Halloween Baking Championship - General Discussion

[mlp]

6 minutes ago, Popples said:

For a split second I thought she was a traffic cone,

I wish they'd dress her as a mime and tell her to keep her mouth shut.  

[Dirtybubble]

18 hours ago, Popples said:

For a split second I thought she was a traffic cone, then I guess my brain registered the yellow and white.

18 hours ago, Popples said:

I thought it was appropriate that Katie Lee was dressed as candy corn -- a candy that an awful lot of people don't like 😉

I guess I'm the oddball here b/c I luv Candy Corn, I thought Katie's costume was super cute and fun, and I liked her as a judge.  I thought she had good critique about the food and wasn't overly harsh or the token mean judge *shrug*.  IDK I just liked her

[MerBearHou]

13 minutes ago, Dirtybubble said:

I guess I'm the oddball here b/c I luv Candy Corn, I thought Katie's costume was super cute and fun, and I liked her as a judge.  I thought she had good critique about the food and wasn't overly harsh or the token mean judge *shrug*.  IDK I just liked her

Same here on all of the above, Dirtybubble.  I like Katie very much.  

[3outta5]

I'm happy with the outcome, and I liked all three of the finalists. John Henson is my favorite host and I just love him 😍

[suebee12]

I tried to post this yesterday but somewhere out there in cyberspace is that missing post! I'm not going to talk about the Zombie head except to say the blood from the eyes was good. I thought Karl's cake was overdone....too many things detracted from his heart. The heart was beautifully done but it was lost among all of the other things he added. The bloody part was good and of course, I can't tell how it tasted but it did look "gummy" because of all the simple syrup he used. Now to Pete's cake. I think he should have won!!! It was great and I liked how he made it lean like a Zombie! Except for Zak who said it was too dense everyone loved it. His pumping blood heart was amazing....loved when he made it look like it was pumping out! I was totally surprised when they named Karl. Not really disappointed, but a wee bit surprised!

Now for the other thing I liked! NO TWISTS!!!! I honestly can't remember if in other finals they have had them but this shows how much better it is when the contestants can work on their cake with no dumb twist added. Why can't they do this all the time??

[mlp]

This article popped up on my phone this morning for some reason.  Pete is a very interesting guy.

http://www.ldsliving.com/Latter-day-Saint-Who-Won-Cake-Wars-Twice-Competing-on-Food-Network-s-Halloween-Baking-Championship/s/91696

[dleighg]

2 minutes ago, mlp said:

This article popped up on my phone this morning for some reason.  Pete is a very interesting guy.

I found it somewhat amusing that this (LDS) media outlet emphasized how he educated so many people about the LDS faith and..... at least this watcher didn't have a clue. Not that I care one way or the other. Was it ever mentioned or even hinted at?

[MerBearHou]

13 minutes ago, mlp said:

This article popped up on my phone this morning for some reason.  Pete is a very interesting guy.

http://www.ldsliving.com/Latter-day-Saint-Who-Won-Cake-Wars-Twice-Competing-on-Food-Network-s-Halloween-Baking-Championship/s/91696

What a lovely guy.  Just a gentle soul which I felt came across on the show.  No, I never picked up on his strong faith but the show wasn't really the time/place.  I ws rooting for Pete to win, but was fine with Karl who is super talented.

[veronicamers]

5 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

What a lovely guy.  Just a gentle soul which I felt came across on the show.  No, I never picked up on his strong faith but the show wasn't really the time/place.  I ws rooting for Pete to win, but was fine with Karl who is super talented.

I just assumed Pete was LDS because of a couple of the factors he mentioned in the piece...he has multiple young kids and lives in Provo! He does seem like a very nice and genuine person. My husband and I were saying that in any other season he would have been the runaway champion, but competing against Karl he just fell ever so slightly short for me. I think Karl is perhaps one of the most talented bakers who has ever been on the show. His designs, flavors, and attention to detail just slayed me.

Edited October 31, 2019 by veronicamers

[mlp]

1 hour ago, veronicamers said:

I just assumed Pete was LDS because of a couple of the factors he mentioned in the piece...hr has multiple young kids and lives in Provo! He does seem like a very nice and genuine person.

It never crossed my mind and wouldn't have mattered one way or the other if it had.  In fact, I thought he was from New England somewhere but I don't recall now why I had that idea.  I just liked him.

[mojoween]

They are running a marathon of the series from 2017 and in the final four Jasmine did not know how many legs a spider has, and made one with six (which is an ant).  I am sure I bitched about this two years ago also because no.  She should have been bounced immediately, not even allowed to do the main heat.  And I liked her as a contestant!  But that is unforgivable.

I loved how the cameraman focused on Jasmine at one point and in the background you could see a spider decoration on the wall with all eight legs prominently displayed.

Edited October 31, 2019 by mojoween

[Claire85]

John: I think it’s an odd number, isn’t it 15? 

[Ilovepie]

On 10/30/2019 at 7:12 AM, Dirtybubble said:

I guess I'm the oddball here b/c I luv Candy Corn, I thought Katie's costume was super cute and fun, and I liked her as a judge.  I thought she had good critique about the food and wasn't overly harsh or the token mean judge *shrug*.  IDK I just liked her

You are not alone. I too enjoyed Katie on this panel, much more than Larraine who is so persnickety and looks like she doesn't even eat dessert. I actually enjoy this entire team. I loved all of the costumes - it's kind of my favorite part to see what fantastic things they are going to be. I think my favorite was Zac as the Fabio guy.

I am so bummed - my stupid dvr cut off the end of the finale so I didn't see Pete's Zombie nor the winner. I came here just to see who won! I would have been happy with either of the guys. I am just glad Jessica didn't win. I wish it had been Julie in the top three, but at least the winner was worthy of it. I did like that Karl tried to represent the top four in his cake.

[RoxiP]

I was unimpressed by the brain - it would have been so much better if the blood oozed out in multiple places instead of running out of a single large orifice.  

I figured Karl would win no matter what.  He has been the frontrunner almost the entire show - he is amazingly talented.  I honestly didn't like his final cake however but I'm sure they all tasted amazing.  

Why do so many of these people use pears in cakes?  It is one of my least favorite flavors...am I just weird?

[crazycatlady58]

15 hours ago, RoxiP said:

I was unimpressed by the brain - it would have been so much better if the blood oozed out in multiple places instead of running out of a single large orifice.  

I figured Karl would win no matter what.  He has been the frontrunner almost the entire show - he is amazingly talented.  I honestly didn't like his final cake however but I'm sure they all tasted amazing.  

Why do so many of these people use pears in cakes?  It is one of my least favorite flavors...am I just weird?

I do not mind the pears in cake but I dislike the coffee in chocolate cake. The say it strengthens the chocolate flaver and you cannot taste the coffee but YES I CAN and I do not like coffee.

[CharlizeCat]

I stopped being a fan of Karl after he used a modified martial arts move on another contestant in a race to claim ingredients during one episode. I also believe it was one of the women. Then he had the audacity to joke about it afterwards. The woman was a good sport about it, but that was just uncalled for. 

[Eliza422]

I just rewatched the holiday baking championship where Jason one, and there wasn't a single "I'm as XXX as a XXX in XXX" construct at all! I never watched his season of Next Food Network Star, but that must have been when they told him to lean into that stuff.

[Claire85]

I just checked out HBC’s page on the Food Network site, and it looks like Carla Hall is hosting and judging this year. I’m extremely bummed Jon Henson is not returning. 

[mlp]

3 hours ago, Claire85 said:

 I just checked out HBC’s page on the Food Network site, and it looks like Carla Hall is hosting and judging this year. I’m extremely bummed Jon Henson is not returning. 

I have no objection to Carla Hall.  I've always liked her.  However, I looooove John Henson so I'm disappointed too.

[jlc]

4 hours ago, Claire85 said:

I just checked out HBC’s page on the Food Network site, and it looks like Carla Hall is hosting and judging this year. I’m extremely bummed Jon Henson is not returning. 

To me Carla tries to make it all about her instead of the bakers. All the costumes and entrances are too much for a darn baking show, in my opinion. At least the last few hosts have not tried to keep all the attention on themselves.

[ruffy666]

23 hours ago, mlp said:

I have no objection to Carla Hall.  I've always liked her.  However, I looooove John Henson so I'm disappointed too.

Carla's fine (and boy she's done a great job of parlaying her Top Chef 15 minutes into hosting/judging duties on a bazillion other shows!) but she's not really funny, she's just kinda goofy.  John will be sorely missed!  

[Rammchick]

1 hour ago, ruffy666 said:

Carla's fine (and boy she's done a great job of parlaying her Top Chef 15 minutes into hosting/judging duties on a bazillion other shows!) but she's not really funny, she's just kinda goofy.  John will be sorely missed!  

She recently signed a "development deal" with the Food Network, so you're going to see a LOT more Carla.  

 

[HyeChaps]

I wonder if it's just a matter of who could sequester for a while.  Carla also was locked away to do Holiday Baking Championship.

[Guest]

On 9/10/2020 at 4:43 PM, jlc said:

To me Carla tries to make it all about her instead of the bakers. All the costumes and entrances are too much for a darn baking show, in my opinion. At least the last few hosts have not tried to keep all the attention on themselves.

To be fair, all the judges do the entrances and costumes. It's not specific to Carla.

[Spunkygal]

IMO, I think the judges’ costumes are great fun and always well done by the show’s staff. And for me, the costumes don’t interfere with the judging or competition. After all, this show is not and doesn’t pretend to be in the upper echelon of baking competitions. This year has been such a downer that I’m actually looking forward to the costumes. I expect some campy fun and if we get to see a decent baker or two, all the better! But I will miss John Henson as host. 

[mlp]

This show was clearly filmed after social distancing became a thing but they handled it subtly and it worked.  If I had never seen this show before, I wouldn't have given a second thought to the spacing.  I actually liked the judges at their own little tables.  

I like Zac Young but that costume they had him in was awful.  He must be a very good sport.

Carla did a fine job hosting but I still missed John Henson.

[GaT]

I don't like the host being a judge, they need two people, not one. I also think one extra task is enough, two is too much. Either they have to use balsamic vinegar, or make a working door, not both.

[joanne3482]

7 hours ago, mlp said:

I like Zac Young but that costume they had him in was awful.  He must be a very good sport.

Carla did a fine job hosting but I still missed John Henson.

More than 1/2 of Zac's costumes have been ridiculous to me in previous years. I sometimes feel bad for him about them. 

I have no idea who the third judge was. I must have stepped away when they introduced her. 

I like Carla, I really do. I loved her on Top Chef.  I want a separate host for this one. I agree that I'm bummed John Henson wasn't able to come back. 

6 hours ago, GaT said:

I don't like the host being a judge, they need two people, not one. I also think one extra task is enough, two is too much. Either they have to use balsamic vinegar, or make a working door, not both.

I definitely agree with this! It was too much although at least with the working door it made sense with their bake and it didn't seem to have to be too difficult.  I liked the one who did it with the isomalt, that door turned out pretty.  

Now don't they usually do 2 challenges an episode? A small challenge and a big one? I wonder if this one challenge only is the new format due to COVID or just because this was the premier. 

[Maverick]

Carla said most episodes would have one big bake this year, rather than the normal small/big one.  I suspect it's due to Covid.  It takes a lot of people and time to setup and cleanup/reset after each challenge.  Doing the one person.episode allows them to do it with a smaller crew--who's most likely being sequestered.   I'm assuming this is why there's no host as well, to cut down on crew and costs.  

 I have no idea who the third judge is and I was watching when she was introduced. 

[crazycatlady58]

I wonder if the choose to use the combination host/judge because of lack of space. There would not be room to add another person and keep the correct distance. 

Edited September 15, 2020 by crazycatlady58

[CrazyDog]

I'm very glad to have this show back! I like Carla, but there's still a little warmth missing from the show with John out. He balanced the critiques and comments from the judges well.

The episode flew by in kind of a blur. At least having one bake allows a little more time with each baker. No real favs or dislikes yet though I was a little surprised at the top 2 and winner.

I also have no clue who the third judge is, and for some reason, her manner of speaking was driving me nuts. It may have just been something she was doing in costume though.

It's definitely different but I'm glad it's back.

[dleighg]

The "Haunted House" looked REALLY low budget! And they somehow strong armed one of the bakers into saying "It looks like the house in a classic slasher horror movie-- the kind of house you go into and don't return."

Uh, right. It looks like they had money for a foam core entrance door, and for white tarps to hide the rest of the building, which seems to be a warehouse of some sort.

I think they should have skipped the "entrance" !

 

[dleighg]

so the dagger advantage was kind of weird in that it didn't give you an advantage in this episode. Five extra minutes isn't going to do you any good if you get eliminated! And Brian came close!

[Darian]

Since they've used the third judge as host on Chopped Sweets, going back before coronavirus, it could simply be a thing they do now on Food Network competition shows. Might also be a pandemic thing. Either way, I prefer to have a judge that doesn't walk around chatting with bakers. They're bound to get along better with some than others and it could affect judging. I miss Jon Henson, too. But if it had to be someone, Carla's a good choice. 

It's my own fault, but I was distracted watching for virus-related changes. I'll give them credit for making the changes as unobtrusive as possible, and I'll get used to them. Glad the show could come back safety and I hope everyone stays healthy. 

So far, so good. The bakers seem skilled enough and I liked their personalities.    

[dleighg]

4 minutes ago, Darian said:

It's my own fault, but I was distracted watching for virus-related changes. I'll give them credit for making the changes as unobtrusive as possible

Yes, I was looking, so saw they spaced themselves out (instead of standing in a line with their arms all around each other), and the judges at separate tables, but it was unobtrusive. Guess there will be no more sharing fork samples with Nancy on those other shows 🙂 

[Grizzly]

2 hours ago, dleighg said:

Guess there will be no more sharing fork samples with Nancy on those other shows 🙂 

Omg, they might not have Jesse on the next show if they stick with the host/judge thing. I adore Zak and Duff but they aren't my kind of eye candy.

Did anyone watch the clip show afterwards? It was interesting how they were very careful not to show some of the judges and hosts. I did not see the season with Sherry Yard judging. Who else was on the panel with her?

[Maverick]

Ron Ben-Israel

[Spunkygal]

15 minutes ago, Maverick said:

Ron Ben-Israel

It is a crying shame that for some unknown reason, FN doesn’t use RBI anymore. He is SO willing to return (according to his social media). He is the creme de la creme of judges, IMO.

[Richness]

Glad to have the show back, but I'm torn on this new format. I like Carla, but I can only take so much of her wackiness, and this is too much. They've also double downed on the most annoying aspect of this show: the surprise twist thrown at the contestants during the bake. Just no. Stop already! At least the third twist, the bloody knife hide and seek, can be ignored by those who are already pressed for time.

As much as I like the baker as a person, especially for putting up with Zak's flirtations, the right one went home. That red devil blob was just a mess, and not even a hot mess. The top two must have been mind-blowingly delicious to win since they both had design troubles.

[TVbitch]

I will be the big sourpuss, I HATE the changes. 

Didn't enjoy Carla on Top Chef, tolerated her as a judge here, but don't want her as host. She's not witty or charming, just loud and goofy. John had the perfect personality and sense of humor for this show. I just lost Tom Bergeron, now this!

Hate having only one challenge. It's not enough to hold my interest for the whole show. (Plus, even with the extra time, most of the bakes were still not very impressive!) It you are going to do away with something, do away with the stupid twist! But no, now we have 2 twists! And furthermore, I don't want to watch bakers search for knives! Okay, I'm done. : D

I hope the changes are covid related and are not the new format for all the Baking Championships.  

[Maya]

1 hour ago, TVbitch said:

I will be the big sourpuss, I HATE the changes. 

Didn't enjoy Carla on Top Chef, tolerated her as a judge here, but don't want her as host. She's not witty or charming, just loud and goofy. John had the perfect personality and sense of humor for this show. I just lost Tom Bergeron, now this!

Hate having only one challenge. It's not enough to hold my interest for the whole show. (Plus, even with the extra time, most of the bakes were still not very impressive!) It you are going to do away with something, do away with the stupid twist! But no, now we have 2 twists! And furthermore, I don't want to watch bakers search for knives! Okay, I'm done. : D

I hope the changes are covid related and are not the new format for all the Baking Championships.  

I couldn’t agree more with all of this. I find Carla very annoying. Her theatrics undermine her credibility to me. I was shocked to learn recently that she was on Top Chef. 

Without the first challenge, this just seems like another cake competition show which I’m not interested in. 

i knew they’d send the guy packing after he ignored both the haunted house and balsamic requirements. Although someone else combined chocolate, peanut butter and balsamic vinegar which sounds absolutely disgusting. 

[ruffy666]

This show is perfect comfort food for me so I'm happy to have it back regardless of the changes (<3 RIP HOST JOHN HENSON)

I have no idea who Stephanie Boswell is and it was a certainly a choice to introduce a totally new judge in costume so you don't even know what she looks like until the end.  Not sure why that matters, really, but it bugged me 😉

I seriously LOL'd at the haunted house set, it's so cheesy and looks cheap and flammable.  But the Dollar Tree is an essential business after all so you gotta work with what's available...

I am pretty sure I say this every year, but the contestants just seem to get worse every season. Most of these cakes were pretty sad and barely hit the challenge at all!

[Maya]

21 minutes ago, ruffy666 said:

I am pretty sure I say this every year, but the contestants just seem to get worse every season. Most of these cakes were pretty sad and barely hit the challenge at all!

I wonder if they had a hard time getting contestants due to people not wanting to travel, quarantine, etc. Maybe that’s why Tamara’s back - she was a fill in. 

[ruffy666]

39 minutes ago, Maya said:

I wonder if they had a hard time getting contestants due to people not wanting to travel, quarantine, etc. Maybe that’s why Tamara’s back - she was a fill in. 

great point and one I hadn't really considered!

[Eliza422]

I can only take so much Carla - I did see her when she was on Top Chef and I feel she is overrated. Too much "hooty hoo" and all that nonsense. The thing about being a good host is IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU!!! Food Network brings out the worst of her qualities.

I don't like the change to one challenge. Frankly, it was boring as hell. I didn't think that I would feel that way, but a whole hour dedicated to a bunch of shitty cakes didn't really keep my attention. And for fuck's sake I'm tired of the twists - and now they've added more! Ug....

I am so sad we don't get Lorraine this season - I realize why but who is this other person I've never heard of?

I'm desperately disappointed. At least GBBO will be back on netflix and that will give me a boost to get through this.

[ruffy666]

4 hours ago, Eliza422 said:

I can only take so much Carla - I did see her when she was on Top Chef and I feel she is overrated. Too much "hooty hoo" and all that nonsense. The thing about being a good host is IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU!!! Food Network brings out the worst of her qualities.

Yeah but Food Network brings out the worst in all of their hosts.  Take your one gimmick and double-, triple-, quadruple-down on it.  Guy and his Flavortown (actually he probably says "THAT'S MONEY!" more often.)  Jason?  Why, call me a billy goat and slap my hairy tush!  I hate Zac on this show, I just can't stand him, but on other programs he's... well, I wouldn't say I like him but he's more tolerable.

Someone at Food Network thinks the key to viewership is giving everyone a catchphrase or an easy-to-digest profile they can fit into.  And heck maybe they're right, I dunno.  

[joanne3482]

4 hours ago, Eliza422 said:

I don't like the change to one challenge. Frankly, it was boring as hell. I didn't think that I would feel that way, but a whole hour dedicated to a bunch of shitty cakes didn't really keep my attention. And for fuck's sake I'm tired of the twists - and now they've added more! Ug....

Maybe they'll do other things too and not just cake? Who am I kidding, this is about to become the Halloween ugly cake show. 

[dleighg]

3 minutes ago, ruffy666 said:

Someone at Food Network thinks the key to viewership is giving everyone a catchphrase or an easy-to-digest profile they can fit into.

yeah and Nancy likes her booze. So stupid.

[mojoween]

So much fondant.  Too much fondant.

If the door had to be edible, why didn’t anyone eat one?

And I am sorry but if you bring me a cake with pepper and balsamic vinaigrette in it, you’re getting that cake back in an unpleasant fashion.

[Maya]

A lot of doppelgängers this season. I don’t know anyone’s name, but one guy looks like Sam Smith and another looks like the guy who played Cameron on Ferris Buellers day off. The guy who left looked like Bryan Cranston.