Halloween Baking Championship - General Discussion

[Maverick]

John:  "Welcome back 2 fan favorites!"

Me: "New season, who dis?"

 

[mlp]

8 hours ago, Maverick said:

John:  "Welcome back 2 fan favorites!"

Me: "New season, who dis?"

I didn't remember either of those people but I did remember the one's final cake that didn't win.  Heh.

I'm sure those yellow raincoats refer to some well-known horror movie but I don't watch horror stuff so I don't get the joke.  ???

I didn't get the judges' criticism of the guys' cake not being two halves of one face.  It looked like it was to me.  For some reason, the two halves just weren't pushed together like the other teams' cake halves.  

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, mlp said:

I didn't get the judges' criticism of the guys' cake not being two halves of one face.  It looked like it was to me.  For some reason, the two halves just weren't pushed together like the other teams' cake halves.  

I think the judges' criticism of that cake had more to do with the overall shape of the cake: one half was very curvy and stuck out way past the other, which was a basic rectangle (and that may have had something to do with why they weren't pushed together). So they didn't really look like two halves of the same cake, just two cakes next to each other.

Edited September 21, 2021 by tracyscott76

[dleighg]

7 minutes ago, mlp said:

I'm sure those yellow raincoats refer to some well-known horror movie but I don't watch horror stuff so I don't get the joke.  ???

Me either. And are they going to do a whole 80s theme the whole season? Like the dark-haired judge (not Carla) was wearing a god-awful blue dress with shoulder pads covered with silvery "decorations", and the male judge (l'm terrible with names as you can tell) was wearing a flannel plaid shirt. I mean, I was a grown-up in the 80s, and I don't think it's all that interesting as a "theme."

(and if she was wearing that dress non-ironically, well, she's got terrible taste)

[Guest]

Both the 80s theme and going out into the rain with a raincoat and flashlight are evoking the whole "killer at the camp by the lake" thing they're working with, since movies like that really got going in the early 80s. It's silly, but harmless.

Edited September 21, 2021 by tracyscott76

[CrazyInAlabama]

I was shocked that Nicole went home.      I really thought she was final three, but I guess not.     

I'm really enjoying the judges's costumes this season.   Zac Young was the perfect Chuckie, and Carla and Stephanie as the creepy twins was really cute. 

Edited September 21, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[mojoween]

I loved Renee last year and am so happy to have her back. Jocelyn was apparently two seasons ago, which I watched, but I have no recollection of her.

Man I really thought Nicole was going to ace this whole thing.  SOME PEOPLE LIKE VANILLA AS A FLAVOR, JUDGES.

[Spunkygal]

Wow, this episode seemed 4 hours long to me. I didn’t watch until today so maybe it’s my mood, but I FF’d thru a lot of it.

[kirklandia]

16 hours ago, Taeolas said:

Not sure if Food Network Canada mixed up, but it seems they didn't show the tasting of the winning cake in the second half. They announced the winner, and showed the monster mouth cake; and I realized that I hadn't seen the judging of that cake. Rewound the ep and still didn't see it. 

So did they actually not show the judging? Or did Food Network Canada mess up and manage to cut a segment somehow? 

Since the show is too long, I saved the last half to watch the next day.  There was a section missing near the end, thought maybe my cable went out or my DVR messed up. (US not Canada). I saw them taste all the cakes, then it jumped to the beginning of the bottom 4 challenge.  Diidn't show them announce the winner.,

[Ms Lark]

22 hours ago, GaT said:

Two hours of this show is too much, I wish it was just one hour.

OMG! Why do they think two hours works? I have to watch in segments since I can't deal with all of that at once (plus commercials). I find myself ff-ing through and mostly watching the judging! Oh, well.

56 minutes ago, kirklandia said:

Since the show is too long, I saved the last half to watch the next day.  There was a section missing near the end, thought maybe my cable went out or my DVR messed up. (US not Canada). I saw them taste all the cakes, then it jumped to the beginning of the bottom 4 challenge.  Diidn't show them announce the winner.,

OK, I thought I just missed that. So, they really didn't name a winner? Bad editing or bad production choice?

Edited September 22, 2021 by Ms Lark

[Pallida]

7 hours ago, mojoween said:

I loved Renee last year and am so happy to have her back. Jocelyn was apparently two seasons ago, which I watched, but I have no recollection of her.

Man I really thought Nicole was going to ace this whole thing.  SOME PEOPLE LIKE VANILLA AS A FLAVOR, JUDGES.

Did she even put vanilla in her meringue? My interpretation was that she said she didn't put any flavoring in it and the judge was saying even vanilla would have made it better. 

[mojoween]

4 hours ago, Pallida said:

Did she even put vanilla in her meringue? My interpretation was that she said she didn't put any flavoring in it and the judge was saying even vanilla would have made it better. 

Oh see I thought Stephanie asked them both if they flavored the meringue and they said vanilla and then Stephanie shrugged and said “well vanilla is a flavor”.

I was making dinner while watching so it’s quite possible I misconstrued that exchange.

[dleighg]

I thought in other "make two halves of a cake" challenges the two bakers could not see their partner's cake. 

[ruffy666]

On 9/21/2021 at 6:25 AM, Maverick said:

John:  "Welcome back 2 fan favorites!"

Me: "New season, who dis?"

 

LOL I had the exact same reaction. I sort of remember Renee only because last year's actual winner didn't seem to sit well with viewers.  But the other one I honestly didn't recognize at all, and I've certainly watched every episode of this dumb show.

All of the seasonal baking shows are a favorite for me, even when they're an infuriating hate-watch.  But yikes, two hours of this seems absolutely interminable.

Some of those cakes looked dryyyyyyyyyyyy.  Like, slap some chopped apples in between two slabs of sheetrock dry.

[dleighg]

26 minutes ago, ruffy666 said:

 

Some of those cakes looked dryyyyyyyyyyyy.  Like, slap some chopped apples in between two slabs of sheetrock dry.

My peeve is the habit (seemingly everywhere on these "bake shows") to pipe a huge ring of frosting/buttercream around the edge of the cake, then add the filling. Which means that when you cut it, the buttercream goes a third away across the "inside layer." I just think it looks awkward and imprecise. 

Edited September 22, 2021 by dleighg

[Guest]

6 hours ago, mojoween said:

Oh see I thought Stephanie asked them both if they flavored the meringue and they said vanilla and then Stephanie shrugged and said “well vanilla is a flavor”.

I was making dinner while watching so it’s quite possible I misconstrued that exchange.

No, that's how I remember it too, because I was a bit irritated at the slam on vanilla. I mean the cake itself had apple pie filling, ginger, and god knows what else...did the meringue need to be some OTT flavor, too?

[Rammchick]

15 hours ago, kirklandia said:

Since the show is too long, I saved the last half to watch the next day.  There was a section missing near the end, thought maybe my cable went out or my DVR messed up. (US not Canada). I saw them taste all the cakes, then it jumped to the beginning of the bottom 4 challenge.  Diidn't show them announce the winner.,

Kirklandia, you and I are in the same area, I think, and I also had that weird jump.  Must've been Xfinity,

[CrazyInAlabama]

Next episode is back to one hour, followed by another hour of some other baking contest. 

[dleighg]

13 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Next episode is back to one hour, followed by another hour of some other baking contest.

thank goodness. That really was interminable. When they announced a THIRD bake I just sighed. What, they had too many producers who all had their favorite idea that just HAD to show up in the show?

[tennisgurl]

Two hours is WAY too long for anything other than a season premier, I am glad that we are going back to one week again soon. Too many bakes. The judges costumes were cute, although I always think its unfair when judges put too much of their personal preferences into judging. Its not bad if its just not to your taste. 

The bakes were all cute, I forget who made the mummy cake but I liked it a lot.

[crazycatlady58]

On 9/21/2021 at 7:54 AM, Nicmar said:

my grandmother had that same cook book  lol and also a recipe for a chocolate cake that had mayo in it 🤢

Chocolate cake with mayo in it is good. Mayo is just eggs and oil. That'd what the mayo replaces if you do not have the eggs and oil. Very moist cake.

[Pallida]

I am totally silly and went back to the vanilla meringue thing. Turns out I only heard Adina saying no and missed Nicole saying vanilla at the same time. I appreciate your keen ears!

[joanne3482]

21 hours ago, crazycatlady58 said:

Chocolate cake with mayo in it is good. Mayo is just eggs and oil. That'd what the mayo replaces if you do not have the eggs and oil. Very moist cake.

I have to eat gluten free and GF cakes tend to be dry. Oddly the mayo tends to help a lot. I think I learned it on one of the "holiday" baking championships. I just can't recall which one. 

[Kerbearjo]

I thought it was just me but I am glad to see others thinking this dragged on. Did anyone else notice that the host was super low energy and talked really really slow. 🤷‍♀️

[CrystalBlue]

I hope either Meghan or Guillermo win.  Adina annoys me with her self-congratulatory attitude.  There's something about her that rubs me the wrong way; at first she seems likable but then she does something that bugs me.  Zac is persnickety and he's the only judge who complains about the cake being dry, and once the batter was slightly undercooked.  Was he rude to that one contestant when he said her red velvet cupcakes put him to sleep?

Design-wise I thought Guillermo had the best cake with that chocolate haunted house.  There were a couple of design fails and the extra added layer of checkerboard to account for the too-short initial outcome should have been called out more as not being a proper Battenberg, but Zac liked it!  The loser's bat face cake really did look like a pig with tusks though.

[SilverLake0315]

8 hours ago, CrystalBlue said:

Adina annoys me with her self-congratulatory attitude.  There's something about her that rubs me the wrong way;

Totally agree. I feel like every time the camera stops on her, she has this look on her face like this is all so beneath her.

[CrazyDog]

Thank goodness this was back to just one hour. I love the show, but I do not have the attention span for two hours of baking, lol.

There's no one I dislike this season, which is nice. Adina and Megan seem to be leading the pack, and I love Megan. I'm so glad she did so well last night. Adina is OK, but not my favorite. 

I absolutely loved Guillermo's haunted house cake, but it cracks me up how blatant his expressions are during judging. 

Jocelyn going was the right call. I really don't love the randomness of two former contestants showing up. Have they done that before? They do have an advantage, just in having experience with the show before. 

Sherelle, the home baker, seems to be struggling, but it was nice to see Ashley wow the judges with her flavors after getting Zac's fairly rude criticism. I generally like him, but he can definitely be a little more harsh.

I will forever love John as host.

[Maverick]

 I like John too, but something is off with him this season.   It's not just that's he playing the deadpan role of creepy camp counselor.  I noticed it when watching an episode from a few seasons ago.

[Maya]

I like Adina. I think she’s the most talented one there. Her flavors are so interesting. 

[CrystalBlue]

The Warning in the intro now has the word "acute" spelled correctly.

[CheshireCat]

Both of Megan's bakes this week were impressive. They were clean and neat (like the judges said) and looked great. That upside-down bat was too adorable!

My only point of criticism that goes for all bakers is the flavors. It's a Halloween Baking Championship, not summer. Why are they all making summer cakes? There's so much you can do for fall.

I didn't catch what the issue with Ashley's cake was but the cake-bat looked more like a cute pig.

And I can't spell the name of the baker who did 6 squares but I don't like that she works so inaccurately. There may have been 6 squares but they were crooked, so what were the judges impressed about?

[CrystalBlue]

5 minutes ago, CheshireCat said:

Both of Megan's bakes this week were impressive. They were clean and neat (like the judges said) and looked great. That upside-down bat was too adorable!

My only point of criticism that goes for all bakers is the flavors. It's a Halloween Baking Championship, not summer. Why are they all making summer cakes? There's so much you can do for fall.

I didn't catch what the issue with Ashley's cake was but the cake-bat looked more like a cute pig.

And I can't spell the name of the baker who did 6 squares but I don't like that she works so inaccurately. There may have been 6 squares but they were crooked, so what were the judges impressed about?

She is Sherelle and I think she should be the next to go home if she keeps on the same path she's been on in Eps 1 & 2.

[MerBearHou]

12 minutes ago, CheshireCat said:

And I can't spell the name of the baker who did 6 squares but I don't like that she works so inaccurately. There may have been 6 squares but they were crooked, so what were the judges impressed about?

Totally agree.  She has barely made it through the last few bakes.  That 3 level cake was so wonky and didn't fill the request in the assignment like the other bakers were able to do.  I like her but she needs to go next if she doesn't dramatically improve.

[mojoween]

I think red velvet with chocolate chips sounds delightful.

Black is a fantastic Halloween color.  Black licorice, pepper, garlic (I know they’ve done that before but still) and beans sound horrible in cakes.

[Guest]

7 hours ago, SilverLake0315 said:

16 hours ago, CrystalBlue said:

Adina annoys me with her self-congratulatory attitude.  There's something about her that rubs me the wrong way;

Totally agree. I feel like every time the camera stops on her, she has this look on her face like this is all so beneath her.

 

3 hours ago, Maya said:

I like Adina. I think she’s the most talented one there. Her flavors are so interesting. 

I like Adina, too. She seems pretty inventive. I've never gotten any sense that she's self-congratulatory or thinks the competition is beneath her. I think she's kind of a stealth hoot, actually.

Zac could have made his criticism about the red velvet without going into an act about falling asleep. I think he tries too hard to be clever, which many reality judges have been guilty of ever since Simon Cowell.

[Pallida]

While I don't necessarily like some of the curveball ingredients thrown at the contestants here, I personally love that there's no forced "seasonal flavor" expectation. On shows like Spring Baking Challenge, the expected flavors are rarely related to actual growing season (with the caveat that with produce moving around the world, any season is appropriate growing season), and there are stereotypes about wanting food related to "cold" or "rainy" or whatever weather that only fit for certain geographies. I feel like we get to see far more creativity both with flavors and with decorations here. Maybe I just don't like Nancy as a judge? :) 

[libgirl2]

2 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

Totally agree.  She has barely made it through the last few bakes.  That 3 level cake was so wonky and didn't fill the request in the assignment like the other bakers were able to do.  I like her but she needs to go next if she doesn't dramatically improve.

The judges seem to think her cakes are really tasty but I'm not sure if it is enough. 

[mlp]

I think most of the contestants this year are talented.  Sherelle is probably the weakest but she's a home baker so I give her credit for what she can do.  I don't think she'll last much longer.   

I am thrilled and relieved that they seem to have abandoned the loathsome twists.

[RoxiP]

I liked red velvet with chocolate chips but it is rather boring.  It is expected and on this show they expect more. Zac has always been pretty abrupt in his judging so I wasn't surprised by his comments.  I think he thinks being rude is cute. It's really not.

[kirklandia]

I liked Stephanie's Elvira look.  And I had just seen this interesting news story about the Original:

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-pop-culture/elvira-mistress-dark-comes-new-memoir-rcna2171

 

 

 

Edited September 29, 2021 by kirklandia

[CrystalBlue]

6 hours ago, RoxiP said:

I liked red velvet with chocolate chips but it is rather boring.  It is expected and on this show they expect more. Zac has always been pretty abrupt in his judging so I wasn't surprised by his comments.  I think he thinks being rude is cute. It's really not.

Thankfully Zac Young doesn't have a personal hatred for red velvet cake, otherwise he might have gone into a coma.  I think he thinks he is just too cute, whether he's being rude or not!

[joanne3482]

13 hours ago, mlp said:

I am thrilled and relieved that they seem to have abandoned the loathsome twists.

I am too! I never really minded it when it was a bit of decoration like add a gift tag or a bow. But when the baker has gone down the rabbit hole of making a coffee and hazelnut entreme and now being told to add mango, of course it's not going to taste good or it there will be so little of it as to have no taste.  Those were the ones that always frustrated me. Especially when more than once the baker got sent home for having such disparate flavors and not incorporating it well. (I recall a coffee/green apple pairing that sent someone home in one of the other iterations)

[TVbitch]

Zac was really enjoying having his guns on display in his Vince Neil outfit. He had those babies flexed in every shot. Hey if you got 'em.... 

[SilverLake0315]

23 hours ago, CrazyDog said:

I will forever love John as host.

So. Much. I was beyond excited when I saw he was back!

[ruffy666]

On 9/28/2021 at 11:03 AM, Maverick said:

 I like John too, but something is off with him this season.   It's not just that's he playing the deadpan role of creepy camp counselor.  I noticed it when watching an episode from a few seasons ago.

My husband (who doesn't always watch these shows with me) said, "I really don't like this host."  Nooo!  Not my precious John!  But I do acknowledge there's something very lethargic about his delivery and engagement with the contestants.  I'm sure part of it is the 'creepy' role he's supposed to be playing and part of it is probably COVID something-or-other but it is different.  (He's still my fave host, regardless :)

[tennisgurl]

I like Megan, Adina, and Guillermo the most so far, I think that Adina and Guillermo are the most inventive but Megan might be the person to beat. I like everyone so far, no one seems to annoying or full of themselves quite yet. I am also glad that we are back to an hour, I really like this show but that is a LOT of baking in one sitting. 

Red velvet with chocolate chips really is on the playing it safe side, but Zac didn't need to be such a dick about it. He seemed to think the "pretend to fall asleep" bit was funny but it really wasn't.

That upside-down bat was adorable!

[libgirl2]

2 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Red velvet with chocolate chips really is on the playing it safe side, but Zac didn't need to be such a dick about it. He seemed to think the "pretend to fall asleep" bit was funny but it really wasn't.

 

I didn't think that was very nice, he could have said its not bad but we expected more or something along those lines. 

I like Guillermo but he isn't going to win. I think it will be Megan or Adina unless they really make a major mistake. 

[CeeBeeGee]

On 9/29/2021 at 5:17 PM, tennisgurl said:

Red velvet with chocolate chips really is on the playing it safe side, but Zac didn't need to be such a dick about it. He seemed to think the "pretend to fall asleep" bit was funny but it really wasn't.

I hate that shit. You can offer constructive feedback without being a jerk about. And since the contestants obviously can't say anything back or dish it right back to him, it's tantamount to bullying. I agree with whoever said reality judges have been far too influenced by Simon Cowell.

[CoderLady]

5 hours ago, CeeBeeGee said:

I hate that shit. You can offer constructive feedback without being a jerk about. And since the contestants obviously can't say anything back or dish it right back to him, it's tantamount to bullying. I agree with whoever said reality judges have been far too influenced by Simon Cowell.

For an example of the right way to offer criticism as an expert judge, look at Jacques Torres on Nailed It! The bakers are all horribly incompetent, but while the other two judges are happily dunking on them for laughs, Jacques explains to each one what went wrong with their bakes and how they could fix the problems. Even when the food is dangerously inedible he remains gracious.

I think Zac can be poisonous sometimes, encouraging the other judges to also be nasty to the contestants. I'm glad Lorraine Pascale decided to stay on her side of the Atlantic for a while instead of coming back to the show because she and Zac together could be just awful. One time she and Zac ganged up on a contestant and insulted her work until she cried. I hope Stephanie Boswell doesn't fall into that as her replacement.

Carla Hall remains as upbeat as ever. Yay!

[CeeBeeGee]

1 hour ago, CoderLady said:

For an example of the right way to offer criticism as an expert judge, look at Jacques Torres on Nailed It! The bakers are all horribly incompetent, but while the other two judges are happily dunking on them for laughs, Jacques explains to each one what went wrong with their bakes and how they could fix the problems. Even when the food is dangerously inedible he remains gracious.

I think Zac can be poisonous sometimes, encouraging the other judges to also be nasty to the contestants. I'm glad Lorraine Pascale decided to stay on her side of the Atlantic for a while instead of coming back to the show because she and Zac together could be just awful. One time she and Zac ganged up on a contestant and insulted her work until she cried. I hope Stephanie Boswell doesn't fall into that as her replacement.

The thing is, when you're creative, by definition you're putting yourself into what you're creating. So it feels terribly personal when someone mocks you when giving you criticism--it's not like "okay, that tasted good but you're too good to make safe choices like that--we'd like to see what more you can do." Rather it's an attempt to use whatever mistakes she's made as a platform to showcase his "bitchiness." It's just really unnecessary. Nobody watches these shows to see nastiness--we want to enjoy our warm cozy holidays and imagine how good the cakes must taste. It's the TV equivalent of comfort food.