical.

[Ceindreadh]

On 11/8/2016 at 1:53 PM, dubbel zout said:

 

Aside from the fruitcake (and some would argue that), everything else seemed to fall into the "technically edible but not really supposed to be eaten" category. I know Paul and Mary like to see how the bakers handle different materials and techniques, but it also seems kind of wasteful.

Personally speaking I find the marzipan/icing considerably more edible than the fruit cake underneath!

[Kohola3]

Ditto, Ceindreadh!

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Ceindreadh said:

Personally speaking I find the marzipan/icing considerably more edible than the fruit cake underneath!

Fruitcake can be really tasty--it just needs to NOT be that crap that comes in tins at Christmas.

[Ceindreadh]

9 minutes ago, Luciaphile said:

Fruitcake can be really tasty--it just needs to NOT be that crap that comes in tins at Christmas.

Plenty of alcohol in the mix and 'feeding' the cake generously before icing it always helps  ;-)

[Zuleikha]

I think they are not all the time being asked to whip up things that most bakers know actually. And most professional bakers do have time to get a recipe for obscure stuff. Again, it is just my opinion, but I am not a fan of the technical.

Yeah, that's the question of the technical to me. I don't know enough about baking to know how fair the instructions are. Some of them don't seem fair to me... like the gluten-free pita, where people had to deal with a dough that didn't behave like typical bread dough and know the desired pita shape (not all things called pitas have the same shape or are used the same way) or that one with the seeds that weren't specified to go on the inside or the outside. Maybe make an Italian meringue or make a Genoese sponge is fair, but no real-life baker is going to use bare bones instructions to assemble a food item they've never even seen a drawing or picture of. 

[starri]

I think there may be a difference in the level of instruction they're given for certain challenges.  I would wager the bigger issue with the pitas was more to see if they could get the shape correct, consistent, and with the proper rise to make the pocket.

[Rinaldo]

The ultimate finished product for a recipe may be unfamiliar, even while the procedures and sub-elements along the way should be known to them.

This screen capture from a past competition suggests what the instructions look like.

Edited August 14, 2016 by Rinaldo

[dubbel zout]

1 hour ago, Zuleikha said:

know the desired pita shape

I don't think Paul and Mary cared about the specific shape as much as every pita being identical. 

1 hour ago, starri said:

the proper rise to make the pocket

This seemed to be the main characteristic they were concerned about.

[rereader2]

It always baffles me that when they are told to make 12 exactly identical whatevers they don't make 16 whatevers instead so they can cull the worst of them out. I totally would--I'd think having them be a little smaller but more exact would be a good tradeoff.

[awaken]

On 8/11/2016 at 8:53 AM, dubbel zout said:

I know Paul and Mary like to see how the bakers handle different materials and techniques, but it also seems kind of wasteful.

I wonder what they do with all the leftovers from the show – there seems to be a ton of food left.  hopefully the contestants, crew, etc get to eat it all! Or better yet it would be awesome if they donated it.

[Athena]

16 hours ago, awaken said:

I wonder what they do with all the leftovers from the show – there seems to be a ton of food left.  hopefully the contestants, crew, etc get to eat it all! Or better yet it would be awesome if they donated it.

All of the food gets eaten. The link is to the chief food economist on set and she makes sure each of the bakers get their own bakes for lunch or to share with the other contestants. There are about 50 people behind the scenes so after the bakes are split for the contestants and presumably Mel & Sue, the crew gets the leftovers.

[GaT]

I'm rewatching this season (again), & I am so glad Flora is finally gone. I don't know why, but her constantly touching her face drove me crazy this rewatch. She just can't keep her hands off of her face, & all I can think of is to wonder how often she washes her hands.

[Crs97]

I don’t know why they try to beef up someone floundering in the technical by saying it tasted good.  The one bit of information they get is amount of each ingredient and general baking.  Of course the flavor is alright unless someone confuses salt and sugar.

[Clanstarling]

19 hours ago, Crs97 said:

I don’t know why they try to beef up someone floundering in the technical by saying it tasted good.  The one bit of information they get is amount of each ingredient and general baking.  Of course the flavor is alright unless someone confuses salt and sugar.

I'm not sure that's true. If it were, then everyone reading a recipe would knock it out of the park every time. How you handle it, and how long it bakes, can make a big difference in flavor, imo.

[Kohola3]

20 hours ago, Crs97 said:

I don’t know why they try to beef up someone floundering in the technical by saying it tasted good.  The one bit of information they get is amount of each ingredient and general baking.  Of course the flavor is alright unless someone confuses salt and sugar.

Do we know that they give the amount for each ingredient?  For example, there cannot be exact amounts since a lot of the time the contestants start over when something goes wrong.  And we know that some of the instructions are just "make X" so maybe the exact amounts are not stated.

I don't know, I just wonder.  We heard one them say "It just says make choux" on that eclair technical.

[AZChristian]

33 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

Do we know that they give the amount for each ingredient?  For example, there cannot be exact amounts since a lot of the time the contestants start over when something goes wrong.  And we know that some of the instructions are just "make X" so maybe the exact amounts are not stated.

I don't know, I just wonder.  We heard one them say "It just says make choux" on that eclair technical.

I don't think they do.  It appears that they all get the same AMOUNT of everything for the technical, but - as you said - sometimes the instructions are "Make choux" or something that non-specific.  They don't seem to dump in a whole jar or container; they are still measuring, so there is probably extra.  The technical instructions seem to come in as they try to describe how to braid or do the finishing work on their target item.  

[Crs97]

When they have shown the pared down recipe, I usually see amounts by the ingredients.  Usually the flavor comment is after they have critiqued all the things they did wrong, like they are throwing the person a bone.  Even when my cake completely falls apart, it still tastes like cake.  It just seems silly to mention it, especially when they use it to justify giving star baker to the person who came last in technical.

[cynicat]

18 hours ago, AZChristian said:

I don't think they do.  It appears that they all get the same AMOUNT of everything for the technical, but - as you said - sometimes the instructions are "Make choux" or something that non-specific. 

I'm not certain, but it appears to me that each week the instructions have fewer and fewer details.. Some things have amounts, but the bakes they should know how to do are left up to them  Example is last weeks 'make a choux', or sometimes it says 'make dough'.

[Athena]

12 hours ago, cynicat said:

I'm not certain, but it appears to me that each week the instructions have fewer and fewer details.. Some things have amounts, but the bakes they should know how to do are left up to them  Example is last weeks 'make a choux', or sometimes it says 'make dough'.

Yes. The contestants have confirmed that as the weeks progress, the technical instructions become sparser as a way to challenge them.

[Lamima]

Watching this now...late to the party. But Nadiya couldn't make a soufflé and still won star baker? Huh?!? While many say Ian is a fave pet, I think Nadiya is as well. Any 'star' baker should be able to make a soufflé. Going to go out on a limb and guess she wins the finale. But she can't make a soufflé?!?

Edited July 1, 2021 by Lamima

[DietCokeJunkie]

On 7/1/2021 at 9:37 AM, Lamima said:

Watching this now...late to the party. But Nadiya couldn't make a soufflé and still won star baker? Huh?!? While many say Ian is a fave pet, I think Nadiya is as well. Any 'star' baker should be able to make a soufflé. Going to go out on a limb and guess she wins the finale. But she can't make a soufflé?!?

I’m watching this season right now too. 
 

Nadiya did make a soufflé. It was just not the best. Even though it came in 4th, it was still edible. And the funniest line of the episode was when she said that she’d rather have another baby than make a soufflé again.