Season Three Talk: Spring Baking Championship

[cherrypj]

Season 3 starts with two episodes on Sunday, 12 March, at 9 and 10p. 

[niklj]

Interesting...where did Bobby Deen go? Also who is this new host? He was rather blah--as much as I didn't like Bobby, he did add a cringey-funny edge to the show. How come Food Network don't hire women hosts?

Edited March 13, 2017 by niklj

[KLovestoShop]

I have never been able to stand Jesse Palmer.  Just another boring pretty boy.  He was also on the Bachelor, so take that for what it's worth.   So far, I like the contestants---no one is obnoxious-----yet.   Who's afraid of bunnies, and why would you think bunnies are creepy?  

After watching the second episode, Heather is a real bitch.  She was mean to her teammate and threw her under the bus.  And if these women are going to do nothing but drool over Palmer, I'm gonna barf.  Geeze, grow up.  This is a baking show, not match dot com. 

Edited March 13, 2017 by KLovestoShop

[LittleIggy]

I didn't know who Jesse Palmer was so I just took him as eye candy. Miss Bobby though.

Speaking of eye candy, Jordan and Adam are hot! Likable too.

Yeah, why on earth would anyone think bunnies are creepy? I wanted to reach through the tv screen and grab a piece of that carrot cake. I freaking adore carrot cake!

[mlp]

I didn't mind Jesse Palmer although he seems a bit smarmy.  However, I much prefer Bobby Deen.  I'd love to know why he's not hosting this season.

I took an instant dislike to Courtney and nothing she did changed my mind.  The rest of them seem fine.  I especially like Fausto and Adam.  

I wish they had replaced Nancy Fuller instead of Bobby.  She has an unpleasant, nasty streak and I just can't stand her.

[Psychobunny]

These were the best contestants they could get? The decorations were seriously bad and not one person made a filled doughnut. 

[Thalia]

8 hours ago, niklj said:

he did add a cringey-funny edge to the show.

Amen.  Not!Bobby's attempts to tell the same jokes just fell flat.  I agree that this group's efforts were below par.   And I wonder how well they really tasted.  I thought the judges looked a little green sometimes while trying the efforts. 

[LizBug]

9 hours ago, niklj said:

 How come Food Network don't hire women hosts?

Two reasons:  

More women in the viewing audience; we need eye candy.

The "hostess with the mostest" could be Tregaye!

[LennieBriscoe]

DallasGypsy, And wouldn't that just be so FLEEK?! :-P

I swear, the "kids" were better bakers! I'd like to have seen Cole's Easter Bunny cake!

I'm waiting for the Jesse-Jordan bromance to blossom.

[justjen]

10 hours ago, KLovestoShop said:

I have never been able to stand Jesse Palmer.  Just another boring pretty boy.  He was also on the Bachelor, so take that for what it's worth.  

I was giving him credit for experience as having eaten food before, but from what I understand Bachelor contestants never eat so there goes that theory!

 

I also don't understand the rationale behind someone deciding that serving off of cardboard is a good idea. Or being surprised at the complexity of the challenges. I mean, the episodes are probably available online or on demand somewhere so one could watch and do a little research beforehand. I also lovelovelove that when Heather threw her teammate under the bus, they did everything not to use the phrase "under the bus." Did anyone else notice that?

[Madding crowd]

Wasn't this the first episodes? People are talking about two episodes so I must have missed one. I think bunny cakes are hard to make without a mold. I wonder what happened to Bobby-he kind of grew on me as a host. No favorites yet among the contestants. 

[Rammchick]

Jesse Palmer is also an anchor on Good Morning America and showed up recently as a judge on The Worst Cooks in America finale.  Apparently FN is trying to make him happen. 

[joanne3482]

1 hour ago, Madding crowd said:

Wasn't this the first episodes? People are talking about two episodes so I must have missed one. I think bunny cakes are hard to make without a mold. I wonder what happened to Bobby-he kind of grew on me as a host. No favorites yet among the contestants. 

They showed two episodes back to back. The first episode had the birds nests and bunny cakes and then the second had them working in teams with a tropical fruit and then creating donuts and decorating them based on a vacation theme like Vegas or the beach.

On the donut thing, I've never heard of a decorated donut like they seemed to be looking for so that seemed dumb to me honestly. And while I don't really like Samirah for inexplicable reasons (actually because of the fact we've already heard about her carpal tunnel issue and fear that it will be an ongoing theme, and in reality the producers probably asked her about it so I'm being completely unfair), I liked how hers were more evocative of the challenge rather than a red circle with white stripes to represent the pool rescue buoy.   

[Hero]

I miss Bobby. I thought those words would never come out out of my mouth, but I thought he was fun. 

[jcbrown]

Samirah and Heather can leave anytime.

ETA: Nancy Fuller really had the bronzer cranked up to 11 on the first episodes. Not a normal skin tone. Dial it back.

Edited March 13, 2017 by jcbrown

[Frost]

The donut challenge was idiotic and the 'decorations' were awful.  Most of these people are professional bakers and can't decorate?  Very underwhelmed so far.

[Ilovecomputers]

I realize it was my choice to watch two episodes back to back, but those two hours seemed like an entire evening, in part because there seemed to be about 50 contestants. I like two of the contestants but I can't remember their names--the bald elementary school principal and the tall guy who made the really cool looking key lime tart with the woman partner. Key Lime Guy seems talented, calm, collected--probably boring by FN standards. 

Didn't like the bossy short woman who ordered the older man around as if he was her sous chef and carpal tunnel woman who offered nothing constructive to say when working with the woman who wears a flower on the side a lot. (They even showed a photo of her with her mom and she had the same flower.  Maybe it's permanent.). She had plenty of criticism, though, when things went south. I was surprised Flower Girl didn't use the blast chiller. That seems like Food Network 101. Everyone's donuts seemed to have blue skies and sand. I'm not sure how I would have conveyed mountain hideaway. 

Don't like carrot cake but that looked tasty, and so did the cake with raspberries. I'm grown weary of Duff, Nancy and Lorraine. Food Network seems inbred to me. They just recycle the same people on all of their shows. Good grief, I saw Mark from Chopped on Guys Grocery Games. 

[KLovestoShop]

This group seems to have questionable talent. Never thought I'd say this, but the kids had more baking talent than these adults.  I do like the principal but Heather and the girl who drools over Palmer can go away

[Irlandesa]

7 hours ago, Suzy123 said:

I miss Bobby. I thought those words would never come out out of my mouth, but I thought he was fun. 

The best description I can think of for the jokes on this show is that they're "dad jokes."  Lame and groan worthy but delivering them with an awareness of that fact can make them work in spite of their silliness.  Bobby had that tone.  Heck, I think even Cameron Mathieson had that tone when I saw him on the "Grandmas" show.  Jesse Palmer does not have that tone. And the last thing I want is the "host is sooo handsome" storyline that this series seems to think we need since it keeps appearing.

[GaT]

I just finished watching both episodes, & the decorating was a little....yuck, IMO. I especially didn't like the donut decorations, who wants a ton of frosting/fondant on a donut?

5 hours ago, Ilovecomputers said:

They even showed a photo of her with her mom and she had the same flower.  Maybe it's permanent

LOL, some families have the same eye color, some have the same hair color, some have flowers growing out of the sides of their heads. 

[Maya]

I am mesmerized by how wide Duff opens his mouth to take a bite of food. I know women do it so they won't ruin their lipstick. Lol

[Crucial]

Please just have Bobby Dean.  Enough of the bland replacements.  I find this host annoying and the fact he was on the Bachelor cements my annoyance.  Bobby Dean has the needed vibe with the judges and he can play off them with the contestants.  Only one contestant annoys me and it's the Blonde who won the first challenge.  She mugs way too much for the camera so I hope she goes home soon.  I don't think she is as good as she think she is.

[backgroundnoise]

That donut challenge was just odd.  They weren't even donuts, they were cake.  It all seemed about the decorations.  Fondant looks good but tastes terrible.

[CherZ]

The host is far too "pretty" without any talent. He's the new Damiano with a more discernible speech pattern.

Unlike everybody else, I like the blonde. She's a bit overbearing but seems nice. Samirah cheesed me off. I wanted to like her but she had issues. Bunnies are creepy? She can't work with other people? And those mountain view donuts?

It's just okay, no real crazy talent this season but I'll probably still watch.

[Darian]

I miss Bobby Deen, too. Before season one, I wouldn't have thought I'd like him, but I did, and almost immediately.

The contestants don't seem very skilled. Mostly nice, but apparently average bakers. 

I swear Mark's bunny cake was almost exactly the same design I made for the first time when I was 11 (in 1972) and outgrew a couple of years later.  That thing has been around forever.

I noticed in the second episode, the judges seemed to abandon their objections to certain spices as not spring-like. Way too much else to criticize. 

[Maverick]

 The host is awful.   Why have a football player host a baking show?  And stop with the he's so hot crap.  Some people can pull off the scruffy look.  He is not one of them.  

 I was not impressed with the guy who said he planned on being the hottest guy there until he saw the host.  Seriously dude?  No.  Just no.   You're not the hottest one there but he's not the reason.   He reminds me of Matt the full of himself hipster from the Christmas show.

 Speaking of the Christmas show, that seems to be where they put all the talented bakers.  The Halloween show this year had a really low level of quality too,

[Refresh]

As someone who watches the Bachelor, Jesse is most famous for 2 things on that show. 1) Forgetting the name of one of the women he wanted to give a rose to on the first night. 2) Not proposing to his final pick. I can't hate on #2 but the name forgetting is pretty bad. But I didn't watch Jesse's season (for the era, it was considered stunt-casting which put me off). I find him bland.

I think the time constraints of this show can challenge good bakers, but I agree that this batch of bakers is not real strong. I think they're trying to narrow the skill level between the home bakers and the pros to allow more TV moments like "Mr. Garrison" winning the Holiday baking show.

[kj4ever]

On 3/13/2017 at 11:13 AM, Rammchick said:

Jesse Palmer is also an anchor on Good Morning America and showed up recently as a judge on The Worst Cooks in America finale.  Apparently FN is trying to make him happen. 

Well maybe we'll get a break from them trying to make that Italian dude that lost his series happen....Domiano?  Something or other.  I don't get that at all.

I don't mind Jesse, but that's probably because I HATE BOBBY DEAN.  Honestly I FF through most of this show anyway, so at least the dude is easy on the eyes.  

Flower girl can go home.  I hate people that point fingers.

[Mittengirl]

Well those were some seriously lackluster cookies.

 How about some flower-shaped sugar cookies frosted yellow with brown centers  - black eyed susans.  Or white and yellow for daisies.  Or any other bright floral colors.

Then roll some dough into small balls, arrange one in the center and five around to make more flower shapes.  Shake on some colored sugar or pipe something colorful or dip them in a glaze.

Then make a bar cookie and cut free hand into simple flower shapes.  Or tuilles (sounds like tweel, my spellcheck is no help) cut to shape then draped to form a cup with edges dipped in colored sugar or painted with food coloring.

John's weren't even nicely arranged, they just looked like they were piled in a heap.

And why would you even attempt a cookie you know needs to bake very long time to be done correctly?  They had to know those meringues weren't going to come out right.

Who had the cookies half-dipped in blue glaze?  That didn't even make sense.  Had they been in a rose red at least that would have connected to the run for the roses, but blue?  Or maybe tealish coconut macaroons that could have been passed off as Kentucky blue grass?

[GaT]

Everything these people bake is over decorated. I don't like a ton of frosting on my baked goods.

[Wings]

I was glad to see Heather go, I hate signature hair flowers or bows. 

Cookies, eh,  I was not impressed.  I am not a baker but I would have made one cookie in a horse shoe snape,  a rectangle in green as a $100 bill and an oval with minimal decoration to look like a rose before it totally opens.  

Blue icing dipped chocolate chip cookie?  I like that guy though.  

All the icing was stomach turning.  How must those judges feel at the end of the day?   Night cap of alka seltzer is my guess.  Elaine is smart with her tasting style. I would do the same thing.  

[illini1959]

6 hours ago, GaT said:

Everything these people bake is over decorated. I don't like a ton of frosting on my baked goods.

Now I love me some good buttercream ;) but sometimes less is more. Totally agree. Everything is overdone, over the top.

You know the rule about jewelry? Take one thing off - same applies here in a way. Step away from the fondant, people.

[BusyOctober]

Heather reminded me of one of the contestants from the Holiday show... Maeve? I disliked her more than I disliked Heather though.  Also not loving Courtney.  Maybe I just don't like cooks/bakers named Courtney...there was a Courtney on Master Chef who I found insufferable.  Of course, she won that show.

I totally agree about the excess decorating that's going on here.  A really good buttercream frosting on a well baked cake is all I need. Cookies, brownies, tarts, etc do not need piles of icing or fondant or candies.  I'm not a fan of eating iced cookies, but when they are well decorated (I.e.-neatly, precisely and attractive colors), they definitely have eye-appeal.

Since I missed the very first episode and I'm too lazy to look this up, are all the contestants "home bakers"?  There seems to be a lot of amateurish offerings here in regard to the decorating and plating. The majority of them are successful with their baking skills and flavors though, so I can't say they don't know what they are doing!  

[Wings]

I hate icing and scrape it off everything.   Cake is my favorite dessert but I never frost it.  Sliced strawberries and whipped cream or ice cream is a perfect compliment. 

They have to decorate on this show, I do get that.  Duff hates fondant so those who know this, avoid it. 

[Winter Rose]

I think this challenge was just an excuse to throw in Bachelor jokes about handing out roses.

[Jillybean]

Aww, I was actually happy when I heard Jesse Palmer was hosting. Bobby is OK, but I find his speech pattern and mannerisms a bit odd and stiff. Jesse is on GMA, which I watch daily, so I'm used to his style and like him just fine.  He's long past his football-playing and Bachelor days.

Any baker who doesn't like cookies deserves to be eliminated. 

Edited March 20, 2017 by Jillybean

[Wings]

7 minutes ago, Winter Rose said:

I think this challenge was just an excuse to throw in Bachelor jokes about handing out roses.

It was all about the Kentucky Derby which is coming up and a rose garland for the winner is as significant as mint jupleps and big hats. 

Just watch next week they have to make a cake hat! 

Jesse Palmer is doing okay, not a charismatic or knowledgeable host though.  I don't like Bobby Dean but he anchored the show well. 

[dahling]

Seriously, @Jillybean, what the hell kind of baker hates cookies?  The lady who hated bunny rabbits, that was weird but not anathema to a baking show. If you hate cookies, step away from the mixer and perhaps take up another hobby. Like sewing. 

[mlp]

Over all, there's a congenial bunch of contestants.  The only one I don't like is Courtney.  I did like Heather except for the giant flower in her hair.  She was too old for that and she looked like she belonged on Cupcake Wars.  Adam seems like the most knowledgeable and the most comfortable with his skills.  I won't be surprised if he ends up winning.  

Jesse Palmer is doing OK but I still prefer Bobby Deen.  Jesse just says the corny lines he's been given.  Bobby knew they were corny and smiled like he was letting everyone in on the joke.  

That white suit coat Jesse had on didn't fit right.  He looked like someone in wardrobe just threw a suit and shirt at him and said, "This is the best we can do.  Wear it."

[Bobcatkitten]

I find it interesting how many people care about the host. They are interchangeable to me. I don't think Jesse Palmer is great or bad - he just introduces the segments. That's really it. 

[Maya]

Unlike Nancy, I don't like desserts that are soaked in alcohol, so I probably would have preferred the ones that didn't "scream bourbon" or whatever the judges were complaining about. 

Speaking of judges, I watched a couple episodes of season one on demand earlier this week. Lorraine is like a different person. Really positive and kind to the contestants. Not that she's horrible now, but she's all business. She and Nancy appeared to get along well too.

[theatremouse]

I don't like how the show seems to keep asking them to do complex decoration on things that don't normally entail it. Cookies, I get ok fine some are iced or have colored sugars or whatever. But other than shapes, which, come on, it's a cookie cutter, that's not a skill thing really, a cookie's goodness is all about the flavor. As long as it doesn't look gross or busted, I don't really care. With the donut thing too last week: there is no need for fondant here. WTF. But they keep making it equal parts about flavor and decoration, so the contestants comply.

Meanwhile, a thing I would like to never see again on this show (and KBC for that matter):

"Here I've made for you a vanilla <thing that was the challenge to bake> with a vanilla <whatever topping>."

Seriously, stop with that shit.

[illini1959]

On ‎3‎/‎20‎/‎2017 at 10:50 AM, wings707 said:

 Duff hates fondant so those who know this, avoid it. 

That's ironic, isn't it? On Ace of Cakes there was barely an edible piece of cake to eat (although I get he was designing showpieces)

On ‎3‎/‎20‎/‎2017 at 10:29 AM, BusyOctober said:

Heather reminded me of one of the contestants from the Holiday show... Maeve? I disliked her more than I disliked Heather though.  

I'm not sure I'm thinking of the same person, but there always seems to be a "cartoon" character - for lack of a better description.

[Jillybean]

20 hours ago, theatremouse said:

Meanwhile, a thing I would like to never see again on this show (and KBC for that matter):

"Here I've made for you a vanilla <thing that was the challenge to bake> with a vanilla <whatever topping>."

Seriously, stop with that shit.

You would think, but they repeated a few episodes from Season 1 over the weekend, and the winner of the season made a "triple vanilla" wedding cake.  Maybe that indicates to the contestants that vanilla on vanilla is a good thing.

The challenges in Season 1 seemed much better. I guess they think they can't repeat themselves?

[tobeannounced]

Just got caught up on the episodes, and I am underwhelmed to say the least. Coming off of the Kids Baking Challenge fiasco, I'm really wondering why it's so hard to find competent bakers who have some decorating skills. I mean, some of the stuff on there looked like it was made by children. Speaking of which, I don't get why they are so in love with the young dude. I mean, the floor should have opened up and swallowed him for having the nerve to microwave some cake batter and tear it up and plate it in three small mounds. WTF was that?!

Edited March 23, 2017 by tobeannounced

[Christina]

I've never watched The Bachelor and had no idea who Jesse Palmer was, but he seems so stiff and uncomfortable as a host here. I also don't see him as super handsome man, but to each their own. The continual comments during the first two episodes, on the other hand, have made me think he is even less handsome, because they were insisting to me that he is and gorgeous people don't have to have it announced constantly. I also realize that some of that is producer driven drivel, because they don't realize how annoying it is to viewers, even though it is pretty consistently said across the internet for all shows that aren't about looks. I was thinking he would probably loosen up, but now hearing he is on Good Morning America daily makes me question that hope. For now, I'll blame in on production writing crap for him to say and change my hope to them changing their script when they see that he doesn't pull it off as funny, but instead it comes across awkward. Of course, that would require them to actually realize that, and these are the people that put Erin and Damiano on Food Network Star after this show, and decided that Damiano would be a great judge even after the reviews pretty consistently panned him.

I actually had to quit watching this during Erin Smooches Toodles season because she was intolerable, and didn't remember her at first when I watched Food Network Stars, having blocked her from my memory. Although come to think of it, I didn't remember Damiano right off, either, but did pretty quickly when his accent kept becoming more pronounced off and on, and in his defense, that could be just a matter of exhaustion, even though it often seemed intentional. I'd much rather have Jesse than either of those two, and kind of hope that Damiano is done. I didn't think he was all that great on FNS but he was stiff, boring, and arrogant as a judge. He is another who I didn't find as handsome as he found himself and others kept insisting I should think.

The bakers don't seem as skilled as in the past, and the challenges don't seem as challenging either. There is just something off about this season, something I can't pinpoint, and I'm glad that others feel that way too, because I've been such a negative television watcher lately. I'm obviously too old to be considered a target market, I think, because most of the shows I used to enjoy have become drama fests that annoy and irritate me. When reading here, Reddit, and social media, it doesn't seem like I am an outlier, but I can't even hate watch shows any more.

Are they unable to get people who can be away from their businesses for the month of seclusion? Do they not pay enough for it to be worth advertising for their businesses? FN screwed up The Great Food Truck Race last season to make a backdoor ad for one of the Jersey Shore cast member's new shows, and they seem to be screwing this one up too, but I can't tell quite how, yet. 

[theatremouse]

1 hour ago, tobeannounced said:

I mean, the floor should have opened up and swallowed him for having the nerve to microwave some cake batter and tear it up and plate it in three small mounds. WTF was that?!

Basically a solid impression of Richard Blais circa 2008?

[GaT]

On 3/21/2017 at 2:38 PM, illini1959 said:

That's ironic, isn't it? On Ace of Cakes there was barely an edible piece of cake to eat (although I get he was designing showpieces)

 

That used to drive me crazy when I watched AOC, the amount of actual cake in his "cakes" was barely enough to feed 5 people. His "cakes" were filled with pipes & motors & wooden posts, & half of the edible stuff was made of rice krispie treats. Then the whole thing was covered in fondant. He didn't bake cakes, he made sculptures or displays, he could have made them out of clay & they would have looked the same.

[illini1959]

12 hours ago, GaT said:

That used to drive me crazy when I watched AOC, the amount of actual cake in his "cakes" was barely enough to feed 5 people. His "cakes" were filled with pipes & motors & wooden posts, & half of the edible stuff was made of rice krispie treats. Then the whole thing was covered in fondant. He didn't bake cakes, he made sculptures or displays, he could have made them out of clay & they would have looked the same.

Exactly!

[grisgris]

These all seem like the same people were seen in the past: Courtney = Audrey, Fausto = Aldaberto, Heather = Erin (although Heather also reminded me of Daphne Brogdon.  Daniella = the Hispanic woman from Texas last year, older man, hipster, etc.  All they are missing is a black woman who has a crush on Bobby Flay! Fausto seems very very nervous and emotional all of the time. Doesn't exactly instill confidence me as a school principal, especially when he started crying in front of the judges.

Actually, I've found the challenges to be so bizarre (vacation donuts???) that I don't pay much attention to the bakers and their skills. Also, Bobby Dean spent more time actually talking with each contestant so I felt like I got to know them a little better.  I don't know if that's been scripted out or if Jessie doesn't have enough knowledge about baking to engage the bakers in any type of dialogue.

Nancy is really overly-telegraphing her favorites early on: John and Fausto.

I am on Team Adam!