Best Baker In America - General Discussion

[Rickster]

I thought it more than a little unfair for the judges to complain that the baker who got the two new characters didn’t bring enough characterization to her cake. How do you do that if no one has seen them before?

[Madding crowd]

I thought the cake with bunny and chick looked nicer than the other cakes. The people who had Buzz and Woody just tried to copy their costume. How does that embody the character more than making the whole character?

Does the Wedding cake show have a forum? I couldn’t find one.

[dewelar]

The Buzz Lightyear cake was perhaps the most amateurish looking thing I've ever seen on this show that was an actually completed piece and deserved to get Yulie sent home. On the other hand, Jeremy's Forky is going to live on in the nightmares of both me and Mrs. Dewelar. Not a good episode all around, really.

[Popcorn22]

On 6/9/2019 at 5:48 PM, skipnjump said:

Am I the only one who thinks that Jason and Marcela are trying to imitate Tara and Johnny with the matching outfits?  I really can't stand Jason and the "corny" sayings of his.  I would rather have Florian as the other judge.

And wtf does “happy as a cow riding a bicycle” mean! Jason is not only not qualified to judge pastry chefs , he’s pouring on the over the top corny sayings and it’s obnoxious!  

[Omeletsmom]

2 minutes ago, Popcorn22 said:

And wtf does “happy as a cow riding a bicycle” mean! Jason is not only not qualified to judge pastry chefs , he’s pouring on the over the top corny sayings and it’s obnoxious!  

At this point I think he's just trolling us.

Edited June 11, 2019 by Omeletsmom
punctuation

[Rammchick]

1 hour ago, Popcorn22 said:

And wtf does “happy as a cow riding a bicycle” mean! Jason is not only not qualified to judge pastry chefs , he’s pouring on the over the top corny sayings and it’s obnoxious!  

It's as meaningful as his "Happy as a rooster wearing boots" or whatever other barnyard animal he's commandeered for his own purposes.  What I'd like to know is, how does HE know it's happy doing that?

This challenge was pretty laughable considering they only had 2 hours to make those cakes.  The approach of extracting some details of the character makes sense in that time frame, but then to get dinged for that is the absolute hypocrisy of these shows.

[jcbrown]

This was a pretty lame episode. I dislike these sort of cross-promotions in general. I agree it was not fair that three people got characters that people have heard of and the other two got characters no one knows anything about.

[ShelleySue]

When Josh kept screwing up (forgetting eggs, forgetting pecans, not having time to make a decent hat) I was afraid he was going to be eliminated.  Luckily two others made bigger mistakes than he did.

3 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

Does the Wedding cake show have a forum? I couldn’t find one.

Here it is, but no one has posted for almost a year.  You might be the first to start it up.

[Aerobicidal]

12 hours ago, Popcorn22 said:

And wtf does “happy as a cow riding a bicycle” mean! Jason is not only not qualified to judge pastry chefs , he’s pouring on the over the top corny sayings and it’s obnoxious!  

I think, at this point, he should take his shtick to what I see as its necessary endpoint by loading these country-fried "sayings" with sexual inappropriateness.

"I'm as happy as a cow riding a bicycle without a seat."

"I'm as happy as a bear at an otter convention."

"I'm as happy as a cock being worshipped by a cornfed farmer."

"I'm as happy as a turkey getting stuffed and basted all night."

I enjoy snark-watching this show, but I don't pay enough attention to have much to say about it. Joshua and a couple of other people whose names I don't remember seem very talented by Food Network C-level competition standards.

[Irlandesa]

The problem with the Toy Story 4 challenge is that it was a theme that would fit better on any other Food Network show.  This is the show where we get elegant designs.  The Ace of Cakes type styling has its place and it's enjoyable but it doesn't belong here.

[Foodfreak]

Jason Smith is the worst Food Network mistake imaginable, even worse than Sunny and Katie on last Thursday ‘s Beat Bobby Flay.  Not only is Jason not qualified to judge, his corny remarks mow seem forced and out of place, but the way he preened in front of the camera self-consciously wearing that ridiculous cowboy vest...🤮

[libgirl2]

9 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

The problem with the Toy Story 4 challenge is that it was a theme that would fit better on any other Food Network show.  This is the show where we get elegant designs.  The Ace of Cakes type styling has its place and it's enjoyable but it doesn't belong here.

I agree. A theme like this drags down the show. I couldn't imagine them doing this on Great British Baking! I want elegant cakes with interesting designs. 

[Ms Lark]

I think I've come up with why Jason bugs me so much, besides the obvious cornpone. He may be an excellent baker, but his poor grammar and ridiculous faux-hick persona make him seem very unprofessional.  He may be just a "home cook," that's fine, but he's getting paid to judge. Don't act like you just "crawlt outa tha haystack" and are calling far more competent, seasoned professionals (for the most part) "honey" and demeaning them with the lame-ass hick schtick. It's the lack of professionalism that gets me. Time to visit HR.

[luvapickle]

On 6/12/2019 at 12:15 AM, Irlandesa said:

The problem with the Toy Story 4 challenge is that it was a theme that would fit better on any other Food Network show.  This is the show where we get elegant designs.  The Ace of Cakes type styling has its place and it's enjoyable but it doesn't belong here.

Can I ask why? Not being an ass, just curious. It is best baker, not best elegant-only desserts.  I do all of this for a living. I make character cakes, as well as 6 tier wedding cakes, cookie cakes, etc.  Because as a baker, I try to do what my customers want. Now if the show what titled best Pastry Artist.....

[libgirl2]

17 hours ago, luvapickle said:

Can I ask why? Not being an ass, just curious. It is best baker, not best elegant-only desserts.  I do all of this for a living. I make character cakes, as well as 6 tier wedding cakes, cookie cakes, etc.  Because as a baker, I try to do what my customers want. Now if the show what titled best Pastry Artist.....

Yes it is best baker. I think I look to this as being our version of Great British Baking and would like to see bakes more along those lines. 

[Sew Sumi]

But the GBBO bakers are ametuers. It is iron clad in their contracts that have never been paid to bake. BBA is comprised of professionals.

[Irlandesa]

On 6/13/2019 at 3:11 PM, luvapickle said:

Can I ask why? Not being an ass, just curious. It is best baker, not best elegant-only desserts.  I do all of this for a living. I make character cakes, as well as 6 tier wedding cakes, cookie cakes, etc.  Because as a baker, I try to do what my customers want. Now if the show what titled best Pastry Artist.....

Good question and I don't think you're an ass.  Actually, your question helped me pinpoint why I feel it's out of character for this show.

Yes, it's called "Best Baker in America" but so far the actual challenges trend towards "Best Pastry Chef" in practice.  It's not just the elegant designs but I feel there's also much more focus on flavor. 

Plus, there are so many cake shows already on the network where fondant decor rules and I enjoy watching them.  It's amazing the artistry needed to pull it off. I just liked that this show seemed to highlight different skills/techniques and focus on flavors.

Making it worse is that they gave them the challenge but not the time to do it properly.  On the wedding cake show that comes after, I think they're given five hours to complete their cakes.  Here, I believe they said they got 2 and a half hours.

Edited June 15, 2019 by Irlandesa

[springbarb]

I did appreciate the Toy Story 4 tie-in if only for the one baker who was all, "I'm above such things" in the technical round and got creamed for it...and then went on to win the week. I liked that he actually pivoted. Having to do that kind of tie-in is something that probably all bakers have to deal with; even in fancy restaurants and such, I have no doubt they get odd requests from their clients. And it's just one week out of the run. It's interesting to see this kind of thing in a more elevated fashion than what you might get from some of the other competition shows.

[dleighg]

I enjoyed it also-- most of the designs were pretty clever. I'm totally team Joshua, and wonder if the light criticism he was shown to get is just to make sure we don't think he's invincible. I really hope he wins this thing-- not only is he very talented, but he seems like *such* a nice guy.

[Jesse]

Y'all can complain about Jason's credentials, but at least he knows how to pronounce dacquoise! 

[dgpolo]

3 minutes ago, Jesse said:

Y'all can complain about Jason's credentials, but at least he knows how to pronounce dacquoise! 

I just don't understand what kind of credentials you actually need for judging food. To me all you need are taste buds and an opinion. As long as you educate yourself before each challenge as to what it is 'supposed' to taste like, all you need to do is taste it and give your opinion on how well they filled the challenge. Even Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood didn't know every challenge the other came up with but they didn't excuse themselves from judging. They gave their opinions.

[Aerobicidal]

Jason's intolerably ridiculous commentary convinced me to google worst similes, and this link is much more entertaining than any episode this season has been.

At least two of the top three seem quite talented, but all of that gets eclipsed by the happy cow riding on a happy goat eating a happy pig wearing a happy dog sitting on an idiom that doesn't exist in reality.

[Ms Lark]

2 hours ago, Jesse said:

Y'all can complain about Jason's credentials, but at least he knows how to pronounce dacquoise! 

Which makes his hicksterisms seem even more fake and that includes his shitty grammar. Is he really unschooled or is it all a massive put on for his base? Makes Paula Deen sound sophisticated. Well, maybe not quite that. If the two of them ever got together, our ears would bleed.

Capt. Cornpone's Cringeworthy MadLibs for Faux Hicksters:
Whooie, honey, I'm as happy as a/an [animal] [verb]ing on/with/in a/an [common noun].

On a positive note: I really loved Joshua's Cherry Blossom cake and glad it won. I'm sure we'll be seeing knock-offs around here (DC) during our next Cherry Blossom Festival. I look forward to it!

As for Marian, I'll take flavor over two tasteless layers any day. I guess she just didn't meet the challenge. Darn.

[mlp]

I was afraid they would send one of the men home just to keep a woman in the competition.  I liked Marian a lot but she didn't meet the challenge and her cake looked sloppy.  She was the right choice.  

All three of the finalists are talented.  I like Eric very much but his work seems less sophisticated than that of the other two.  I won't be terribly disappointed if Eric or Jeffrey win but I'm really hoping it will be Joshua.  

[dewelar]

3 hours ago, Ms Lark said:

As for Marian, I'll take flavor over two tasteless layers any day. I guess she just didn't meet the challenge. Darn.

You mean like Jeremy didn't meet the first challenge -- the miniature desserts were supposed to be one inch around, and there's no way his fruit tart was less than three inches long -- and yet won the thing?

As with all these shows, the actual rules here mean what they want them to mean, always.

[Rickster]

10 hours ago, dgpolo said:

I just don't understand what kind of credentials you actually need for judging food. To me all you need are taste buds and an opinion. As long as you educate yourself before each challenge as to what it is 'supposed' to taste like, all you need to do is taste it and give your opinion on how well they filled the challenge. Even Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood didn't know every challenge the other came up with but they didn't excuse themselves from judging. They gave their opinions.

I think there are a couple of reasons for credentials:

Rightly or wrongly, it gives some credibility to the judge’s opinion for the home viewing audience. You could pull someone off the street to judge who has a great sense of taste, but how believable would their opinion be?

Hopefully, a judge’s background provides them with a knowledge base to provide constructive feedback to a competitor, and to provide an explanation to the viewer as to why cakes, breads and pastries turned out the way they did (I’m thinking of sone of Hollywood’s comments on bread bakes) which aids our comprehension of what’s going on. 

[luvapickle]

On 6/14/2019 at 8:41 PM, Irlandesa said:

Good question and I don't think you're an ass.  Actually, your question helped me pinpoint why I feel it's out of character for this show.

Yes, it's called "Best Baker in America" but so far the actual challenges trend towards "Best Pastry Chef" in practice.  It's not just the elegant designs but I feel there's also much more focus on flavor. 

Plus, there are so many cake shows already on the network where fondant decor rules and I enjoy watching them.  It's amazing the artistry needed to pull it off. I just liked that this show seemed to highlight different skills/techniques and focus on flavors.

Making it worse is that they gave them the challenge but not the time to do it properly.  On the wedding cake show that comes after, I think they're given five hours to complete their cakes.  Here, I believe they said they got 2 and a half hours.

I get that. I don't particularly like the time limit either. Especially when the judges expect "more" from them. I liked that they added in a character cake, just from the standpoint that it shows more versatility from the chefs. They seemed to mention a lot that one usually does this or that-so it creates a more even playing field, to me.

[luvapickle]

9 hours ago, Ms Lark said:

Which makes his hicksterisms seem even more fake and that includes his shitty grammar. Is he really unschooled or is it all a massive put on for his base? Makes Paula Deen sound sophisticated. Well, maybe not quite that. If the two of them ever got together, our ears would bleed.

Capt. Cornpone's Cringeworthy MadLibs for Faux Hicksters:
Whooie, honey, I'm as happy as a/an [animal] [verb]ing on/with/in a/an [common noun].

On a positive note: I really loved Joshua's Cherry Blossom cake and glad it won. I'm sure we'll be seeing knock-offs around here (DC) during our next Cherry Blossom Festival. I look forward to it!

As for Marian, I'll take flavor over two tasteless layers any day. I guess she just didn't meet the challenge. Darn.

I really think producers tell him to say those things...because those who like him expect it. I think they also told Ms Marcela to loosen up. When judging she used to be a little "snotty" so to speak. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

Marian didn't meet the height required by the challenge, but she seems like a very nice person, and a great baker, so I predict she'll go far.  

[dgpolo]

3 hours ago, Rickster said:

I think there are a couple of reasons for credentials:

Rightly or wrongly, it gives some credibility to the judge’s opinion for the home viewing audience. You could pull someone off the street to judge who has a great sense of taste, but how believable would their opinion be?

Hopefully, a judge’s background provides them with a knowledge base to provide constructive feedback to a competitor, and to provide an explanation to the viewer as to why cakes, breads and pastries turned out the way they did (I’m thinking of sone of Hollywood’s comments on bread bakes) which aids our comprehension of what’s going on. 

Just as believable as anyone else's for me. This is just me of course but whole lists of credentials mean nothing to me, I'm not a foodie I just like to watch people cook. I also think that two people can have almost the same 'credentials' and each of them would still have a different -opinion- on texture and taste (this is too sweet for me vs this needs to be sweeter; I can't taste this flavor vs that comes through really strong) and that is all judging is, opinions.

While explanations may be interesting, the bake (or whatever) is still judged on taste, texture and 'fulfilling the brief' so Hollywood's comments may be interesting but the bake is judged the same way as any other bake, on the judge's opinion.

People that can pick out talent don't need to have talent themselves. People that rate restaurants don't need to have restaurants. People that judge food don't need to go to school for it. That's all I meant to say.

[dleighg]

7 hours ago, dewelar said:

You mean like Jeremy didn't meet the first challenge -- the miniature desserts were supposed to be one inch around, and there's no way his fruit tart was less than three inches long -- and yet won the thing?

I don't agree. (Jeffrey)'s tarts were maybe 2 inches long- and maybe 3/4 of an inch wide. Scott said "about an inch" so I think he met the challenge. 

[mlp]

I think judges with credentials/experience are necessary to a serious competition partly because I, as a viewer, have more respect for an expert opinion than for someone who just responds based upon what tastes good.  More importantly, expert judges know what ingredients belong in particular recipes and what is required in "construction" for something to meet the definition of whatever was assigned.  I could judge a row of desserts if the criterion was whether or not I liked it but I wouldn't necessarily know if it actually met the definition of that particular dessert.

[KLovestoShop]

There are a lot of people who like Jason’s cornpone crapola(I’m not one of them), so that’s why he stays on.  But I will say that I respect Marcela more than other judges because she really goes all in when tasting the items, unlike judges on other baking shows who just appear to barely taste a miniscule bite.  

[Omeletsmom]

16 hours ago, Aerobicidal said:

Jason's intolerably ridiculous commentary convinced me to google worst similes, and this link is much more entertaining than any episode this season has been.

At least two of the top three seem quite talented, but all of that gets eclipsed by the happy cow riding on a happy goat eating a happy pig wearing a happy dog sitting on an idiom that doesn't exist in reality.

The torn newspaper one actually made sense! The rest of them were pretty ridiculous this week.

[ruffy666]

1 hour ago, mlp said:

I think judges with credentials/experience are necessary to a serious competition partly because I, as a viewer, have more respect for an expert opinion than for someone who just responds based upon what tastes good.  More importantly, expert judges know what ingredients belong in particular recipes and what is required in "construction" for something to meet the definition of whatever was assigned.  I could judge a row of desserts if the criterion was whether or not I liked it but I wouldn't necessarily know if it actually met the definition of that particular dessert.

I want to be a judge on this (or, let's be honest, any) baking competition.  I want to be able to dramatically say "your dacquoise... tastes more like a genoise!" and then sweep it off the table into a sad heap on the floor.  RATINGS GOLD!

(FWIW I agree, the ideal judge has some expertise and can articulate why something is good or bad rather than just offering up a Nancy Fuller-esque "I can really taste the rum/bourbon/tequila/rubbing alcohol!")

[dewelar]

6 hours ago, dleighg said:

I don't agree. (Jeffrey)'s tarts were maybe 2 inches long- and maybe 3/4 of an inch wide. Scott said "about an inch" so I think he met the challenge. 

To me, his tarts looked at least three times as long as his other item was wide, so that was my gauge. In any case, as you say, the rules to the challenge were vague enough that they could be interpreted however the producers wished. I absolutely agree with that, and indeed that was part of the point I was making.

This, however, cuts both ways. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe that it was ever stated that the desserts had to be twelve layers OF CAKE -- just twelve layers, period. On that basis, Marian's dessert could have been passed if the producers so desired. They didn't, so it wasn't. I'm not saying that she should have been kept over Jeremy, just that due to how fast and loose the rules are played, the producers get a side-eye from me anytime they use them as the primary reasoning for booting someone.

[dleighg]

30 minutes ago, dewelar said:

she should have been kept over Jeremy,

I'm really not trying to be an ass, but the three people left are Joshua, Eric, and Jeffrey.

I agree with you on the layers thing. I had that same thought.

[susannot]

Joshua is running away with this thing and has ben since Day One.  He is phenomenally talented and I admire him tremendously.

[jcbrown]

2 hours ago, dewelar said:

This, however, cuts both ways. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe that it was ever stated that the desserts had to be twelve layers OF CAKE -- just twelve layers, period. On that basis, Marian's dessert could have been passed if the producers so desired. They didn't, so it wasn't. I'm not saying that she should have been kept over Jeremy, just that due to how fast and loose the rules are played, the producers get a side-eye from me anytime they use them as the primary reasoning for booting someone.

I am not a pro but I have been baking for decades. I would never think that making, say a three-layer cake would mean two layers of cake and one layer of filling. That's a two-layer cake, even though there are technically three layers of stuff. I think it is understood among bakers that the layers refer to the cake (or crisp meringue, or cookie, or whatever non-filling layers) rather than counting both cake and filling. I hope that makes sense.

I hope Joshua takes this. I think he has been consistently the most talented throughout the competition. I like the other two (Eric is a Bay Area guy so I feel I also need to root for him) but I think this is Joshua's to lose.

[dewelar]

3 hours ago, dleighg said:

I'm really not trying to be an ass, but the three people left are Joshua, Eric, and Jeffrey.

Sorry, not sure why I've got a mental block about that. I'll try and remember that if/when I comment again.

46 minutes ago, jcbrown said:

I am not a pro but I have been baking for decades. I would never think that making, say a three-layer cake would mean two layers of cake and one layer of filling.

Well, sure. But then, neither would I think that, if I were told that my dessert should be about 1 inch around, that I should make it (at minimum) twice that size.

Also, again, they weren't told to make a twelve-layer cake -- remember that Marcela told Marian after her cakes failed to rise that she could call them a cookie, so it apparently didn't even have to be a cake, it just had to be a dessert with at least twelve layers. Thus, Marian fulfilled the instructions as (we were shown they were) given, and Jeffrey (arguably) did not. Marian was dinged, and Jeffrey was not.

Side-eye still in effect. And FWIW, I'm also rooting for Joshua.

Edited June 19, 2019 by dewelar
clarify

[nowornever]

"Mr. T starter kit"cracked me up, although I thought it looked like Jason was wearing scrubs except for the shoes.  

[buttercupia]

On 6/17/2019 at 9:49 PM, Jesse said:

Y'all can complain about Jason's credentials, but at least he knows how to pronounce dacquoise! 

...and mascarpone.

[Rammchick]

BTW, I saw Jason on an episode of Best Thing I Ever Ate on the Cooking Channel the other night, and he was riffing through his greatest hits of "Happy As A" similes.  Clearly he's in on the joke.  Doesn't make it any more palatable, however.

[Brookside]

On ‎6‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 9:25 AM, dleighg said:

I don't agree. (Jeffrey)'s tarts were maybe 2 inches long- and maybe 3/4 of an inch wide. Scott said "about an inch" so I think he met the challenge. 

I'm "about" five foot tall.  Oh, wait, I'm actually ten foot tall.

The following is who I think of when I see Scott Conant.

Edited June 22, 2019 by Brookside

[CrazyInAlabama]

I really thought Joshua had it.   I really liked his cake, but he was done in by a too dry Macaron, and didn't really complete the theme.     I wonder why they don't execute the theme better.    The judges are looking for a specific theme, and two out of three didn't do it.    Jeffrey's cake was totally off the mark, Joshua's was cute.    Congratulations to Eric.   

Edited June 25, 2019 by CrazyInAlabama

[Irlandesa]

I think Joshua made too many mistakes with his not finishing the sugar work and the dry macaron.  I think they wanted to give it to him and had he won the first challenge, they might have. 

[LittleIggy]

Good for Eric! I would love to sample his Nana’s recipe chocolate cake. I had been pulling for Joshua, but he dropped the ball this week so I don’t mind Eric winning. 

[GaT]

Wow, they really cut it close on the ending. Scott said "Eric", Eric said "what?" & my recording ended. You would think they would cut back on some of the talk just to make sure they could properly end the competition in the time allowed.

[mlp]

Based upon the final task, Eric deserved to win.  All three of those guys are very talented but both Joshua and Jeffrey dropped the ball when it came to representing the theme.  Jeffrey's reminded me more of a sophisticated New Year's Eve party and Joshua's cake looked unfinished.  Which it was.  And the two sections didn't seem to go together.  I think the judges made the right decision and I'm happy for Eric.  He looked absolutely stunned.

[LennieBriscoe]

Eric?! I figured Joshua was in like Flynn!

Lord, honey! I'm as happy as a coon dog on roller skates!