Halloween Baking Championship - General Discussion

[CharlizeCat]

I was so happy Rene won. I was tired of Adina with her surly attitude and greasy hair. I was actually rooting for Megan and was also doing a double-take over macaron-gate. SMH.

[Ilovepie]

Just finished watching this, and I'm pretty sure this was a do-over for Renee because they knew she should have won last year. I'm not mad about it because I too thought she should have won last year and I'm glad she got another shot. I'm kind of surprised that Adina didn't win though. I thought her cake looked the best despite the lean and had more creativity than the other two. Oh well, on to the Holiday Baking Championship......

[Grizzly]

I've seen commercials. John is back with Carla, Stephanie, and Zac. The theme is haunted hotel, premiering Sept 12th. 

[MerBearHou]

9 minutes ago, Grizzly said:

I've seen commercials. John is back with Carla, Stephanie, and Zac. The theme is haunted hotel, premiering Sept 12th. 

That's a fun group!

[CrazyInAlabama]

I can't wait for this to start on Monday.   I like having the themes for the seasons of this version of the baking contests.        I like the costumes the judges wear too. 

Edited September 7, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[TexasTiffany]

On 8/30/2022 at 2:36 PM, Grizzly said:

I've seen commercials. John is back with Carla, Stephanie, and Zac. The theme is haunted hotel, premiering Sept 12th. 

I'm really excited about this, too! The Baking competitions are my favorites. The last months have been s depressing. I need a fun diversion.

Super glad that John is back as the host! And Carla! YAY!

[libgirl2]

42 minutes ago, TexasTiffany said:

I'm really excited about this, too! The Baking competitions are my favorites. The last months have been s depressing. I need a fun diversion.

Super glad that John is back as the host! And Carla! YAY!

I know, I think this will be fun! YAY! Should make up for the Spring BC! 

Edited September 7, 2022 by libgirl2

[2soon2tell]

It doesn’t look like they have made any drastic changes to the format, which makes me happy after having suffered through Molly Yeh and the Spring Baking Championship.

[rocketinu]

My gosh. It's about the bakers as it should be. John Hanson is just the bomb.

[Salacious Kitty]

John Henson is perfect for Halloween. 😃

[starlightlost]

So happy the host is John Hensen again. Please, may we never see Molly again. Tonight's episode was great 🎃👻 really getting me back into spooky season

[Grizzly]

John could so be in a remake of Psycho.

[Pi237]

So glad they didn’t ruin this show like they did Spring and Halloween Wars. Yay for John being back!! 

[mlp]

I'm so relieved to see John Henson back.  I love him.  I like all the judges too.  I cracked up when Carla leaned toward John with her mouth open like she couldn't hear/understand him. Her expression was perfect.  

Has Marcus been on some other FN show?  He looks very familiar.

[Irlandesa]

I like having John too.  A comedian and not involved in the food industry.

Did they mention where Zac Young went for the second competition?  He came out at the end but it was weird he wasn't at the judges table.

[CheshireCat]

That's a great set but it was almost a bit too much story. I mean, they're there to bake.

How did Zac come up with "it should have been baked 12 minutes longer"? Baked longer I get, even 10 minutes longer or 10 to 15. But 12 minutes? That's oddly specific.
I also don't like when the judges praise the baker face to face and then they agree with criticism of another judge when they talk amongst themselves. It always gives the impression as if they either weren't truthful with the baker or that they suddenly decided that they don't like it as much after the other judges had a different opinion.

I was a little underwhelmed by Marcus' pie. He emphasized that he made his bakes look as realistic as possible and because of that, I had higher expectation.

I think I liked the businessman the best.

As for the second bake, I thought the one with the bride theme and the one with the heart looked the best.
I really don't get how neither made it into the top two. Yes, the winning cake was iced to perfection. But the decoration on the bride-themed cake was detailed and clean while the other cake was iced and that was it. No difficulty whatsoever. And how was the garden-story cake from the bottom two too pretty and the top two cakes weren't? That makes no sense.

I'm good with the baker who left but I definitely would have had Marcus in the bottom two as well. That cake was a mess.

[libgirl2]

8 hours ago, CheshireCat said:

That's a great set but it was almost a bit too much story. I mean, they're there to bake.

How did Zac come up with "it should have been baked 12 minutes longer"? Baked longer I get, even 10 minutes longer or 10 to 15. But 12 minutes? That's oddly specific.
I also don't like when the judges praise the baker face to face and then they agree with criticism of another judge when they talk amongst themselves. It always gives the impression as if they either weren't truthful with the baker or that they suddenly decided that they don't like it as much after the other judges had a different opinion.

I was a little underwhelmed by Marcus' pie. He emphasized that he made his bakes look as realistic as possible and because of that, I had higher expectation.

I think I liked the businessman the best.

As for the second bake, I thought the one with the bride theme and the one with the heart looked the best.
I really don't get how neither made it into the top two. Yes, the winning cake was iced to perfection. But the decoration on the bride-themed cake was detailed and clean while the other cake was iced and that was it. No difficulty whatsoever. And how was the garden-story cake from the bottom two too pretty and the top two cakes weren't? That makes no sense.

I'm good with the baker who left but I definitely would have had Marcus in the bottom two as well. That cake was a mess.

I fell asleep with about 15 minutes left! Who left the show? 

Nevermind, I found out. 

Edited September 13, 2022 by libgirl2

[MsMalin]

John Henson is phenomenal!

Is it just me or did the challenges seem more graphic than before? No cute jack o lanterns here!

[libgirl2]

32 minutes ago, MsMalin said:

John Henson is phenomenal!

Is it just me or did the challenges seem more graphic than before? No cute jack o lanterns here!

Its not just you. And it looks like are going to get even gorier. I'm glad! 

11 hours ago, mlp said:

Has Marcus been on some other FN show?  He looks very familiar.

He does. 

[Spunkygal]

OMG! Maricsa’s bakery is 7 minutes from my house! I didn’t know she was on this season! She opened her bakery in early 2020 before COVID. I must say, I’ve been to Paris four times and her croissants are way better than what I’ve had over there. They are heaven. Actually, everything I’ve gotten there is fabulous. Oh, her cruffins! 😍 When she first opened, the line to get in was down the sidewalk and she’d come out with trays of freshly baked sourdough bread bites and other nibbles to sample. She’s so nice. I’m trying to lose some weight so haven’t been over there in a while but I gotta go this weekend! I like all the bakers and John is the best host. Great start to the season. 

[dleighg]

every season we have these idiots who think that they can make and chill a mousse in much less time than all their experience says that they need, or decide to make a sponge cake in a different way than they've done a thousand times in the past (i.e. not using an electric hand mixer). What on earth are they thinking?

[BookWitch]

I really hope they get better as the show goes on. I was really unimpressed at how sloppy these expert bakers made their cakes. I get that they're probably nervous being on camera and being judged but I expected better.

[libgirl2]

20 minutes ago, BookWitch said:

I really hope they get better as the show goes on. I was really unimpressed at how sloppy these expert bakers made their cakes. I get that they're probably nervous being on camera and being judged but I expected better.

I noticed it these competitions, the earlier bakes are a bit sloppier. I do think it is just nerves and working under time constraints that throw people off. 

Edited September 13, 2022 by libgirl2

[Popples]

11 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Did they mention where Zac Young went for the second competition?  He came out at the end but it was weird he wasn't at the judges table.

I rewound just to make sure I didn't miss his entrance when I just saw Carla and Stephanie. That was kind of strange.

I really enjoyed John so much! It was such a palate cleanser from the spring show. I just hope they don't bring in old or two random contestants in the middle of the season again.

[dleighg]

11 hours ago, CheshireCat said:

I'm good with the baker who left but I definitely would have had Marcus in the bottom two as well. That cake was a mess

Honestly I can't believe he survived, much less wasn't in the bottom two. That was hideous (in a bad way). I was a kid in the 70s. No, people did not have kelly green panelling. 

[Salacious Kitty]

13 minutes ago, Popples said:

I rewound just to make sure I didn't miss his entrance when I just saw Carla and Stephanie. That was kind of strange.

I really enjoyed John so much! It was such a palate cleanser from the spring show. I just hope they don't bring in old or two random contestants in the middle of the season again.

Didn't he say there were 12 bakers but only 8 weeks? It doesn't look like there will be time for any shenanigans. 

[libgirl2]

1 minute ago, Salacious Kitty said:

Didn't he say there were 12 bakers but only 8 weeks? It doesn't look like there will be time for any shenanigans. 

Thank God! That was still one of the most useless things I had ever seen.

10 minutes ago, dleighg said:

Honestly I can't believe he survived, much less wasn't in the bottom two. That was hideous (in a bad way). I was a kid in the 70s. No, people did not have kelly green panelling. 

I was a kid then too. When he said that, I thought where? Now olive green appliances yes..... 

[mlp]

5 hours ago, dleighg said:

every season we have these idiots who think that they can make and chill a mousse in much less time than all their experience says that they need,

Yep.  It's just like all the chefs on Chopped who think their panna cotta might set in 15 minutes or their risotto will become perfect at the last minute.  I don't get it.

[Irlandesa]

17 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Did they mention where Zac Young went for the second competition?  He came out at the end but it was weird he wasn't at the judges table.

Answering my own question--sort of.  On Twitter, Zac said he overdid it on the pie in the first round and was too full for the second round.

That's clearly not what happened but since he's not answering, I guess we'll never know.

[Catfi9ht]

I always love the sets on this show (all variations not just Halloween), but this one is really good. The theme is fun and I like the oil paintings of all the contestants. I like this new tradition of having the contestants as part of the set.

It seems like they got a big budget increase because the costuming seems more expensive too. I'm glad. I love how into them the judges are.

Sometimes, the bits go too long for me. It seemed like it took way too long to explain the suitcase gag. The weird shocked and grossed out reactions the contestants are really forced and expose the worst aspects of reality shows. I wish reality shows would stop that nonsense. Everyone knows it's fake and forced.

I didn't agree with the top two at the end, but the right contestant went home so it doesn't really matter.

I missed Carla. She's got such a joyful way about her and her critiques are thoughtful without being a snob about food. I noticed a slight personality shift in Stephanie (she was more relaxed and familiar) when it was just the two ladies judging. I wonder what that was about.

I'm so glad this show is back. Everyone is so enjoyable to watch.

[Pallida]

I totally agree about Carla’s critiques. She’s very clear that some things might just be her preference for sweeter desserts - not that her preference is the only way to be. 

[CheshireCat]

1 hour ago, Pallida said:

I totally agree about Carla’s critiques. She’s very clear that some things might just be her preference for sweeter desserts - not that her preference is the only way to be. 

She may prefer it another way but she's there to judge the composition and if the components work together and not her preferences.

12 hours ago, BookWitch said:

I really hope they get better as the show goes on. I was really unimpressed at how sloppy these expert bakers made their cakes. I get that they're probably nervous being on camera and being judged but I expected better.

I think the contestants have gotten worse over the years. I feel like the baking championships from around 5 years ago had better bakers than the last couple of years did.

[dleighg]

8 hours ago, Catfi9ht said:

The weird shocked and grossed out reactions the contestants are really forced and expose the worst aspects of reality shows. I wish reality shows would stop that nonsense. Everyone knows it's fake and forced.

I know-- it's so silly. Just do the "gag" but don't show their "shocked and scared" reactions. We're supposed to believe that they really think there's an axe murderer running around?

[rlc]

11 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Answering my own question--sort of.  On Twitter, Zac said he overdid it on the pie in the first round and was too full for the second round.

That's clearly not what happened but since he's not answering, I guess we'll never know.

So, diarrhea?

[Maya]

I have never made a pie crust from scratch, but even I knew all their pie crusts were too thick and wouldn’t bake in time. And that they should par bake them. And probably not make an apple pie when time is limited. 

[dleighg]

1 hour ago, Maya said:

I have never made a pie crust from scratch, but even I knew all their pie crusts were too thick and wouldn’t bake in time.

I thought nearly all of the "artwork" was incredibly ugly. I know they are supposed to be scary, but to me it looked like a child's playdoh project. A not very talented child at that.

[toodywoody]

I was so happy to see that this was in my dvr. John and Carla back. They both had me cracking up over John saying the Russian guy had killed someone, it's the way he said it. And Carla when she came out in costume and in character was great.

I would never make a pear or apple pie on this competition. Just having to peel, cut and saute them, just takes too long. Then you run the risk of them not being done enough in the pie. Of course I would never be on this show, but I would never do it with 2.5 hrs. 

I thought the intestines dude had a very gory cake and the effect of it oozing out was great. So was the other one that she had rings of white and red and it oozed too. 

I'm just so glad this show is back in original form.

[Rammchick]

17 minutes ago, toodywoody said:

I would never make a pear or apple pie on this competition. Just having to peel, cut and saute them, just takes too long. Then you run the risk of them not being done enough in the pie. Of course I would never be on this show, but I would never do it with 2.5 hrs. 

 I don't think I'd make pie dough at all.  The woman who made the key lime pie had the right idea -- make a graham cracker (or similar cookie) crumb crust -- it only takes 10 minutes in the oven.  Then the filling is super fast and easy to make, and it always turns out perfect.

Edited September 14, 2022 by Rammchick

[Guest]

In light of all the comments about how glad people are to see John (and Carla?) back, and how good it is to have the show back in its regular form, I thought it was worth mentioning that this is the same line-up and format as last year. 2020 was the off year, with COVID requiring Carla to be host in place of John and doing double duty as judge with Zac and Stephanie (that was Stephanie's first year). Last year, John was back as host and Carla, Zac and Stephanie were judges - it was the Camp Serial Killer theme, where eliminated contestants had to put on a raincoat and go out in the "woods".

I don't want to wish illness (if that's the real reason for Zac's absence) on anyone, but I found the judging pair of just Carla and Stephanie in the second half to be quite nice. Zac isn't my cup of tea, and as someone mentioned, Stephanie was a little different without him there, in a way that I enjoyed.

I like Maricsa a lot, but she seemed very devastated when her knife cookie broke, and she was quite subdued from then on. I hope she can roll with the punches in the future, because stuff like that is bound to happen again.

[ZootSuitWyatt]

1 hour ago, tracyscott76 said:

In light of all the comments about how glad people are to see John (and Carla?) back, and how good it is to have the show back in its regular form, I thought it was worth mentioning that this is the same line-up and format as last year. 2020 was the off year, with COVID requiring Carla to be host in place of John and doing double duty as judge with Zac and Stephanie (that was Stephanie's first year). Last year, John was back as host and Carla, Zac and Stephanie were judges - it was the Camp Serial Killer theme, where eliminated contestants had to put on a raincoat and go out in the "woods".

I think people are comparing it to the lineup from Spring (although I think that host lineup has always been more variable than the Halloween shows, especially recently).

[HyeChaps]

Are all of John’s quips scripted?  

[Salacious Kitty]

13 minutes ago, HyeChaps said:

Are all of John’s quips scripted?  

I think he gets some leeway. Obviously, they have to script the challenges, but John seems to be able to get in some one-liners here and there. 

[ladyscorpio]

9 hours ago, dleighg said:

I know-- it's so silly. Just do the "gag" but don't show their "shocked and scared" reactions. We're supposed to believe that they really think there's an axe murderer running around?

That bugged me too. They all looked horrified like they didn't know it wasn't fake. I wonder if they are told to act like that.  

[CoderLady]

6 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

I don't want to wish illness (if that's the real reason for Zac's absence) on anyone, but I found the judging pair of just Carla and Stephanie in the second half to be quite nice. Zac isn't my cup of tea, and as someone mentioned, Stephanie was a little different without him there, in a way that I enjoyed.

This confirms something I've suspected from when the judging lineup was Carla, Zac and Lorraine Pascale. Zac is mean, and it seems to encourage whoever is the third (non-Carla) judge to sometimes try to out-nasty Zac when he starts picking on a contestant.

He tends to start his critiques with a big fake smile and a small complement, then when the victim contestant relaxes he follows up with a humiliating, marginally constructive insult after which he looks quite pleased with himself. There was one time he and Lorraine ragged on a contestant until she cried. Carla had to rescue her and until she did the other two were clearly enjoying themselves.

Carla is apparently immune to it but Zac seems to bring out the worst in some people. Maybe Stephanie will learn to resist.

[mojoween]

I’m only halfway through (didn’t realize it was two hours until just now!) so I’ll read all your awesome thoughts later, but I am just loving John so much.  He is having so much fun and it’s adorable.

Molly could never.

[libgirl2]

1 hour ago, mojoween said:

I’m only halfway through (didn’t realize it was two hours until just now!) so I’ll read all your awesome thoughts later, but I am just loving John so much.  He is having so much fun and it’s adorable.

Molly could never.

It is fun again!

[TVbitch]

I couldn't help but think how funny it would have been if one of the judges had come out dressed up as Molly. 

Edited September 15, 2022 by TVbitch

[ruffy666]

On 9/14/2022 at 6:40 AM, toodywoody said:

I was so happy to see that this was in my dvr. John and Carla back. They both had me cracking up over John saying the Russian guy had killed someone, it's the way he said it.

I enjoy watching all of the Baking Championships-- some more than others-- but I wouldn't say these shows are generally known for being funny.  John's line delivery there was absolute perfection!  He is still my favorite host by far.

[Dirtybubble]

2 hours ago, ruffy666 said:

I enjoy watching all of the Baking Championships-- some more than others-- but I wouldn't say these shows are generally known for being funny.  John's line delivery there was absolute perfection!  He is still my favorite host by far.

The Halloween version of the baking competition shows are my favorite because of the host John and the judges.  I just adore Carla and I don't think I would watch without her and John on there.   

The bakers, meh.  There seems to be about 48 contestants so I can't remember anyone's name but none of the cakes really stood out for me.  Everyone's knife on the cake just seemed really unprofessional.  I would be mad if I spent $$$ on one of these cakes and got that sloppy decoration.

[mlp]

4 hours ago, TVbitch said:

I couldn't help but think how funny it would have been if one of the judges had come out dressed up as Molly. 

That would have been a seriously scary costume.  :0