S07.E05: Pastry Week

[Athena]

Quote

It is Pastry Week, and with just eight bakers left, Mary and Paul are looking for perfection. They have set three challenges to test the bakers on three very different types of pastry. For the signature challenge it is breakfast time, Danish style.

In the technical challenge, Mary asks the bakers to keep their cool, giving them limited time and instructions to bake a classic British tart. Mel takes a shift at a London Turkish bakery making baklava, and she discovers the history of this delicate desert that hailed from the palaces of Sultans.

And finally there is a bite-size showstopper, a fine pastry which notoriously difficult to make and even trickier to bake. Which bakers will impress Mary and Paul enough to keep their place in the tent, and who will be heading home?

[sum]

Do they overall allow less time for each bake this season than they used to (or they should have) or the contestants are overly ambitious than usual? Time management seems to be the theme of the series than ever before and it makes the show less enjoyable for me. I like to see the contestants doing well and to be wowed by their sometimes semi-professional level of skills. I do't dismiss the fact that frustration and failure is an important element of any competition shows. It shouldn't be a big deal though here because they are amateur bakers after all but more importantly I prefer it as a foil for sweet, satisfying moments. However, this year it feels like there's unprecedented level of time pressure.  The contestants look kinda poor compared to those of the previous seasons and I don't think it's fair to them.

- Oh, Val. Admittedly she's been on borrowed time the whole series bar the last week, still it was really sad to say goodbye to her. Her moving speech at the end didn't make it any easier. I'll miss her sassy responses. She seems to have a clever answer for every situation!
- I guess he can't help it but Tom needs to put a rein on his desire for experimental ingredients. Challenging the judges palate isn't the primary task and he isn't exactly nailing the basics to blame it's a matter of taste.
- Judging by the short preview Andrew isn't going to have a smooth week next week as well. I said before he looked like Mat of the series. It turns out he's more Tamal than Mat.
- After week 5: Candice and Benjamina seem a lock for the final, then either Jane or Andrew for the final spot.

Edited September 22, 2016 by sum

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Candice: It's good to get your hands in and give your sausages a good squeeze.

Val: It's better when it's wetter.

Ooh, I love breakfast danishes. Loved the requisite butter bashing footage. I just watched another cooking show last night where the chef made bao and she uses the same lamination technique of folding the dough into thirds, rolling it out, turning it 90 degrees, and then repeating the process. She recommended a minimum of eight turns but she said she normally does it twenty times to get a more delicate crumb.

Benjamina's maple syrup and candied bacon danish sounded good but when they showed her pan of bacon, I was like ooh, girl, don't crowd the pan like that! Her peanut butter and banana pinwheels were so Elvis (and once again, Paul has never tasted this flavor combination before). But it's bad when Paul can just look at your stuff and know exactly what went wrong. She didn't leave her dough to proof at all? You can't do that! I'm glad that Paul explained that it causes the yeast to explode and expel the butter. Mary said the dough was raw inside but she and Paul still tasted both of her pastries.

Jane's orange and cardamom pain au raisin didn't appeal to me because I'm not a fan of any of those flavors in baking (I like raisins by themselves and I love fresh oranges though). Her raspberry, white chocolate, and almond danish with cinnamon dough sounded like too many flavors. Paul said she didn't have enough filling in the chocolate raspberry but wasn't she the one whose filling leaked out during baking?

Candice's apple cinnamon danish with vanilla creme and rose were so pretty. The slice of apple shaped as a rose on the top was a nice touch. Her porcini, pancetta, gruyere, and thyme croque monsieur kites sounded delicious so I'm glad that they liked her flavors. It's a shame that her dough was dry.

My OCD totally approves of Andrew's precise rectangles of butter. His poached pear and dark chocolate pinwheel with crème pâtissière sounded delicious. His spiced date swirls with maple icing weren't as appealing to me since I don't like dates (and I'm with Mel - I can't imagine keeping those in my glove box as a snack). They all looked beautiful. They were uniformly sized and he was so precise with the icing (unlike some of the other bakers who were not quite as neat with their icing). It's too bad that he sliced all of his a little too thinly. Really sweet to see Val give him an encouraging thumbs up after his critique.

Cute when Selasi pointed out a piece of pineapple at his work station and told Paul it was to go. His rhubarb, mango, and ginger plait was raw in the middle. His pineapple and coconut pinwheels sounded so light and summery!

Val's pecan and maple pinwheels looked a little light on the bottom. Her apple, sultana, and cinnamon swirls with apricot glaze were definitely soft in the middle, as you could clearly see when Paul pushed on them.

Rav's pecan, walnut, and maple plaits looked really nice - definitely shows a lot of effort in the assembly. Too bad he forgot to make the twelfth one and the eleven he presented were too dry. At least Paul said the nut filling was delicious. His cinnamon rolls with lemon icing sounded good.

Paul seemed pretty skeptical about Tom's granola spirals. I get that Tom made his granola dry to make up for the extra moisture that it would get from the pastry later, but Paul's assessment of "dry as a bone" was not surprising. They looked dry. His wheat turnovers with crème pâtissière and apple glaze, on the other hand, were raw on the inside. Interesting to see that sometimes Paul is willing to taste things that aren't cooked all the way through (as he did with Selasi's) versus when he says he isn't going to taste it. At least peel off the top layer and try the cooked toppings?

I laughed when Paul said that EVERYONE should know what a bakewell tart looks like. Considering all the things he has said he's never heard of or tasted, as has been discussed here I found it hilarious that Paul of all people thinks there's something that everyone else should know about.

Poor Andrew. I can't believe he forgot to turn the oven on! I'm impressed that his tart turned out as well as it did. Oh, Rav, last place in the technical again? That's the third week in a row! Everyone thought that Val would have this technical in the bag (and she even said that she makes one every week) but she shot herself in the foot, first by only looking at one page of the directions at first, then by only blind baking her crust for five minutes AND making her dough too thick which resulted in a soggy and not completely cooked bottom. Yay for Jane and Candice doing so well though!

I liked that this week's showstopper was so open. Aside from being told they had to make amuse bouche with phyllo, everything else was up to the bakers: shape, flavors, etc.

Rav's prawn tartlets sounded yummy. His white chocolate chili hazelnut samosas (FYI - whoever does the written descriptions next to the sketches of the food screwed up this week and wrote "hazlenut") also sounded good but I wasn't sure if Paul and Mary would be down with spicy chocolate. His amuse bouches were all very uniform in size and color. Nice to see him get some praise after this disastrous technical.

I knew that Paul would have an issue with Val's goat cheese and caramelized red onion tartlets (again someone on production was asleep this week as the screen described this as "goats milk") when she said that they would be two mouthfuls. As Paul explained earlier, an amuse bouche should be one bite. And she only had half of them which is another problem. Mary had some major stank face after she took a bite. I think she said the caramelized onion caused the phyllo not to bake all the way? I expected Mary to love her apple and mincemeat due to the rum and brandy so I wasn't at all surprised when she pronounced the filling excellent. On top of that, the pastry was too thick.

So sweet to see Selasi help Jane at the last minute. Glad that Paul really liked her fig, walnut, and Roquefort parcels. Her cherry and chocolate cones were such a cute idea. She could have done the same thing with smaller cones to keep them the proper amuse bouche size.

Andrew's squash and chorizo parcels (and I was happy to hear Sue pronounce "chorizo" properly - it drives me crazy when I hear people mispronounce Ibiza) were a perfect size. His baklava bites looked nice and the pistachio gave it a nice spot of color.

Haha, I love that Paul is now using Mary's euphemism of "informal" for messy looking presentations. His cups were definitely too big. I was sure that Paul would not like Tom's sirloin and chili chocolate mousse cups. At least Mary liked it. I'm glad she pointed out that even though his wine poached pears with ginger looked pale, the texture and crispiness was good. I'm not a huge fan of ginger so I wonder if there really was too much ginger or if Paul doesn't like it much either.

Candice's pork sausage, black pudding, and apple parcels sounded delicious. Her banoffee (which is apparently banana, cream, and toffee), caramel, and whiskey cups sounded like a lot of flavors to smush into a tiny amuse bouche, but Paul really loved them. For me, she won the showstopper. All of her pieces were the same size, the fillings were praised, the phyllo was crispy but not dry, and she had the best presentation. Everyone else just laid their pieces on plates but she made an effort to actually present hers.

Benjamina's fried plantain and spinach samosas looked good. And just a tiny bit of red chili so that she didn't set Paul's mouth on fire. Her chai pear cups with crème pâtissière sounded yummy and Mary gave her that look that said she loved it. Cute to see Candice give her a celebratory "woo woo!" after her critique.

Selasi's Parma ham, asparagus, and parmesan cigars were an interesting idea in terms of creating a different shape (especially after seeing how many people did samosas and cups), but I feel like you might bite into it and pull out half the asparagus. I think the flavor combination would be good, but it's too bad that Paul said the dough was dry His coffee crème pâtissière cups sounded yummy.

Congratulations to Candice for being crowned star baker this week!

Tom is lucky that Val crashed and burned in the showstopper so badly. She took her elimination really well though. She seems like a sweet woman.

[Silverleaf]

I really wish they had done an authentic Bakewell pudding not a Bakewell tart. Val got her comeuppance with her cocky I bake a Bakewell tart every week - hers was the only one with a soggy bottom.

Candice was clever to roll out her filo pastry with a pasta maker - it made it so thin and uniform.

[Athena]

5 hours ago, sum said:

Do they overall allow less time for each bake this season than they used to (or they should have) or the contestants are overly ambitious than usual? Time management seems to be the theme of the series than ever before and it makes the show less enjoyable for me. I like to see the contestants doing well and to be wowed by their sometimes semi-professional level of skills. I do't dismiss the fact that frustration and failure is an important element of any competition shows. It shouldn't be a big deal though here because they are amateur bakers after all but more importantly I prefer it as a foil for sweet, satisfying moments. However, this year it feels like there's unprecedented level of time pressure.  The contestants look kinda poor compared to those of the previous seasons and I don't think it's fair to them.

I think maybe it's a bit of both. I definitely think the contestants are more ambitious than usual. Mary said that this was the first year where they had less contestants applying than ever. The show's popularity has made it more intimidating for certain amateur bakers.

4 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I laughed when Paul said that EVERYONE should know what a bakewell tart looks like. Considering all the things he has said he's never heard of or tasted, as has been discussed here I found it hilarious that Paul of all people thinks there's something that everyone else should know about.

In the UK, if you are a baker or into food, you should definitely know what a bakewell tart looks like. This is still the British bake off and all the contestants seemed to know what it generally consisted of (shortcrust, jam, frangipane, icing). It maybe slightly out of fashion as Selasi and Benjamina noted, but they knew what it was.  

Everytime Val was interviewed about her bakes she'd make some comment about "that's how I like it at home/ that's how I did it" and it became a bit defensive. No idea why she made that pastry so thick; she knew it was thick too! She didn't properly blind bake it either. She's been floundering for ages so it was right to send her home. Disappointed that Tom is doing so poorly since Bread Week. Rav is way too inconsistent.

I continue to like Benjamina, Selasi (who isn't a final maker but good eye candy), Candice (finalist), Jane (finalist). Jane has been winning me over slowly; she has her flavours on point. She's basically Nancy 2.0 but I think even better than Nancy at flavours. Andrew is good especially with his precise presentation, but I'm not being won over quite yet.

[Schweedie]

2 minutes ago, Athena said:

Everytime Val was interviewed about her bakes she'd make some comment about "that's how I like it at home/ that's how I did it" and it became a bit defensive. No idea why she made that pastry so thick; she knew it was thick too! She didn't properly blind bake it either. She's been floundering for ages so it was right to send her home. Disappointed that Tom is doing so poorly since Bread Week. Rav is way too inconsistent.

I was amused at how Paul cracked up at Val's "that's how we like them" comment this time - they've heard it enough now that he knew it's her go-to defence.

And I've also been disappointed in Tom. I think he'd do better if he didn't insist on being so experimental and insistent on "pushing it" all the time, because he seems good at the basics. If he could just play it safe for once, I'd like to see how that would go down. Chocolate and sirloin? To serve to Paul Hollywood? Tom, what were you thinking?

For the last few week Rav's been saved by a good showstopper, and the fact that someone else has screwed up royally. I wonder how long that can continue. I loved Mary's attempt at saying something good about his disaster of a Bakewell Tart - "It's a beautiful jam".

I'm not a fan of black pudding at all, but Candice's savoury amuse-bouches? Looked SO good I wanted to try one. Such a great colour, and a beautiful and original way of presenting them. She's seemed a bit prone technical mishaps/time management problems, but she seems to be very good at flavours. She and Jane are my favourites. Jane's grown more and more on me over the last few weeks! She's so consistent and calm and also seems good with flavours. Also, Benjamina.

5 hours ago, sum said:

Do they overall allow less time for each bake this season than they used to (or they should have) or the contestants are overly ambitious than usual? Time management seems to be the theme of the series than ever before and it makes the show less enjoyable for me. [...] The contestants look kinda poor compared to those of the previous seasons and I don't think it's fair to them.

...

- After week 5: Candice and Benjamina seem a lock for the final, then either Jane or Andrew for the final spot.

I think it might be the overly ambitious thing. I was yelling at them through the screen during bread week when they did all those rich, overfilled doughs for the signature. They'd had time to practise; they HAD to have known that wasn't going to work with their time frame - and yet they went for it. But I'm also wondering if it might be that as a group they aren't quite as good as some others have been. I mean, halfway through last season I thought we were left with a group who mostly did really well, despite some cockups. Maybe it's just that I have them fresh in my mind (and the fact that I really, really loved that group of bakers) that makes this crew seem a bit less impressive.

And yeah, that's the finalists I would guess at, too.

[BradyB66]

Quote

 Jane's grown more and more on me over the last few weeks!

She totally won me over with her comment last week.  "These are not the Yorkshire Puddings you're looking for."

 

I see Rav as Nadiyah 2.0.  Does okay in the signature, does TERRIBLE in the technical, does great in the showstopper.  I keep thinking he's suddenly going to take off and there will be no stopping him.  

I see Candice and Jane in the final and think the third will be Andrew, Rav, or Benjamina.

I loved Tom at first, but his insistence on pushing the envelope is not doing him any favours.  Didn't he say pretty much the same thing after last week's and this week's signatures?  Something about how he should forget it and move on, but that he'd probably angst about his poor showing for a while?

Can't wait to see Val on An Extra Slice.  I really hope Hal is one of the panelists!

Edited September 22, 2016 by BradyB66

[rubyred]

I think they're definitely shaving off time for each challenge. Yes, at times the bakers are ambitious but there's no reason that so many of the bakers are having time management problems. In the past it's been maybe 3 max and it seems like in this series half of the contestants in any given challenge are freaking the hell out about time. 

I think they give them the minimum amount of time to comfortably bake something, without taking into account the time suckage of faffing about with the hosts, describing the dish to the judges, and giving on-camera tutorials on how to bake something. The anxiety reduces my enjoyment of the show, and it feels manipulative to me.

IMO the show is moving to a commercial network next season and the producers are finding ways to ratchet up the "what happens next?!" drama so that people don't flip channels during commercials. It reminds me of when Project Runway moved to Lifetime and immediately started circling the drain with things like the "Red Robin Challenge" and other desperate flails for product placement and sponsors.

Obviously the production company wants to get that money and that's totally their choice but there's no way it won't change the vibe of the show. Well, I enjoyed it while it lasted!

[Athena]

11 minutes ago, rubyred said:

I think they're definitely shaving off time for each challenge. Yes, at times the bakers are ambitious but there's no reason that so many of the bakers are having time management problems. In the past it's been maybe 3 max and it seems like in this series half of the contestants in any given challenge are freaking the hell out about time. 

I think they give them the minimum amount of time to comfortably bake something, without taking into account the time suckage of faffing about with the hosts, describing the dish to the judges, and giving on-camera tutorials on how to bake something. The anxiety reduces my enjoyment of the show, and it feels manipulative to me.

IMO the show is moving to a commercial network next season and the producers are finding ways to ratchet up the "what happens next?!" drama so that people don't flip channels during commercials. It reminds me of when Project Runway moved to Lifetime and immediately started circling the drain with things like the "Red Robin Challenge" and other desperate flails for product placement and sponsors.

Obviously the production company wants to get that money and that's totally their choice but there's no way it won't change the vibe of the show. Well, I enjoyed it while it lasted!

While I can agree that the editing may seem a bit more frantic this year, I find it hard to believe that they don't give them the minimum amount of time considering all the contestants know all the Signature and Showstopper challenges weeks and months (for the later challenges) before filming. The show has always done the interviews and I don't find Mel or Sue any more intrusive than they were before. I think we'd honestly hear about that but they seemed to be universally loved by the contestants. Not sure what you mean by the on-camera tutorials since the contestants are doing what they have always done to complete their bakes.

I'm not a fan of Love Productions as the moment, but I find it hard to believe they "ratcheted" things up in advance of the Channel 4 move when the deal had not even gone through when they filmed the show let alone during the planning process.

[rubyred]

By "on-camera tutorials" I mean having to describe what they're doing to the camera while they're doing it. They would not have to do that at home, and  having to switch mental gears like that can be disruptive.

I don't expect everyone to agree with me, but having primarily binged this show I do feel like each challenge is being rushed. Maybe it is a trick of editing but it's presented as "time management problems" on the baker's parts, and IMO the sheer number of bakers falling down on this is greater than in previous series. Not all of the challenges give the contestants the latitude to show "ambition" -- the technicals in particular.

I do think they give the minimum amount of time. The bare minimum. I also don't think it's fair to expect amateur bakers to present identical multiples of anything in the time and oven sizes they're allotted, but that's a complaint for another day.

You're right, speculating that Love has ratcheted things up in advance of the commercial move is just that, baseless speculation. But it's not without precedent for a production company to do whatever they think they have to to retain interest in a long-running series. Most shows can't maintain quality over huge amounts of time, but once they become a hit they also become a commodity. To me what makes this show special is its mix of gentle humor and food porn, without sturm und drang, but that is just my take; possibly many will prefer the additional stress and anxiety and feel that it makes for a more exciting show.

[shandy]

I had to laugh at Benjamina and Selasi throwing shade on Bakewell Tarts, which Benjamina clearly thought were best left on   some retirement home menu.

I've come to the conclusion that Val did worse when she thought she knew how to do something.  I'll miss her gleaming eyes and little sayings, but she was a nice woman who was used to doing things her way, like a lot of retired elementary school principals I suspect, and that inflexibility cost her dear. This show has seen older contestants do amazing things so I think it was more to do with personality than age.

Speaking of the stubborn, Tom once again 'pushing it hard' with his flavor combos - which then don't work. Climbers might live on the edge, not sure if bakers thrive on that.

I can't understand why Candice is getting a lot of abuse on social media, it seems she is a bit of a hate figure. I like that she has a lil bit of attitude. I thought she did well, and phylo and a pasta maker - great thinking.

Paul can be such a know it all; the first amuse-bouche I ever had was something fishy with cream cheese 'en cornet' (similar in shape to Jane's cones). Jane takes critiques so well - she is like Nancy, she just gets on with it, which I admire. Unlike Andrew ... I thought I would be totally Team Irish Ginger, but he needs to start delivering.

Cinematography this episode - everything outside is just so green.

Edited September 22, 2016 by shandy
grammar

[Rinaldo]

14 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

[Benjamina's] peanut butter and banana pinwheels were so Elvis (and once again, Paul has never tasted this flavor combination before).

I know! I've occasionally (not always) defended Paul for not being up on a particular flavor combination... but this was ridiculous. Bananas with peanut butter has been a popular combination for nearly a century. My mother (who's close to 100 now) remembers enjoying the combination, as did her friends, in rural Iowa in the 1920s. If it had penetrated there at that date, it ought to have reached Paul's awareness by now.

4 hours ago, rubyred said:

You're right, speculating that Love has ratcheted things up in advance of the commercial move is just that, baseless speculation. 

Especially as, when this season was shot and edited, all concerned were assuming that they would be staying with the BBC.

[Silverleaf]

Can people please remember that this is the Great British Bake Off? Americans have been having peanut butter and jelly for centuries but it isn't a flavour combination even remotely common here so just because peanut butter and banana has reached rural Iowa does not mean it has reached our shores. Bakewell tart on the other hand is a classic (although not as good as a Bakewell pudding) and belongs on menus with apple crumble, sticky toffee pudding, bread and butter pudding, syrup tart etc etc.

 

Mary Berry gave an interview on radio 2 before the series aired and she said that the contestants when practising at home never allowed time for the interviews and that is something that has been shown time and time again. If you think back to other series there has always been at least a contestant looking very frazzled and like they were thinking will you stop asking me stupid questions and let me get this in the oven.

[tenativelyyours]

Val reminds me of a family member of a certain generation who cooked and baked everything.  Some things well some not so well.  All though were "always how she did it" and the family ate them because that is what they were used to.  Then a new generation who cooked and baked came along and all of the sudden everyone started giving certain items on the holiday table the side eye to see if Aunt Zen made it.  It was hard to break it to her after a couple of traditional things were basically untouched that it was never that good to begin with and it wasn't the proper way after all but just the way she was used to doing.

She was fun though, but she had no legs to making it to the finals from pretty early on I thought.

I'm kind of surprised Rav though is hanging on.  After his third technical fall I thought he was a goner.

Benjamina proves yet another star baker gets too wrapped in the idea if really means much in the scheme of things if you can't keep your head in the current bake. 

Selasi continues to go back and forth -- either being just barely out of the bottom or barely out of the top (and usually due to his own failures not just having the others be better).  He was profiled in one of the newsfeeds when his girlfriend mention got so much mention on social media and they had a slide show from his instagram/twitter that went back I think two years.  How moley can this guy bake.  I mean I get that you don't post disasters but still.  It shows how much time is a factor for these people that they don't seem to be able to adjust for the most part.

Jane was looking strong but the minute I saw Candice's finished amuse bouche I was drooling.  They really did look magnificent.

I can't be bothered but I thought among all the other Hollywood hyperbole regarding peanut butter, he did try peanut butter and banana on his stint doing Marcela, I mean the first attempt at a US bakeoff show.  I thought someone did a bake that was an homage to Elvis and included peanut butter and bacon and peanut butter and banana.  One he said was horrible before tasting and then would not change his mind even though everyone else liked it and poor Marcela had her paramour pretty much browbeat her right on camera in a way that I remember had viewers wondering what was going on especially since Jeff Foxworthy was clearly at a loss at the interchange between the two.   The other one he liked.  Then one of the other contestants did a same flavor combo another challenge later and Hollywood claimed to be convinced it was a great combo.  So his raving this and last season about combos he is on camera having tasted and even liked is odd.  Especially with the popularity of the show causing it to air in the US.  Maybe he figures he plays just for the British audience.

And I had a peanut butter sandwich with banana offered at the one commons in Cambridge ten years ago as a student.  So Rural Iowa isn't so far as it might be supposed.  I did turn it down because I 'm not a fan of peanut butter and only with bacon in those rare moods when I want a protein kick with a bit of extra salt and of course bacon.

I think Candice and Jane are locks for the finals.  Andrew and Benjamina I think are the ones looking to take the third spot if they can get back to their grooves.  I think Tom is destined to be another Flora.  I think his issue with flavors and textures that throw off his bakes in serious ways are going to be his downfall if he does not drop them and revert to the tried and true.  He persists in doing some really odd things that just defy simple common sense and as mentioned in An Extra Slice, one wonders who at home is tasting them and saying that his combinations work?

At some point Rav's luck has to run out and he is no longer just barely second worst.   As a baker I almost want him to go simply because I feel so bad for his efforts flopping so many times.  But I love his sense of humor about it and there is a laugh out loud element to some of his failures that with Val no longer there, I look to him for comic relief.

 

Did love Candice trying to flap away the smoke and Selasi's "fire".

[zibnchy]

Yes, Candice is coming on strong and I like her a lot. I agree with Jane as another finalist,

I love Andrew but don't see him in the final. I think it'll be Benjamina.

Tom and Rav can't hide behind Val anymore. Tho Rav really saved himself with his showstopper. Tom needs to do damage control this week. I actually like Tom, and I wasn't sure the first week.

Oh heck, I like them all. They're just so damn wonderful.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Pastry week recipes:

Mary's Bakewell tart
Candice's cinnamon, apple, and custard Danish
Rav's spiced white chocolate and hazlenut samosas

Val's pecan and maple pinwheels
Val's apple, sultana and cinnamon swirls
Rav's Chinese-style prawn filo tartlets
Andrew's spicy chorizo squash parcels
Andrew's baklava bites
Candice's croque monsieur kites
 

[halopub]

On 9/22/2016 at 5:35 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Her peanut butter and banana pinwheels were so Elvis (and once again, Paul has never tasted this flavor combination before).

 

On 9/22/2016 at 10:49 PM, Silverleaf said:

Can people please remember that this is the Great British Bake Off? Americans have been having peanut butter and jelly for centuries but it isn't a flavour combination even remotely common here so just because peanut butter and banana has reached rural Iowa does not mean it has reached our shores.

While it is true that regional palates are pretty different, Jo and the Extra Slice crew made fun of Paul for finding the flavor combination so unusual.

[Kohola3]

Oh, I loved Val!  It was great to see someone older in the running. I can't believe Tom managed to stay with all of his catastrophes.

[Primetimer]

Bakewell tarts expose the age divide in the big tent.

View the full article

[wonderwoman]

"View the full article" is misleading. Should read "Listen to the podcast."

[MerBearHou]

The baking has been well analyzed above so I'll comment on my opinions of the bakers.  I finally figured out what bugs me about Candice (and yes, she can bake beautiful things quite often).  I don't like how coquettish she acts and how very aware she is of her unique mouth and it is her "go to" almost constantly in her facial expressions.  Licking her lips, pursing her mouth, cutesy acting -- some may care for it -- I do not.

Love seeing Selasi and Benjamina's friendship.  They're both fun and delightful.  Paul definitely considers Selasi his pal, at least from what the editing shows.  

Goodness,Tom was dour tonight.  When he knew he'd done poorly, he just glared -- he does not have a poker face whatsoever and didn't encourage anyone else.

Andrew is adorable.  My favorite for sure.  Love his precision and cheery manner -- being an engineer, he had to be in disbelief that he, of all people, forgot to prep his oven.

I thought it was a little out of line when Benjamina and Selasi indicated that the Bakewell tart would suit the "OLDER" bakers and that it was, as someone said above, ready for a retirement home menu.  So many of these baking requests are classics, old-fashioned, been around for ages, etc etc.  So their comment didn't ring true to me.

I enjoy Jane so much and I cannot look at her or listen to her without seeing Bridget Jones' mother.  

Val was so dear and I adored her parting speech -- just a lovely woman, a great presence in the tent, and just so grateful for the experience.  But it was definitely her week to go.  

I can't help but be wistful every time I hear Mel and Sue banter so perfectly with each other and with Mary and Paul.  I miss them already and they aren't gone yet.  The show "caught lightning in a bottle" when they cast them together -- will be impossible to replace and capture the spirit we know and love in this show.

Edited July 8, 2017 by MerBearHou

[Irlandesa]

I liked Val too.  The story Andrew told about how she had a 1977 shopping receipt and they were guessing the prices in between bakes was delightful. 

But I had to laugh when Paul said that Val just had a bad week.  It really has felt to me that she has had a bad week pretty consistently but just barely got by because one or two people had a slightly worse week than she had.  I feel like every week she screwed up royally at least once--bless her.

[2727]

How can a person put something in the oven and not notice there isn't any heat? Jeez. (If contestants aren't in the habit of pre-heating their ovens, I don't know what to say.)

I realize the camera crew needs a clear sight line around all the stations but I so want the ovens to be at normal height; it bothers me to see everyone constantly hunching down.

[ennui]

OMG! Pinwheel tarts! We make those every Christmas!  

[LittleIggy]

I was a little scared for cutie Andrew but was relieved when his amuse bouches came out tasty. I figured Val was leaving. I loved Andrew telling about the games she made up for the between baking times. Nice lady. Glad Candice won Star Baker. And Paul...sigh! ;-)

[LittleIggy]

What is this about the show changing?

[J-Man]

Quote

Mel takes a shift at a London Turkish bakery making baklava, and she discovers the history of this delicate desert that hailed from the palaces of Sultans.

Except of course we didn't get to see this segment on PBS.

I was in London last summer and had to ask a clerk in a bakery to explain what "Bakewell" meant. (It wasn't a tart, but some kind of bar cookie, I think.) She looked at me as if I were from outer space. So I assume that every good Brit should know what "Bakewell" suggests with respect to ingredients. (I guess she thought Americans should know as well, as my accent certainly should've have clued her in to my nationality.)

[GaT]

On 9/22/2016 at 7:06 AM, Athena said:

Mary said that this was the first year where they had less contestants applying than ever.

I wonder if they started the application process before or after it was announced the show was leaving the BBC? This season definitely feels different to me, & I don't know if it's the challenges or the bakers, but the showstoppers are not nearly as impressive as there they have been in previous years. They don't look any different from the signature or technical challenges, there's nothing "showstopper" about them at all.

Edited July 8, 2017 by GaT

[sum]

The filming production of this series had been completed months before the negotiations/announcement. So the application process couldn't have been affected.

[AZChristian]

9 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

What is this about the show changing?

They're moving to a different British network and Mel, Sue, and Mary are leaving the show.

[dubbel zout]

On 9/22/2016 at 2:20 PM, rubyred said:

I think they give them the minimum amount of time to comfortably bake something

This is what I think, too. I thought last season the times were cutting it close, but this year it seems really obvious there's no breathing room at all. With the simpler things—biscuits, cakes—then it's truly on the bakers to manage their ambitions, but when yeast and/or a resting/cooling stage is involved, the weather conditions can make a big difference in results, and it's not fair to penalize something totally outside the bakers' control.

[adam807]

2 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

This is what I think, too. I thought last season the times were cutting it close, but this year it seems really obvious there's no breathing room at all. With the simpler things—biscuits, cakes—then it's truly on the bakers to manage their ambitions, but when yeast and/or a resting/cooling stage is involved, the weather conditions can make a big difference in results, and it's not fair to penalize something totally outside the bakers' control.

I assume the necessities of a TV production schedule play a role too. It might be nice to give them an extra hour for the humidity, but then they wouldn't get the day's taping done, or would lose the hosts and crew due to union rules (which I know works differently in the UK, but still), so they can't.

I'm incredibly sympathetic, since even the simplest things always seem to take me longer than I expect, just due to faffing around in the kitchen. My small space is partly to blame, but it's mostly my brain. And I don't think the GBBO bakers get much more counter space than I have in my apartment!

[MerBearHou]

To me, the biggest difference in this season is that there is rarely any height at all in the Showstoppers. They're mostly flat presentations (remembering the gingerbread houses as an exception).  

[meep.meep]

Of course Val had to go this time - she committed the greatest sin on this show:  her tart had a soggy bottom.  She was so great with the judges.  Every time they criticized something, she'd point out that that was how her family liked it.

Paul and Selasi have quite the bromance going!

Does the crew clean up the stations after the signature, or do they move to a different, but identical spot?  Everyone's stations were just trashed, and then they are sitting next to empty and spotless counters.

[Kohola3]

44 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

Does the crew clean up the stations after the signature, or do they move to a different, but identical spot?  Everyone's stations were just trashed, and then they are sitting next to empty and spotless counters.

I think the signature is done in the morning and the challenge in the afternoon.  Presumably someone comes in and cleans while they go to lunch or something.

[Mabinogia]

I will miss Val. She was just so adorable. I loved her speech. It is always harder on me when the person leaving agrees with the decision, so I got a little watery in the eye area this episode.

I appreciate that this show doesn't try to psych us out about who wins and loses. It was pretty obvious Candace would get star baker and I can't imagine anyone arguing that it was Val's time to go. The winner and loser reveal are not why I watch this show so I like that they don't manipulate the editing to make it some great mystery. I've seen shows where the winner is revealed and I just have a WTF reaction because the editing made it look like they were in the weeds the whole time. UGH

Candace grew on me a bit this episode. I thought it was quite adorable when she was trying to wave away the smoke coming out of her oven. But she's still too needy for my taste. It's a personal thing. It makes me uncomfortable when she seems so desperate for approval. It's the same issue I had with Ruby, though I at least like Candace other than that, so she's well ahead of Ruby IMO.

I do agree that the show stoppers this season haven't really been show stopper worthy.

[Quilt Fairy]

The biggest problem I had with the timing in this episode was Mary commenting several times when critiquing the technical "Well, they obviously didn't wait until the tart cooled before they put on the icing" when she knew damn well they weren't given enough time for that.

47 minutes ago, Mabinogia said:

I do agree that the show stoppers this season haven't really been show stopper worthy.

This week and last week certainly haven't been, but what can you do with churros and amuse buches?   However,  next week it's a cake, so I'm hoping for more extravagance.  And I do like the idea of a "Botanical Week" as a way to mix things up.

[Kohola3]

4 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

"Well, they obviously didn't wait until the tart cooled before they put on the icing" when she knew damn well they weren't given enough time for that.

I find that annoying as well.  It's like they are deliberately short changing them on time.  When they did the filled breads it was the same thing unless, like Rav, they did a teeny one that had a chance.  I'd rather see some spectacular wins than these sad looking losers. 

[hendersonrocks]

Candice's showstopper looked and sounded great (though I know I personally wouldn't like the savory one given my anti-mushroomness), but they were certainly not bite sized. Everyone else with that issue got at least a comment about it yet it seemed like she didn't - at least not in what they chose to show us. That kind of inconsistency bugs.

Tom and Rav need to turn things around quickly or else it's quite clear they'll be the next two gone. 

I am so very excited for next week's showstoppers. The quick glimpses in the previews looked lovely.

[Lura]

Am I the only Yank in here?  You Brits are wonderful, and I especially like your humor.  My best friend in the whole  wide world lives outside of Birmingham, in Four Oaks.  We met on a tour of Spain and Portugal many years ago, and we're still friends.  I live in California.

This baking show is the best thing on television.  It's running in the States now, and we just finished the Pastry Battle last night.  I was thrilled for the one woman who did so well with her Danish, and I thought she'd be Star Baker, but it looks like Candice is on a roll and may wind up as the champion.  I think Paul has a soft spot for her, just as he did with Ruby another year.  I like Paul despite his eye for the ladies.  :)

[Kohola3]

Quote

Am I the only Yank in here?

I think pretty much everyone posting since last night is a Yank since the episode just aired here.  I am sorry to see Val go, I liked her quips.

[truther]

Candice has really, really come on strong.  I don't pay any attention to the criticism about her looks (which, in all honesty, don't exactly bother me let's just say).  After all we're only seeing what the editors choose to show us, and anyone can get an edit that may or may not reflect their true self, even on a lovely program like this one.  I honestly don't see why anyone would have a problem with Candice.  And her results have been spectacular.  When you compare them to some of the people who are clearly falling behind, like Tom, the difference is even more pronounced.  Some of these contestants are still struggling to do basic things like bake the food properly, and she's doing highly sophisticated ingredients and presentations and pulling them off nicely.

 

She and a few of the others, like Benjamina, are starting to pull away from the pack.  

 

That all being said, I was a little surprised at the ending.  After Mel and Sue announced star baker and who was being sent home, the show spent virtually all the remaining time commiserating about Val.  Everybody hugging her, talking about how wonderful she was, wishing her the best.  Then at the end they threw a few second Candice's way, and it was just her and nobody.  The show seems to present her as more of a loner than the others.  

[Mondrianyone]

All the ageist jokes about Val on the Spotted Dicks (aptly named) podcast were really adorable. Does that mean it would now be okay for the rest of us to make racist jokes about Salasi, or terrorist jokes about Rav because he wears a turban, or gay jokes about Andrew? If there were a contestant in a wheelchair, could we call her a cripple?

I get it that you didn't like Val for other valid (I made a joke!) reasons, but I think I counted four snotty "little old lady" jokes by the end of the podcast. Do you think everyone who posts here is under thirty? And even if that were so, would that make it okay to demean a woman because she had the gall not to die before she got old?

[Kohola3]

Quote

I get it that you didn't like Val for other valid (I made a joke!) reasons, but I think I counted four snotty "little old lady" jokes by the end of the podcast. Do you think everyone who posts here is under thirty? And even if that were so, would that make it okay to demean a woman because she had the gall not to die before she got old?

Precisely why I don't listen to those vapid podcasts.  They are very supercilious.

[Mabinogia]

I loved the recaps. Refuse to listen to the podcasts, but even in the picture show they seem to have Val simply for the fact of being old. Honestly, she didn't seem remotely like a "little old lady" to me. She was a hoot and I'm going to miss her, though I agree it was her time to go. And she knew it was her time. I really do love how rare it is for a baker to say they were robbed or had more to show or shouldn't have been the one cut. They all seem to accept their fate. I think that is a product of the show actually judging fairly and not keeping people around because they'd be "good TV" or bring drama.

I would love to hang out with Val while she bakes me a singles cruise version of Noah's Ark.

As for the focus on Val at the end, I noticed it too. But I think Val was adored by the other bakers and they were genuinely sorry to see such a fun, spirited lady go. If it's true she was coming up with games and things for them to do in their down time I would get why they are all so sad. She was probably a great stress reliever. Now they'll have to come up with other ways to occupy their down time. haha

[Lura]

It makes me sick to think that the cast of this show is breaking up.  IMHO, they have a  winning combination in the four of them, and I think the show will not appeal to the general audience with the absence of those two comics.  I hope that Love Productions is deluged with mail from dissatisfied viewers.  It sounds like Mary might be thinking over her decision, and I wonder about Paul.  Can you imagine this show with commercials throughout?

[Kohola3]

1 hour ago, Mabinogia said:

I loved the recaps. Refuse to listen to the podcasts...

Big ditto on that.  Who has time to listen to a podcast that's nearly as long as the show?  Give me a readable recap any day.

 

1 hour ago, Mabinogia said:

But I think Val was adored by the other bakers and they were genuinely sorry to see such a fun, spirited lady go.

It seemed that the others enjoyed her - that game of guessing 1970 prices from a receipt would be good for a chuckle.

[Mondrianyone]

I like the recaps, too.  Listening to the podcast was a mistake, based on loving the show so much that I wanted to get whatever was available.  But what's available in that podcast is totally subpar.  I don't really understand the logic of having two people who know virtually nothing about baking provide commentary on a baking show.  It would work if they were ignorant but witty.   Ignorant and dull, not such a great combo.

[adam807]

2 hours ago, Mondrianyone said:

All the ageist jokes about Val on the Spotted Dicks (aptly named) podcast were really adorable. Does that mean it would now be okay for the rest of us to make racist jokes about Salasi, or terrorist jokes about Rav because he wears a turban, or gay jokes about Andrew? If there were a contestant in a wheelchair, could we call her a cripple?

I get it that you didn't like Val for other valid (I made a joke!) reasons, but I think I counted four snotty "little old lady" jokes by the end of the podcast. Do you think everyone who posts here is under thirty? And even if that were so, would that make it okay to demean a woman because she had the gall not to die before she got old?

I guess I'll have to listen...I don't recall either of us making jokes about Val's age, or at least claiming we didn't like her because of it. I'm sure one of us said something about her "sweet little old lady" persona, but I don't think it was meant as either a joke or necessarily a dig -- and it's something the show certainly played up. I did comment in one visual aids that I was surprised at one of her flavor choices because it seemed rather "ethnic" for a white British lady of her age, which I meant as much as a comment about the anglo-centrism of the show (in its challenges, not its wonderfully diverse contestants) as anything, but I can see how it might be taken wrong. As I said, I do think Val has a bit of a schtick, and it's kind of a Betty White "look at how adorable I am, I'm everyone's grandma" thing, which I found tiresome when it was how she framed her excuses for screwing things up on the show. And I think the show's editors and its hosts and the other bakers played into that. She seems like a lovely woman, and a skilled baker, but I disliked her on television because she claimed every mistake was on purpose and listened to her biscuits singing and liked Ed Sheeran. Had Candice or Andrew done the same things, we would've been talking about them in the same way. Jane looks to be about the same age as Val, give or take, and I adore her. Not to mention worshiping at the altar of the hopefully immortal Mary Berry. It sounds like more than one of you came away with this perception, so I guess it's a good lesson in being mindful of how we say things, but I assure you that I hated Val for reasons having nothing to do with her age, and I think I can safely speak for Danny on that point as well.

For the record, both Danny and I (and Dave, our usually silent producer) are over 40. So we're not quite up to Val yet, but certainly not under 30!

Two unrelated questions raised by your post that I'm hoping someone here knows the answer to: Do we know for a fact that Andrew is gay? Or rather, is he publicly out? I was just trying to find this out today and Google was not helpful. And has there ever been a disabled contestant? I haven't watched the early seasons. They have such a good mix of race, ethnicity and, yes, age, I'd love to see them continue down that road of inclusivity.

7 minutes ago, Mondrianyone said:

I like the recaps, too.  Listening to the podcast was a mistake, based on loving the show so much that I wanted to get whatever was available.  But what's available in that podcast is totally subpar.  I don't really understand the logic of having two people who know virtually nothing about baking provide commentary on a baking show.  It would work if they were ignorant but witty.   Ignorant and dull, not such a great combo.

In fairness, our dear friend Mark who used to write the recaps doesn't know any more about baking than we do. He's definitely not dull, though, so I'm afraid I can't help you there. And we've recorded several in advance, so I can't even say they're going to get less dull.

[truther]

Fair play to you for responding.