Season Three Episode Talk

[NYGirl]

I think Matt screwed up every single one (except the one he won) of the first challenges.  He was getting to be a Debbie Downer for sure   Jason's voice still annoys me but I guess I'll root for him to win since he's the only home baker.

[camom]

What the heck was Cheryl doing last night?  Her Christmas stockings didn't look like anything recognizable.  She has been so good at the details in the past, but I just didn't see it this time.  None of the cream puff trees looked all that great to me.

I wish they would (a) give them more time so that they can do their best work, and (b) not add another element in the middle of the challenge.  Just let them show what they can do.

[GaT]

13 hours ago, Mittengirl said:

Lackluster is a very good word for the items produced tonight.  I can't figure out why they had such trouble with the stocking challenge - cut a cookie or cake into a stocking shape and decorate it.  I think they all should have been much better.  And I couldn't figure out why Jason couldn't cut out an elf-stocking shape freehand. 

I think the simplicity of it was the problem. They probably felt that a plain decorated stocking was too simple, so they all overthought their ideas.

[Maverick]

17 hours ago, DeLurker said:

Watched for the first time tonight- thought Nancy Fuller was Paula Deen. 

 No, just who FN replaced her with.

3 hours ago, camom said:

What the heck was Cheryl doing last night?  

 Well, now she can't use that "I can't make something ugly line anymore.

 I thought for sure they were going to bend it so Matt could stay.  When Lorraine said his smoke tasted like cigarettes and Nancy liked it I thought she was angling for him to stay. 

[Hero]

So glad that Matt is gone. Why they kept him so long, I have no idea. He was terrible in 99% of the challenges. I also disliked him from the first episode when he said something about being a softie because people wouldn't think so because he has a beard.

Does anyone else think Bobby is pretty cute? His Cheshire cat grin is kind of creepy, but he's not bad looking. He looks like he has a really nice body. 

[LazyToaster]

On 12/12/2016 at 11:02 AM, Maya said:

I love Jason!

Side note: I wonder how old he is. I think his hair may be misleading. He has a very youthful face. 

Me too - he just cracks me up - the expressions on his face are so earnest sometimes.  I think his face is youthful too - I bet he's under 40 and just balding early.  But -- my disclaimer is that the older I get the younger everyone else looks to me -- so there's that. 

[camom]

According to this, Jason is 39 years old.

[mlp]

20 minutes ago, camom said:

 

According to this, Jason is 39 years old.

 

I've been pulling for Jason all along but now I hope even more that he wins.  He sounds like a great guy.  

I wonder what an apple stack pie is.  Never heard of it.

[TheFinalRose]

I actually liked Sean's tree the best because it looked like a tree from Whoville with the way it was tilting over, except the green apple filling didn't sound too good to me. I am glad that Jason made it to the finals and I can see them just giving him the win if he doesn't blow it because he is such a quirky character and a good creative baker as well. I can see them trotting him out on Food Network in other circumstances because he certainly was the most entertaining thing about this year's competition. 

I thought Cheryl's coal on her stockin was too reminiscent of animal droppings .... 

Bye, bye Matt! Despite your talent, timed competitions are not your thing. 

[backgroundnoise]

On 12/12/2016 at 9:46 AM, Frost said:

It's funny that he's [Jason] the only one who used a tool to make his tree shape and it turned into a column instead!

Except that the tool he used were stacked sugar ice-cream cones.  When you stack them, you get a column, with a tiny cone at the top.  Not really a great idea to make a tree.  I also thought is was kinda cheating to have something to anchor the cream puffs on other than themselves.

I like all three remaining and would be okay with any of them winning.  Jason and Cheryl I think did better overall, though, than Shawne.

[jcbrown]

On 12/12/2016 at 11:28 AM, camom said:

I wish they would (a) give them more time so that they can do their best work, and (b) not add another element in the middle of the challenge.  Just let them show what they can do.

I wish the same thing.

Jason was driving me crazy with his over-the-top folksiness last night until he actually called what they were making by its correct name, a croquembouche. Come on, FN, it won't hurt to occasionally try to teach people something. It's not a Christmas tree tower or whatever dumbass name whichever Deen brother that is was calling it.

Edited December 14, 2016 by jcbrown

[TheFinalRose]

Quote

According to this, Jason is 39 years old.

According to the article, they filmed this in April! What a long time to wait to cash in on the $50,000 for the winner.

[Texasmom1970]

He might not be the best baker but I am glad Kentucky home baker is still on the show. I live for his silly sayings and one liners in his strong southern accent.

[Ilovecomputers]

I think Duff wants Cheryl to win. Maybe FN wants Colonel Cornpone--er, Jason, to replace Paula Deen. 

The kids' baking show is coming up. How does Valerie Bertinelli--an actress--wind up as a judge and a cook on these shows?  Sheesh. 

[mlp]

Valerie is a known foodie and also has at least one published cookbook.  I really like her and enjoy her interacting with Duff and with kids.

[justjen]

On ‎12‎/‎5‎/‎2016 at 2:38 PM, stitcher73 said:

I just hope Matt isn't the new Damiano.   I really don't want him popping up on every show.   

Inspiration for a cross-over with FN and Travel Channel:

Send Matt and Damiano to that island that Josh Gates had to be helicoptered into but with no cameras and then check up on them every year or so.

[penbrat]

22 hours ago, mlp said:

Valerie is a known foodie and also has at least one published cookbook.  I really like her and enjoy her interacting with Duff and with kids.

Yes, I love her interaction with Duff and the kids also.   Makes the show fun

20 hours ago, justjen said:

Inspiration for a cross-over with FN and Travel Channel:

Send Matt and Damiano to that island that Josh Gates had to be helicoptered into but with no cameras and then check up on them every year or so.

Yes, FN needs to quit trying to make Damiano happen.  He is a sourpuss and is very annoying

[LazyToaster]

I'm not a big Damiano fan either - I know it probably isn't - but, his accent just sounds fake sometimes.  

[Hero]

1 hour ago, LazyToaster said:

I'm not a big Damiano fan either - I know it probably isn't - but, his accent just sounds fake sometimes.  

It does!! I feel like he over exaggerates his accent because people make a big deal over it. All the women "swoon" over him because of his accent. 

[JasmineFlower]

Watched this for the first time. I can't see watching often as long as Lorraine stays around. She seems so stuck up and unhappy, and she was whispering under her breath and rolling her eyes. It seems like she's attempting to be a Simon Cowell type in baking competitions (nitpicking about snowflakes not having all sides seemed like a way to criticize something that looked pretty good). It feels wildly out of place here from the other cooking competitions shows I've watched that are more on this scale. I like Duff and Nancy, and Bobby seems like a good host. But Lorraine seems like she tries to make her presence known on the judging table whether it's necessary or not.

So, did I catch a bad episode? Or does she always come off this haughty? Is she a regular judge on FN competitions now?

Also, to add to the Valerie discussion - she has had a Food Network show since last year. I also thought she was great with the kids on the baking championships.

Edited December 17, 2016 by JasmineFlower

[tessaforever]

I actually like Lorraine, and I appreciate her comments. I don't mind if they veer negative - it helps balance out Duff and Nancy. Also, Google Lorraine and read up on her life story - boy, has she been through a lot, and she's a super strong person. I guess that helps me understand her personality. 

Whoa, Matt was on for way too long! It bugs so much when a contestant can't just take the judges' advice - all 3 of them told him, numerous times, to stop doing ridiculous, fiddly stuff (as the extra time spent is never justified and only adversely affects the final product) and right up until the end, he was doing stupid things to his baked goods. Ugh. 

[mlp]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I guess.  I don't find Lorraine stuck up at all.  She was anything but on the Worst Bakers show with Duff.  I think possibly her British accent may come across as haughty to an American ear.  OTOH I can't stand Nancy Fuller.  She always seems to me to be competing to be the center of attention.  She thinks she's cute and knows everything.  I'd much rather have Valerie Bertinelli who is nice and works well with Duff.

[BW Manilowe]

I had to laugh (& I'm surprised nobody else caught it before me, though I just caught it today in the repeat) when Cheryl (Sheryl?) said, regarding her Croquembouche, "My balls won't drop like Bobby's did." It was at some point after Jason described the filling in his, but before Bobby gave him the tempered chocolate for his topper.

[toolazy]

I, too, was really irked by the show calling those things "Christmas towers" or whatever.   My pet peeve is when television shows treat their audiences like they're stupid and lazy.

[WaitForMe]

1 hour ago, BW Manilowe said:

I had to laugh (& I'm surprised nobody else caught it before me, though I just caught it today in the repeat) when Cheryl (Sheryl?) said, regarding her Croquembouche, "My balls won't drop like Bobby's did." It was at some point after Jason described the filling in his, but before Bobby gave him the tempered chocolate for his topper.

I saw that!  And then they showed Bobby with a goofy look on his face.  

[Christina]

This was a series where I would have been happy with any of them winning, because all three seem to have earned it. 

I like and enjoy Duff's contribution to the show, and can take of leave Nancy, but really don't enjoy Lorraine on any show. The first time I saw her on something, I thought that she was the person selected to be the super negative judge, nitpicking about everything; only to have it turn out that she is that way on every show she is on. I have literally rolled my eyes on some of her critiques, because of the wording she uses.

She can be quite insufferable, but no where near as insufferable as I find Erin Toodles Smooches  who is going to be on a special episode of this next week. On top of that, there will be kids cooking, and I don't typically enjoy watching kids compete, so it makes it easier for me to skip it and just read here. I vote we send Erin to the island with Damiano. 

[Mrs. P.]

Congratulations, Jason. My husband and I were rooting for you to win.  Your elf workshop cake was beautiful, certainly the best of the three.

[tessaforever]

6 minutes ago, Mrs. P. said:

Congratulations, Jason. My husband and I were rooting for you to win.  Your elf workshop cake was beautiful, certainly the best of the three.

I thought he was super annoying at first, but I guess he kind of grew on me. His cake was by FAR the best of the three - I really feel like Cheryl, especially, did not step up the way she could have. Her cake seemed like a paler version of Maeve's winning cake from last season. Wasn't that also about a sleigh ride? Although I guess Cheryl was given that theme by the show. 

Yay to not having gingerbread houses as the final challenge!

[mlp]

I just loved Jason and I'm thrilled that he won.  I liked Shawn (sp?) a lot also but his cake was boring with all the white.  I didn't care for Cheryl all along so I was afraid she'd get the win for her flavors.  Glad she didn't.  

I don't know what the prize is for next week's special episode but I'm sure it's less than 50K.  I'll be interested to see how Jason does without so much pressure on him.  I'd like to think he'll be more relaxed but Erin may drive him up the wall.

[Irlandesa]

I'm happy for Jason too.  I was worried when he decided to do another cake because that rarely turns out well. I expected to see frosting dripping or something.  I did think his cake did look to be the most festive and I loved how he used the 7 minute frosting for snow.  I did have a hard time believing Duff had never had a 7-minute frosting before, though.  While it's not as commonly used as buttercream or cream cheese frosting, it's pretty common on coconut cakes.  My grandma used to use it all the time on her angel food as well and she/we are not from the South.  It's one of the few frostings I can stand.

I did enjoy the little fight they got into over whether or not the cake was dry.  I find coconut cakes can be a little on the dry side.  A sugar syrup would make it too sweet, IMO.  I bet Duff and Nancy were accurate on the texture being what it should be.  I'm okay with Lorraine preferring something with more moisture but not that the texture was inherently wrong.

I think Cheryl would actually make a good calming food network TV show host and if she had been on Food Network Star, I might've rooted for her.  But in this format, she kind of bugged.  Her sleigh was cute but incorporating her daughter who is too young to even know irked me. I do want to try Shaun's cake.  It looked yummy.

[LittleIggy]

I'm glad Jason won. He grew on me,too. "Eye-talian" cracked me up. My mother makes that 7 minute frosting when she makes a coconut cake.

[GaT]

I would have been OK with any of them winning, but it's nice that the home baker was the one who ultimately did.

[Refresh]

The first few episodes I doubted Jason had the skills to win, but he just kept getting better and more creative, but not too weird, as the show went on. His cake was the clear winner for me visually.  Well deserved. 

For the most part I really like Cheryls aesthetic, and her bakes sound like they taste great, but she underwhelmed on the final cake. I might have preferred she not add those pink green flowers and kept it super minimal white but with more snow/frosting. 

Overall a good final 3 though. 

[Mama No Life]

Agreed.  If the idea was to be 'clean', as Duff kept saying, then the flowers were out of place.  Nancy was right....it looked like a wedding cake with a sleigh. 

My mother in law makes those eye-talian cream cakes, and the sponge indeed is intended to be less moist than the typical cake.  It annoyed me that Lorraine either didn't know this or knew and kept arguing. 

And while I'm really glad Jason won, Duff was right about his cake looking like it was about to cave in. If it was intentional I don't remember him saying so as he was building, but you never know with editing.

[TheFinalRose]

I was happy for Jason as his cake was so whimsical and creative. Those little quirky elf profiles in the window were adorable, plus despite the fact that they made it seem there was less than a minute to go and his cake had little decoration on it, in the end his was the one that had the most going on. The addition of the Christmas trees and the candy canes filled the theme out. Meanwhile Shawne and Cheryl, who seemed as if they were well under control time-wise, just whiffed on adding color to their design. Cheryl's cake could have benefitted from some red or green piping around the cake layers. But she never was able to get a deep red color in her icing/frosting/flowers anyway, which confuses me. Is it that hard to get a true Christmas red or green food-coloring wise? If I had to choose I would have liked a slice of Jason's cake first, then Shawne's and not really Cheryl's. Chocolate and peppermint to me is good in small doses, but not for a whole slice of cake.

Anyway, a good final three and a fun winner.  

[Frost]

Jason's cake looked the most festive by far.  I loved his idea of doing the elf profiles in the workshop windows.  I hated his "Eye-talian" schtick.  I can't imagine watching anything else he would be on, because I'm sure that's now part of his 'lovable persona' and it will be ramped up 1000 times.

I couldn't believe that was all Cheryl could produce in 5 hours.  Minimalist is one thing, but she's shown herself to be a beautiful decorator in the past and all she had time for was one sleigh and a little girl?  I wonder if she had some problems that weren't shown.

Shawne.  Sigh.  His theme, that he personally picked out, was a snowman FAMILY.  He made one ginormous snowman, out of rice krispie treats.  It wasn't even part of his cake!  The comments about scale were spot on.  How did he think the one tiny tree and the massive snowman looked good?

The dumbing down of constructive critiques in favor of 'drama' annoys me to no end.  "It's too salty" Nancy rolls her eyes.  "It's not salty enough"  Nancy rolls her eyes.  "I didn't get peanuts" Lorraine smirks.  I would love to hear honest to goodness professional bakers talk about flavor profiles and how to ensure ingredients are evenly distributed, etc.  But no.  Eyes rolling so hard they practically pop out of someone's head is so much more entertaining.

They gave away the ending by showing the all star episode during the final break.  Jason was clearly visible.

[Ilovecomputers]

12 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I think Cheryl would actually make a good calming food network TV show host and if she had been on Food Network Star, I might've rooted for her.  But in this format, she kind of bugged.  Her sleigh was cute but incorporating her daughter who is too young to even know irked me. I do want to try Shaun's cake.  It looked yummy.

Plus her "daughter" looked like a green blob. The cake looked yummy, though. 

Shawn's snowman looked scary with teeth and arms extended. I thought there was red on the side too. It looked like blood. Must have been some snowball fight. 

Edited December 19, 2016 by Ilovecomputers

[AlliePK]

On 12/17/2016 at 2:19 PM, JasmineFlower said:

Watched this for the first time. I can't see watching often as long as Lorraine stays around. She seems so stuck up and unhappy, and she was whispering under her breath and rolling her eyes. It seems like she's attempting to be a Simon Cowell type in baking competitions (nitpicking about snowflakes not having all sides seemed like a way to criticize something that looked pretty good). It feels wildly out of place here from the other cooking competitions shows I've watched that are more on this scale. I like Duff and Nancy, and Bobby seems like a good host. But Lorraine seems like she tries to make her presence known on the judging table whether it's necessary or not.

So, did I catch a bad episode? Or does she always come off this haughty? Is she a regular judge on FN competitions now?

 

On 12/18/2016 at 1:51 AM, mlp said:

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I guess.  I don't find Lorraine stuck up at all.  She was anything but on the Worst Bakers show with Duff.  I think possibly her British accent may come across as haughty to an American ear.  OTOH I can't stand Nancy Fuller.  She always seems to me to be competing to be the center of attention.  She thinks she's cute and knows everything.  I'd much rather have Valerie Bertinelli who is nice and works well with Duff.

I like Lorraine and can't stand Nancy.  Totally to each his/her own.  Nancy always seems like she makes comments JUST to one up Lorraine.

[cdp73]

4 hours ago, Frost said:

I couldn't believe that was all Cheryl could produce in 5 hours.  Minimalist is one thing, but she's shown herself to be a beautiful decorator in the past and all she had time for was one sleigh and a little girl?  I wonder if she had some problems that weren't shown.

 

She made such a big deal about the sides being so smooth and then her sleigh ramp looked like crap.  She needed some trees or something around it so that it would appear to be going through a forest.

All of the cakes were white, white, white but Jason's had the most detail and thankfully, his trees added much needed color.

[penbrat]

So glad Jason won.    Loved the look of his cake.  Cheryl's entire concept was a hot mess but her cake seemed like it would be the yummiest.   Not sure if I will watch the special next week - as much as I like Jason I cannot stand Erin or Maive (sp?)  

Edited December 19, 2016 by penbrat

[dewelar]

First of all, I was very happy with the outcome. Jason's cake was the coolest thing I've seen on any of these shows, I think, and was certainly -- to put it in the judges' terms -- the most festive of the three. Cheryl's was...not, although I did think the little girl figure was cute. Shawne did what Shawne has done all season, which was not particularly stand out one way or the other. I think he was only here because Amber crashed and burned a couple weeks ago. He seems like a really sweet guy, but I think he was slightly out of his league. Still, I'm very glad he outlasted Matt.

My major complaint, though, is that for the first time since I started watching this show, the judges started to bother me. It really seemed like they were playing up the needling this week -- especially Nancy -- and I couldn't tell if it was for show or if they were really getting annoyed with each other. I usually don't mind the bickering, because it generally has felt light-hearted in the past, but this week it felt like it crossed the line into sniping territory, and it was NOT a good look. Even Duff felt like he was ramped up a little. It was almost enough to ruin an otherwise fun finale.

Next week should be interesting. I usually stay far away from the kid versions of these shows, but I'm willing to give this a shot.

[Wings]

Cheryl would have won, no contest, had she let loose with her mad skills.  Jason won by default.  His cake was the best among 3 mediocre cakes.

I don't like Nancy either and love Lorraine.

[tessaforever]

3 hours ago, wings707 said:

Cheryl would have won, no contest, had she let loose with her mad skills.  Jason won by default.  His cake was the best among 3 mediocre cakes.

I'm trying to figure out what held Cheryl back - was it making too many layers, which was super time-consuming but didn't add to the look of the finished product? Did she spend too much time frosting the "slope" that the sleigh was supposed to go down? Because there's no reason that her finished cake should have been anything less than Martha Stewart worthy. 

[Wings]

I agree. I thought she was going to make a cake in the shape of a sleigh when it started. 

[Frost]

28 minutes ago, wings707 said:

I agree. I thought she was going to make a cake in the shape of a sleigh when it started. 

Yes, with petit fours for presents.  I'm kind of flabbergasted at how much time she spent on such a plain design.

[tobeannounced]

6 hours ago, cdp73 said:

She made such a big deal about the sides being so smooth and then her sleigh ramp looked like crap.  She needed some trees or something around it so that it would appear to be going through a forest.

Trees would have been a great idea.  I too am flummoxed on what happened to her.  I was so hoping she would make it to the final so we could see what she could do with a good amount of time.  She was able to pull out elaborate decorations in a short time frame all throughout the competition, but all she could do in five hours was a sleigh and a so-so little girl?

[Thalia]

I didn't think that Shawn's "advantage" was all that advantageous.  He got to assign the cake's theme.  Big deal.  It isn't like he got to, for example, assign Jason a German chocolate cake, or mandate that Cheryl had to bake four and twenty blackbirds into hers.  I would have been asking for my extra thirty minutes or fifteen minutes of Duff's help or something really useful if I'd been him.  

Nonetheless, as I was #TeamJason, I was fine with this.  And, of course, YMMV. 

[carrps]

Jason was dead to me with the eye-talian crack. Really turned me off. He was starting to grow on me, too. Ugh.

Can't stand Nancy. I never trust her opinion. I feel that Duff and Lorraine are giving their honest opinions. Nancy just boosts whichever contestant is her fav. And Jason was obviously her fav. It was obvious his cake was wonky. And the elf shoes? Barf.

[Irlandesa]

11 hours ago, dewelar said:

Even Duff felt like he was ramped up a little.

I think there is one truth to this show and that is that if there's a disagreement, Lorraine and Nancy will be on opposite sides of it.  Sometimes Duff agrees with Lorraine.  Other times he agrees with Nancy.  But I can't recall a time where it has been Lorraine and Nancy against Duff.  That said, I do think it's generally respectful but I did think things got a bit heated between Duff and Lorraine over the texture to Jason's cake.  Even Nancy looked a bit uncomfortable.

4 hours ago, Thalia said:

I didn't think that Shawn's "advantage" was all that advantageous.  He got to assign the cake's theme.

It wasn't but there have been similar "advantages" in the past.  I actually prefer that the final advantage wasn't a huge advantage.  It lets the final be more even.

[tobeannounced]

10 hours ago, carrps said:

Jason was dead to me with the eye-talian crack. Really turned me off. He was starting to grow on me, too. Ugh.

I think that pronunciation is a regional thing.  I don't think he meant any disrespect.  I know people from different parts of the US that pronounce "Italian" with a long i sound at the beginning.