S07.E08: Tudor Week

[Athena]

Quote

This week we are stepping back in history for a Bake Off first - Tudor Week. Mary and Paul have set three new challenges that embrace a time when Henry VIII reigned, a time of flamboyant banquets and impressive centre pieces that were Tudor showstoppers.

The signature is a Tudor classic - pies. Although a few hundred years ago their pies would have been filled with feathered birds, our bakers will attempt to make a rather more edible version for modern taste of a savoury stuffed pie.

In the technical challenge, the bakers face a rather unusual Tudor biscuit that has the them all tied up in knots.

Mel pops into Hampton Court to uncover how one sweet delicacy nearly enticed Queen Elizabeth I to marry.

And the final challenge is to construct a showstopper that is a spectacle of marzipan, fit to grace the tables of a wealthy Tudor banquet.

Which of the five bakers will make it into the semi-final, and who will be leaving the tent?

[tenativelyyours]

I was underwhelmed by pretty much everything this week.  I do think Candice deserved her star for what it is worth. 

Any favoritism aside, I do think it would be funny if Selasi wins the final without having won star baker once previously.  I'm not sure Paul will let that happen from his comments when he was on Graham Norton the one time.  He really has an annoyance for those that don't find the whole star baker thing gripping while Mary seemed to really be 100% hoping each week was fresh even if sometimes it was too close for that to always happen.

But even Candice's peacock was not that impressive for me.  Among the other bakes it was.  And the effort and skill I am sure was great.  It just made for some blah viewing visually for me.

This is the biggest pitfall of having a show that I get so invested in seeing the same people week after week.  I might get to enjoy the win more in the end because I am happy with any of the contenders but the partings each week get more bitter.  I was so sorry to see Benjamina go.  And yet any of the others would have been just as sad if for a little different reasons.  Going in Selasi and Benjamina were my favorites just because I like them and find them the most engaging.  Jane though is right up there as well.  So is Candice and Candice also has way too many bakes that I thought she delivered well over the others in the entire season.    Same with Andrew.  I find Andrew a bit more remote in some ways as a viewer but I also greatly appreciate his effort and think he is more than deserving to stay.  So we get this type of episode where I'm going to be unhappy no matter what even if I am a big boy and understand someone has to go home each week.

But again, Benjamina had the worst week despite some editing.  Going by the judging the merits of each bake it seemed that Selasi did a bit better on each one and actually was only in the running for being on the bottom it seemed as a whole.  Again I think it would be funny in a way to see him squeak through even if the souffle comment might be prophetic if he makes it to the finals.  Not because I want to see him on my screen as long as possible but because i just am finding this season hammers home the false and needless construct of star baker.  For me that is.  I find I just don't care when all is said and done.  Not sure why and maybe part is an unconscious response to knowing it is moving and changing etc.

I still want a show with Benjamina and Selasi.  Even more.  Not an instructional one, but maybe more of a lighthearted one that is one of those informative but not serious type of shows that explore the "how to" aspect.  Each week give them some really rare baked item and have them bake it while Mel and Sue go about telling us the history etc of the item being baked and then have Mary come in a show them how it should be done.

[OnceSane]

I'd watch that show in a heartbeat!  Sad to see Benjamina leave, though something told me she wouldn't make the final.

Jane has grown to be one of my faves so I hope she & Selasi make the final.

[Badger]

Does Andrew remind anyone else of Clay Aiken? 

[dwarmed]

Quote

Does Andrew remind anyone else of Clay Aiken? 

Only in that he's a ginger nerd, but Andrew is not nearly as hammy and cringe-worthy as Clay. Andrew is a proper nerd, not a nerd trying to be a sex symbol. I loved how uptight and protective Andrew got about his gear contraption. I don't blame him for not wanting Sue's clutz hands to break it. Rotating cog pastries were a wonder of gingineering.

I was shocked about Benjamina's elimination. I had her pegged for final from the first episode. I thought Selasi would go, since he's been struggling the most out of the remaining bakers, but I guess he did a smidge better this week.

I don't really understand how Jane's square cake with flat decorations on top counts as a 3D sculpture. Sure, there was nice detail on the top, but a very standard and boring cake shape and a lot easier than trying to construct something 3D. There wasn't even a mention of it being too simple.

Sue, don't they feed you at home?

[dwarmed]

And I would have been more impressed with Candice's peacock, had I not seen Nadiya make a chocolate peacock just last season and with much greater finesse.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Recipes from this week:

Jane's spiced pork pie with cranberries
Paul Hollywood's jumble biscuits
Andrew's pork pie with chicken and apricots

[DHDancer]

Mary to Selasi: "Are the guinea fowl wild?"  Paul to Mary:  "They're livid"   An actual JOKE from Paul, hahahahhahaha

Loved the raised pie challenge.  Jumbles had me scratching my head because that's what we used to call rice krispie treats (not the horrid marshmallow krispie squares here in the US but rather rice cereal mixed with chocolate, nuts, and copha and served in fairycake paper cups).  
The showstopper I found disappointing because I thought the whole thing had to be done in marzipan/marchpane and there they were doing cakes with just marzipan on top.  Not at all 'sculptures' in any imagination.  And yeah, count me among those who thought plagiarism from Candace of Nadyia's work.

Sorry to see Benjamina go but suspect a boy/girl/boy/girl makes for a tidier final ;)

Edited October 13, 2016 by DHDancer

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Everyone was cracking me up this week! Loved Sue patiently waiting for Selasi to notice her herb moustache.

Candice: I'm very privileged to be one of the [final] five. It's like we're the Spice Girls before Geri left.

Andrew: If we did study the Tudors in school, I don't remember much about them.
Selasi: 1485 to 1603, I think it was. [whispers] I've been reading their notes.
Jane: Selasi thinks I was born in Tudor times so I'm just trying to go with it.

Mel: Jane, I'd like to see more of those. Jane Seymour, get it?

Mel: Potent smells going on. No offense, Selasi.
Selasi: No, it's not me. I showered this morning.

Jane's streaky bacon, chicken breast, and cranberry pies looked nicely golden on the outside. I liked that the inside looked completely filled without exploding. Her rose shape was a little iffy, but I liked that it went with the Tudor theme.

Looooooooved the presentation of Andrew's Da Vinci gears. His potato, chicken, and pork sausage pies sounded really good. Nice that the apricots added some moisture. I'm with Mary though - I want filling to the top!

Candice was ambitious as always. She made two kinds of fillings, two kinds of pastries, and more pies than anyone else (Jane's rose had 16, Benjamina's sun had 12, Selasi's flower bouquet had 13, and Andrew's gears had 8). Her ox cheek and oyster pies sounded delicious and I liked her story behind her choice of that filling. I was a little worried about the texture of her macaroni and pancetta pies for the very reason that Paul stated (the texture of the macaroni combined with the texture of the pastry). I liked that the fish shape was different from the other roundish shapes that many of the other bakers did.

Selasi's presentation was simple but beautiful. The pies were a beautiful golden color and the red berries were a great contrast. His rabbit, pigeon, and venison pies sounded good so it's too bad that the pastry was a little too thick and undercooked. His pork and quail egg pies looked delicious. That was such a guy thing for him to poke steam holes in the tops of his pies with the end of a ballpoint pen!

I thought that Benjamina's Mexican pies might be too spicy for Paul and Mary so I'm glad that they liked it. The sun shape was a little iffy, but not any more than Jane's rose. The pasty looked a little undercooked even on the outside. When they cut one open and Paul remarked on how thick the top was, you could see that it wasn't cooked all the way through. But no, Paul, Spanish and Mexican aren't the same.

Paul's jumble biscuits looked pretty. Loved watching the bakers do math to divide their dough into 3/5 and 2/5. It was interesting to see how easily some of them worked out how to make the knot and others...did not. Poor Andrew thought that the diagram was to scale. Mel's explanations of the various meanings of the knots were hilarious too.

Benjamina's apple tree looked good but the maze looked more like green ground cover. I know she said the maze puffed up in the oven though. The maze pulled completely off the top of the cake too.

Jane's swan design was pretty good for as complicated as it looked, but there was nothing 3D about it to me. That was an almost entirely flat design on top of a square cake.

Andrew's honey ginger jousting knights was a cute idea but the knights looked a little too much like something a kid would make out of play-doh. The horses looked much better and I liked the geometric shape of his cake.

Loved all the symbolism and history in Selasi's crown, but it ended up looking a little too simple. I agree with Mary that more color would have helped.

Candice's blueberry peacock was the best looking showstopper this week. The outside was decorated well and I loved the ombre cake inside. The blueberries spilling out was a lovely surprise. Nadiya is not the only person who has ever made a peacock cake so I don't think that Candice copied Nadiya any more than Nadiya copied the MANY peacock cakes that were made before hers.

So happy for Candice! Not at all surprised that Benjamina was eliminated. She just didn't have a good week. Selasi needs to step up his game next week. As he pointed out, he's the only one of the final five who hasn't won star baker plus he was in the bottom this week. Cute that Selasi said Benjamina is like a sister to him and she's the only one who thinks he's funny. I think you're funny too, Selasi - call me!

[Danny Franks]

Sad to see Benjamina go, but again if it's a choice between her and Selasi, then whatever it takes for him to survive is fine. He just seems like such an awesome dude. Love that he did his Tudor research (even I myself am baffled by the obsession with them when there are so many more interesting figures in British history).

He was lucky, though, because his showstopper was rather underwhelming. Plain, even if historically relevant. In fact, I think all of them were underwhelming. Even Jane's, while pretty in design, was just a flat, decorated cake. But I don't think he'll survive next week. The others seem to be more consistent than him, and unless one of them has a disaster, I don't see him being able to pull it out at the end again.

I don't think Tudor week was an inspired theme because there's just not much there to get excited about. Henry VIII was famous for his gluttony (amongst other, even less savoury things), but the food wasn't exactly exciting. I mean, take those biscuits they made for the technical, they were incredibly dull looking, and I can't imagine they tasted particularly good either. Then there's marzipan, which is pretty revolting.

[halopub]

23 hours ago, tenativelyyours said:

I still want a show with Benjamina and Selasi.  Even more.  Not an instructional one, but maybe more of a lighthearted one that is one of those informative but not serious type of shows that explore the "how to" aspect.  Each week give them some really rare baked item and have them bake it while Mel and Sue go about telling us the history etc of the item being baked and then have Mary come in a show them how it should be done.

I've got to think that'd be a lot of fun and they wouldn't have to stick with just baking. Selasi apparently throws viewing parties every week for bake off, complete with a home theater and elaborate feasts.

[Amarsir]

On 10/13/2016 at 1:33 AM, dwarmed said:

And I would have been more impressed with Candice's peacock, had I not seen Nadiya make a chocolate peacock just last season and with much greater finesse.

Here they are for easy comparison:
 

Spoiler

 

 

I assume chocolate is a bit harder to work with than marzipan, and while ideas do occur to multiple people you probably should assume that everyone is familiar with the prior year's winner and avoid that comparison. But I don't know if I'd say Candice's peacock really suffers in comparison. They're both pretty impressive given their respective challenges.

[PepperMonkey]

Here we are almost to the end and I am so sad.

Even IF Mary, Mel and Sue do a baking show, I'm thinking it will have to be substantially different enough that it won't be GBBO. Of course, duh. I won't necessarily miss Paul and can see him easily replaced. I will miss the show exactly as it stands right now at this moment in time.

Sad to see Benjamina go, but as someone else said above, between her and Selasi, I'd choose Selasi. Of course, I would choose Selasi over any of them. Unless he pulls out all the stops and does fab work this week, I don't see him in the final. That will make me sad, also.

I could still see Jane, possibly, messing up enough to not make it. I don't mind Jane; in fact, I rather like her and therefore don't understand some of the hate that's been directed at her (NOT from anyone on ptv, but rather on social media), but I'll be fine if she leaves and she has had some stuff here and there that put her precariously on the edge.

Andrew and Candice both SEEM to be shoo-ins, so in my mind, it's definitely between Selasi and Jane.

Only 2 more shows. Waaaah!!!

[xqueenfrostine]

On 10/13/2016 at 0:33 AM, dwarmed said:

And I would have been more impressed with Candice's peacock, had I not seen Nadiya make a chocolate peacock just last season and with much greater finesse.

I was actually worried that I'd find her peacock boring after Nadiya's but I didn't.  Nadiya's peacock had a better overall shape, but I thought Candice's feathers were better.  The yellow Candace included in the design really made the colors pop, though I suspect she had an advantage color wise since she was working with marzipan instead of chocolate.

[shandy]

Like many, I will miss Benjamina's sunny personality and her laughing with Selasi. Andrew and Jane are a little self contained, so it has been hard to warm to them, although they have focus. The edits have made Andrew wallow in self pity and Jane come over as smug and competitive, but I think they are both deserving of their places.  Her not very 3d marchpane design was painstakingly authentic so I can see why it would have been difficult for Mary and Paul to criticize, as they were shackled to their tudor theme and my favorite food historian, Ruth Goodman, has leapt to her defense as well.  Andrew's gearwork was great, but even better was making it clear Sue would not be touching his mechanism. Not today Satan! I get the feeling friends and colleagues recognize  and value his perfectionism, but also have to indulge a hissy fit or two.  Which I love....if you're going to be difficult, be a diva.

Selasi and Candice are more roller coaster contestants, so the producers should be happy. I think Selasi is so interesting as for obvious reasons he has admitted to having little or no cultural memory for some of the recipes that they have to do, so has to research from a base of zero, and yet his instincts mean he delivers (mostly) and his artistic flair is obvious.

Of course Candice was going to do well in a 3d challenge - it's her thing.

Edited October 15, 2016 by shandy

[LittleIggy]

The look Paul gave Andrew when he saw those knights' equipment cracked me up. Looked more like the knights were having a pissing contest instead of a joust. ;-)

Sorry Benjamina is gone. Glad Candace got the star this week. The peacock was amazing.

[dgpolo]

Still says 'unaired in USA' so wasn't expecting spoilers. :(

[AZChristian]

12 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

The look Paul gave Andrew when he saw those knights' equipment cracked me up. Looked more like the knights were having a pissing contest instead of a joust. ;-)

Sorry Benjamina is gone. Glad Candace got the star this week. The peacock was amazing.

We were at the Tower of London and saw Henry VIII's armor.  Actually, the bottom of Andrew's lances looked a LOT like Henry's armor.  One doth not laugh at the king, no matter HOW big the king wants his jock strap.

[Sew Sumi]

23 minutes ago, dgpolo said:

Still says 'unaired in USA' so wasn't expecting spoilers. :(

These aren't spoilers. The mod didn't take off the tag today. The show has aired (in most markets) in the east/central time zones and will air on the west coast in about an hour and a half. 

[Driad]

Quote

Mel pops into Hampton Court to uncover how one sweet delicacy nearly enticed Queen Elizabeth I to marry.

My PBS station never shows segments like this, only the competition. Foo.

How much do the competitors know before the week’s baking starts? Apparently they at least knew the Tudor theme. Andrew said he had gone and bought a toy horse to use as a pattern. During the competition he would not have had time to do that.  Also, sometimes different competitors have different ingredients, which presumably they brought or requested.

[AZChristian]

The Tudor episode showed in Phoenix last week, and the Patisserie episode will be repeated tonight right before the season finale.  I'm so sad that it's already finale week.

[Primetimer]

The challenges are historical, but the bakers are still up on their currant events.

View the full article

[hendersonrocks]

Oh, Benjamina. I will miss you so! (And your delightful friendship with Selasi, too.)

I was fairly underwhelmed with all of the showstoppers - the peacock came closest to impressive, but all the leaves & misc. crap around the cake actually took away from it. Jane's LOOKED okay, but was decidedly not 3D, which I thought was part of the challenge?

Can't believe there are just two left. Sniff.

[Lovecat]

58 minutes ago, dgpolo said:

Still says 'unaired in USA' so wasn't expecting spoilers. :(

"Unaired in USA" means the thread is FULL of spoilers...for Americans!  This season aired in the UK last fall, and UK posters commented at that time. If you don't want spoilers, don't go into any thread that is labeled "unaired in USA."

[Rinaldo]

34 minutes ago, Driad said:

How much do the competitors know before the week’s baking starts? 

They know all the challenges for the whole season (except the Technicals, which are surprises) before the first week. They need to get their list of ingredient and equipment requirements to production well in advance (though they can bring items from home too). And they're more or less expected to practice their Signature and Showstopper at home during each week before they have to show up and bake them.

[Amethyst]

As much as I like Selasi, I would have sent him home over Benjamina.  It wasn't that Selasi had a good week, it was that Benjamina had a bad one, and I think she's a better baker overall.  This far in the competition, Selasi is still having problems with his timing.   Also, it looked like he kind of gave up around his showstopper, because it looked bland and underbaked.  

Jane has grown on me, and some of her faces are hilarious.  The side-eye she gave Paul as he inspected her signature (the pies) had me cackling.  Although I don't see her winning, I was glad she hung around this week.  She was tearful when Benjamina was eliminated, and I heard her say that "I didn't think it was going to be you!"  Aw.

I had completely forgotten about Nadiya's peacock vs. Candice's.  I would have to go with Nadiya's.  Candice's is more vibrant, but Nadiya's looks neater and more refined.  

[LittleIggy]

On 10/12/2016 at 11:59 PM, Badger said:

Does Andrew remind anyone else of Clay Aiken? 

No, perish the thought! He reminds me of Eddie Redmayne.

[GaT]

Glad tht Andrew is still safe, but I think it's going to come down to Jane & Candice & the winner will be whoever doesn't have a bad day.

[Brookside]

Why do people dislike Jane?  (This is the only forum I read.).  She has a good dry sense of humor, but is also invested and focused.

I always have favorites, but the only truly unpleasant contestant I can remember is Baked Alaska man.  (Also the only contestant to leave completely gracelessly.)

[mlp]

I've been wondering why people disliked Jane also.  She's been one of my favorites since the first episode.  I've been afraid to do any searching for information before the finale because I don't want to accidentally get spoiled like I did last season but I will when it's over.

I don't care for Candice and her constantly pulling faces but I have to admit that she deserved star baker this week.  Her peacock was one of the few creations this season that have approached the skill and creativity of previous contestants.

I figured Benjamina would go as soon as she announced that she was going to use Mexican flavors in a Tudor-inspired bake.  That made no sense and I wondered why she even considered doing so.  She might have got away with it if her final product had been outstanding.  But it wasn't and she knew it.

[biakbiak]

4 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

No, perish the thought! He reminds me of Eddie Redmayne.

He reminds me of Tilda Swinton.

[Broken Ox]

9 hours ago, Rinaldo said:

And they're more or less expected to practice their Signature and Showstopper at home during each week before they have to show up and bake them.

"What are we having for breakfast?"

"Oh, peacock again."

[J-Man]

If Andrew went to the trouble of making a mold for his horses, why couldn't he have done the same for his knights? The horses were picture-perfect, and the knights were a mess. The incongruity between the two figures was disconcerting.

[Rinaldo]

9 hours ago, Amethyst said:

As much as I like Selasi, I would have sent him home over Benjamina.  It wasn't that Selasi had a good week, it was that Benjamina had a bad one

That's enough. Comparison restarts each weekend, so if you have a bad week when nobody else has as bad a one, that's it for you.

[Mabinogia]

I am sad to see Benjamina go, but shallow enough to admit I'm glad I get at least one more episode of Selasi.

I have to admire Sue's commitment to the herbs up her nose joke. Selasi was almost willfully not looking up at her but she persisted. It was worth it. OMG that boys smile melts my cold, dead heart.

As much as I loathe Candace I do agree she deserved star baker this week. The peacock, though done before, was the closest thing we had to an actual show stopper. But I agree all that shrubbery takes away from the actual work, I've felt that about all her presentations though. I thought Andrews DaVinci cake would have been a great show stopper.

I'm really rooting for Andrew or Jane but I feel like the judges are heavily favoring Candace so this is really hers to lose at this point.

[illdoc]

Just wanted to say that my grandmother made marzipan every Thanksgiving. She would use food coloring and have bowls of different colored "dough" and made miniature fruits & vegetables (and the occasional rose) of different colors. Picture the size of candy wrappers. She would put about 3 pieces in each---apples, plums, pears, oranges, grapefruits, bunches of grapes, bunches of bananas, pumpkins, carrots, parsnips (at least that's what I think they were---looked like the carrots only in white (uncolored dough)), potatoes (take uncolored dough, make a oval about the size of a jelly bean, dip it in cocoa mix, use a toothpick to poke "eyes"), etc. We got about 10 wrappers worth in each of our boxes. They were (I guess) modern recipe marzipan and they were never in the oven.

[Mondrianyone]

What a wonderful gift!  When I was little, I thought that marzipan fruits and vegetables were so magical.  (I still do.)  I would've loved your grandmother, illdoc.

[meep.meep]

16 minutes ago, illdoc said:

Just wanted to say that my grandmother made marzipan every Thanksgiving. She would use food coloring and have bowls of different colored "dough" and made miniature fruits & vegetables (and the occasional rose) of different colors. Picture the size of candy wrappers. She would put about 3 pieces in each---apples, plums, pears, oranges, grapefruits, bunches of grapes, bunches of bananas, pumpkins, carrots, parsnips (at least that's what I think they were---looked like the carrots only in white (uncolored dough)), potatoes (take uncolored dough, make a oval about the size of a jelly bean, dip it in cocoa mix, use a toothpick to poke "eyes"), etc. We got about 10 wrappers worth in each of our boxes. They were (I guess) modern recipe marzipan and they were never in the oven.

I grew up in Germany and all the sweet shops are full of these.  Incredible modeling and coloring.  I hate the taste of marzipan so it was more a visual treat for me.

People dislike Jane?  She's one of my favorites.

It's getting strange watching the episodes with my daughter since Selasi is apparently each of our boyfriends.  He's moving up in the Technicals!

Andrew's knights were a big mistake.  But his gear machine with the pies was incredible.  And, then he didn't have to make so many pies.  Everyone else made about 20 - he only made 5 or 6.

[meep.meep]

On ‎10‎/‎13‎/‎2016 at 1:34 AM, DHDancer said:

Mary to Selasi: "Are the guinea fowl wild?"  Paul to Mary:  "They're livid"   An actual JOKE from Paul, hahahahhahaha

Can anyone explain why this is funny?  It makes no sense to me at all.

[AZChristian]

4 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

Can anyone explain why this is funny?  It makes no sense to me at all.

In British vernacular, "wild" can mean "very angry."  "Livid" is "furiously angry."  So using those definitions, Mary unintentionally asked if the guinea fowl were very angry.  Paul responded that they were FURIOUSLY angry.  

[andromeda331]

I loved all the Tudor jokes and jokes about what the knots meant. 

[meep.meep]

4 hours ago, AZChristian said:

In British vernacular, "wild" can mean "very angry."  "Livid" is "furiously angry."  So using those definitions, Mary unintentionally asked if the guinea fowl were very angry.  Paul responded that they were FURIOUSLY angry.  

I was afraid that was it because it isn't funny.  It's a D+ joke at best.

[AZChristian]

1 hour ago, meep.meep said:

I was afraid that was it because it isn't funny.  It's a D+ joke at best.

I don't disagree, but I love all things British, including bad jokes. And anything that makes Paul's blue eyes twinkle gets bonus points.

[jcbrown]

I thought Andrew's knights looked like the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters.

[truther]

I watch the episodes in the US, unspoiled, and then come here to read about them.  So I don't see any of the other chatter.  If the posts above are right, and people have a problem with Jane (or, frankly, any of the contestants) then that blows my mind.  Jane seems wonderful!  Plus she's a great addition to this TV show, since she really wears her emotions on her sleeve.  She looked shattered the one challenge she got wrong this week and looked thrilled after the others.  

 

While I also agree that the technical challenge results looked, well, blah, and the showstoppers were a mixed bag, I thought the pies looked phenomenal.  One of those times I really wished I'd been there to eat that stuff myself.  

 

Sorry to see Benjamina go and it could easily have been Selasi.  Not surprised at all to see Candice win and she really seemed to deserve it.  And as @ElectricBoogaloo noted above, people have been copying the peacock idea forever.  The finished product still has to look and taste great and hers did.  

[LittleIggy]

Why would anyone dislike Jane?

[starri]

Does the previous season air prior to the next one being filmed?

Because, and not to take anything away from Candice's showstopper, it was exactly the same as Nadiya's tempered chocolate peacock.  Like, almost the tail was almost identical, down to the colors.  Which isn't to say Candice's wasn't well put together, the actual cake looked terrific, but it really bugged me, and I don't even have the hatred for her that people on both sides of the pond seem to.

The judging only being based on a current week's bakes is really a double-edged sword, isn't it?  Because Benjamina had an ever-so-slightly worse week than Selasi, but she's been stronger overall.  And honestly, the only thing that really would have edged her down was her doing just a tiny bit worse on the Technical; I actually thought his Showstopper was weaker.

[Jesse]

Someone put the two pictures under a cut above, and I have to say, they looked the same in that they both....looked like peacocks. Down to the colors.

[chaifan]

1 hour ago, Jesse said:

Someone put the two pictures under a cut above, and I have to say, they looked the same in that they both....looked like peacocks. Down to the colors.

Actually, when you're able to compare the two side-by-side (thank you Amarsir) the color schemes aren't even that close.  Except for the blue body - and as we can see, they call it "peacock blue" for a reason - there is quite a bit of difference between the two.  Contrary to Starri, I think the tails were totally different, in concept and design, and while they both shared the peacock blue and a similar green, the overall coloring was quite different mostly due to Nadiya's use of the brown chocolate as the base for each feather.  I think each was beautiful and very cleverly constructed, but I don't think - other than being peacocks - there is enough similarity to accuse Candice of stealing Nadiya's idea.  Did Candice see Nadiya's season and go "ooh, I want to make a peacock, too!"?  I don't know.  It's certainly not a reach to do a peacock cake for a Tudor theme.  Now, if the next season has someone making moving gears out of donuts or tarts, I think it's safe to assume Andrew was the inspiration.  :) 

[Mabinogia]

Given how showy Candace is, I'm not at all surprised she'd pick a peacock. It is very her. I was reminded of Nadiya's only in that someone before has done a peacock on the show. I'm okay with the repeat as I do think Candace did different things with hers, like the layered cake colors on the inside. I wasn't nearly as impressed with the big pile of blueberries in the middle as the judges seemed. All I could think of was how the judges always complain about someone's filling all gathering at the bottom of the cake.

I loved Andrews Davinci gears. Such a creative way to work his engineering background into his baking. Loved it! Love Andrew. Love Jane too. I wasn't too sure about her in the very beginning. But her personality really does shine. Maybe it took her a bit to be comfortable in the setting, totally understandable, but I love her sense of humor and how she balances taking this as a serious competition but being really happy for others when they get praise.

I am going to miss Benjamina and Selasi's banter. They really were like brother and sister and were a highlight of this season for me.