Best Baker In America - General Discussion

[Pepper the Cat]

Very happy that Adam won. I found his cake robe just a little too fussy, but understand that he was showcasing his skills.

[Irlandesa]

I'd want to eat Adam's sacher torte, Jean-Francois's bonbons and Lasheeda's cake.  I do think the right person won when taking into consideration both challenges...not that I thought there was much of a chance of Adam losing and coming in second place again.

[Janc]

On 6/19/2018 at 1:15 AM, Juneau Gal said:

No surprise that Adam won. (I thought his cake looked a hot mess, though. Less is more at times.) 

I am always surprised by the cheapness of these shows. 7 episodes these people worked and provided entertainment for the viewer and the winner got $25,000 and the rest bupkis. Not that $25,000 is anything to sneeze at, but still. 

Yes, agreed!  I just watched a few eps of Nailed It! on Netflix and the winner of each show there gets $10K for doing just two challenges, usually having done them badly but less badly than the other contestants! 

[GeorgiaRai]

Yay for Adam!  I visited my sister earlier this month & we made a trip to Mystic just to go to his bakery; we each bough cookies & a Sift hoodie!

[bilgistic]

On 6/19/2018 at 1:15 AM, Juneau Gal said:

No surprise that Adam won. (I thought his cake looked a hot mess, though. Less is more at times.) 

I am always surprised by the cheapness of these shows. 7 episodes these people worked and provided entertainment for the viewer and the winner got $25,000 and the rest bupkis. Not that $25,000 is anything to sneeze at, but still. 

The Spring Baking Championship prize is $50K, so it makes no sense that this show's prize is half of that.

[Eliza422]

58 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

The Spring Baking Championship prize is $50K, so it makes no sense that this show's prize is half of that.

Maybe because the Best Baker folks don't have to deal with the more ridiculous challenges they do on the X Baking Championship shows - I'd probably give up half a prize to not put up with that nonsense.

[librarianbeck]

7 hours ago, GeorgiaRai said:

Yay for Adam!  I visited my sister earlier this month & we made a trip to Mystic just to go to his bakery; we each bough cookies & a Sift hoodie!

And how was the cookie? I'm going to Mystic in a few weeks and I plan to stop at Sift.

I agree with everyone that Adam was the best all season. Enjoyable finale and a well-deserved win.

[GeorgiaRai]

1 hour ago, librarianbeck said:

And how was the cookie? I'm going to Mystic in a few weeks and I plan to stop at Sift.

I agree with everyone that Adam was the best all season. Enjoyable finale and a well-deserved win.

Not quite as good as the cookies from Magnolia Market, but... very good!  We got there late in the day (about 20 minutes before they closed) so the selection was limited, but we were still glad we went. 

[Psychobunny]

I think Adam is a very good teacher. He always seemed to have useful tips and seemed calmer when he was explaining how to do things rather than trying to win. I would watch him on a baking stand and stir. Although I could do without the chocolate spirals once again. 

[backformore]

The way Jean-Francois pronounces "bonbon"  is everything to me.  

[CrazyInAlabama]

I looked at the website for Sift, and the chocolate croissants looks delicious.     I'm glad he won, but I loved the others the show too.   

[jlc]

I am very late to the party here, and that is OK> I was mad that Adam won because he was a pompous ass the whole time. He was on an earlier baking championship, either Spring or Holiday, and he thought he was going to win, and when he didn't you could tell he was angry. He is really a pompous ass, and how he talked to Jean Francois was so rude and unnecessary! I was so happy when Dwayne beat Andy (another pompous ass) in the first season, but when Adam won this past season I started to think i might not watch anymore. We will see. I just saw he is judging another show - I wonder if he is going to talk to these contestants like they are below him too? I am a HUGE disliker of him!!

[RealityCheck]

BEST BAKER IN AMERICA Season 3 Premieres Monday, May 13th at 9pm ET/PT
 

Quote

Scott Conant Returns to Host, Alongside Judges Jason Smith and Marcela Valladolid

The Skills Challenge that tests their mastery of the essential technical skills of baking; the Master Challenge that tests the bakers’ prowess working with specific flavors and ingredients.  Returning judges, Jason Smith and Marcela Valladolid, are joined by special guest pastry experts each episode, including Florian Bellanger, Elizabeth Chambers, Valerie Gordon, Shinmin Li, Nancy Silverton, Sherry Yard and Zac Young.

The nine bakers gather in the season premiere to begin their first challenge, having to create perfect mini-Princess Cakes. For the second challenge, the bakers must produce a spectacular Royal Baby Celebration cake for 100 people, using elderflower and lemon as the featured flavors.

Other episodes during the season feature the bakers making miniature versions of pastry classics, presenting the judges with smashable desserts using coconut as the featured flavor, and creating a flaming Bombe Alaska.

Edited April 6, 2019 by RealityCheck

[Irlandesa]

Good.  I couldn't find info about whether or not it had been renewed. 

[mlp]

The cast is up on the FN site.  Every one of the contestants has serious credentials.  I'm looking forward to another season of great baking and decorating.

[Rickster]

18 hours ago, mlp said:

The cast is up on the FN site.  Every one of the contestants has serious credentials.  I'm looking forward to another season of great baking and decorating.

I recognize Joshua Livsey from another FN competition a couple of years ago.

[mlp]

All of the contestants are highly qualified bakers and pastry chefs but most of them included nothing that really said "baby."  Several of them didn't scream "royal" either without a lot of imagination.  The nice-looking but arrogant fellow did neither.  

I recognized Joshua immediately but I can't remember where I've seen him before.  The woman who had all the trouble with her white fondant (Yolanda?) looked familiar but I'm not sure about that.

Jason has toned down the goofiness, thank heavens.  I hate his beard.

[LittleIggy]

Countdown to Jason saying “Lord, Honey!” for the first time this season. 😆 He’s got the Duff look now, I see. 

[suebee12]

24 minutes ago, mlp said:

I recognized Joshua immediately but I can't remember where I've seen him before.

I knew I knew him also so I looked it up.....finalist on the Food Network's Holiday Baking Championship in 2017. The winner's cake was the one with the six geese alaying while Joshua's was the 12 drummers drumming...does that help you remember?

[mlp]

16 minutes ago, suebee12 said:

I knew I knew him also so I looked it up.....finalist on the Food Network's Holiday Baking Championship in 2017. The winner's cake was the one with the six geese alaying while Joshua's was the 12 drummers drumming...does that help you remember?

Thanks, suebee.  I do remember now.  He seems like a nice fellow.

[Marathonrunner]

The bakers have to know ahead of time what the challenge will be so they can have all the ingredients on hand - but don't they have enough time to practice the challenge?

On that British baking show you hear the judges & contestants talking about practicing with the baking, the construction, etc. before the competition

The cakes & dessert plates they showed as the competitors were introduced were stunning - the cakes last night didn't match up to that quality - does that mean the ones done in their shops & restaurants take longer than 6 hours to create? (not a criticism - just curious)

[Ms Lark]

I'm not sure I can watch this season. Not because of the competitors, they're all highly qualified. I want to watch them. A lot. I don't feel the same about the judges. Capt. Cornpone is almost unwatchable with his lay-it-on-thick shtick. Marcella has cred for her cooking shows. Outside of Food Network, what do they have that qualifies them to judge pastry chefs that are probably all more seasoned and capable then they? Yeah, that's what I thought. Maybe with mute on for the judging. I'm cringing.  

p.s. I would never put a crown or tiara on a cake for royalty! Sooo tacky.

[illini1959]

14 minutes ago, Ms Lark said:

I'm not sure I can watch this season. Not because of the competitors, they're all highly qualified. I want to watch them. A lot. I don't feel the same about the judges. Capt. Cornpone is almost unwatchable with his lay-it-on-thick shtick. Marcella has cred for her cooking shows. Outside of Food Network, what do they have that qualifies them to judge pastry chefs that are probably all more seasoned and capable then they? Yeah, that's what I thought. Maybe with mute on for the judging. I'm cringing.  

p.s. I would never put a crown or tiara on a cake for royalty! Sooo tacky.

I made it up to showing who the judges and host would be. I don't know who the host is, but wasn't impressed - maybe I should've given him a chance but with Jason in the mix I just didn't have the stomach for it.

These could be really good shows if they'd leave out the - as you perfectly describe - lay-it-on-thick-schtick.

We aren't (all) 12.

I'll watch for the next comp - Halloween? But for now, I'm out.

[luvapickle]

1 hour ago, Marathonrunner said:

The bakers have to know ahead of time what the challenge will be so they can have all the ingredients on hand - but don't they have enough time to practice the challenge?

On that British baking show you hear the judges & contestants talking about practicing with the baking, the construction, etc. before the competition

The cakes & dessert plates they showed as the competitors were introduced were stunning - the cakes last night didn't match up to that quality - does that mean the ones done in their shops & restaurants take longer than 6 hours to create? (not a criticism - just curious)

Yea, I wouldn't compare the two. As a pro baker, yes it does take more time, especially the decoration is typically made ahead of time. With GBBO, they're amateurs so that's the way the show is set up, them being able to practice. Not to mention they go back to their lives in between. Whereas these shows are almost done day to day. When it comes to comp shows, please don't always judge them on what happens on the show. It's completely different atmospheres-being in your own kitchen with TIME, and in a competition.

8 minutes ago, illini1959 said:

I made it up to showing who the judges and host would be. I don't know who the host is, but wasn't impressed - maybe I should've given him a chance but with Jason in the mix I just didn't have the stomach for it.

These could be really good shows if they'd leave out the - as you perfectly describe - lay-it-on-thick-schtick.

We aren't (all) 12.

I'll watch for the next comp - Halloween? But for now, I'm out.

It' Scott Conant.

[luvapickle]

As a pro baker, anything goes when it comes to cake decorating. I have had more than my share of baby shower cakes, that did not look like baby shower cakes(because that's what the customer wanted). As for the "royal" baby-besides being sick of hearing about it(no offense to the couple).  Meghan & Harry would not go for a crown. They are more down to Earth than the rest of the family. So I disagree with judges saying it didn't scream royal, because it didn't have a crown on it-yet the one just had gold on it & didn't really scream baby. I love this show more than the others because it's a bit more based in reality of baking. But I too, dislike Marcella. I do like Jason mainly because he is more us than "celebrity". But I guess that's why they put the two together to even things out. Scott is growing on me, but still seems uncomfortable in the baking arena.

[Marathonrunner]

21 minutes ago, luvapickle said:

Yea, I wouldn't compare the two. As a pro baker, yes it does take more time, especially the decoration is typically made ahead of time. With GBBO, they're amateurs so that's the way the show is set up, them being able to practice. Not to mention they go back to their lives in between. Whereas these shows are almost done day to day. When it comes to comp shows, please don't always judge them on what happens on the show. It's completely different atmospheres-being in your own kitchen with TIME, and in a competition.

It' Scott Conant.

Thanks for the explanation!

[CrazyInAlabama]

I was stunned at how different Jason looked.     I hope he's not ill.       

I think they sent the wrong baker home.    The one who went home had a very blah cake, but the woman with the fondant covering hanging off the layers looked worse.     It was so nice to see Joshua again.  

[mlp]

Quote

Marcella has cred for her cooking shows. Outside of Food Network, what do they have that qualifies them to judge pastry chefs that are probably all more seasoned and capable then they?

That's always my objection too when I see judges with lesser qualifications than the people they're judging.  I like Jason but he's an amateur judging professionals.  I do not like Marcela and I don't think she's ever done much with her training but she does have the qualification.  Scott has nothing to do with baking/pastry but he's hosting, not judging, so it doesn't matter.  I was glad that they brought in Zac Young for the final decision.  A lot of people don't like his personality but he's highly qualified and successful in his field.  It looked like Sherry Yard will be a judge next week.  She's also a qualified pastry chef.  The first round doesn't eliminate anyone.  The second round counts so I'll be OK with the panel as long as there's a pastry professional in the mix.  

[dleighg]

19 hours ago, suebee12 said:

I knew I knew him also so I looked it up.....finalist on the Food Network's Holiday Baking Championship in 2017.

Yes! I actually went to "his" restaurant after seeing that (but it's in Cambridge, not Boston as he said in his talking head-- one of those things that people like to argue about 🙂 )

[springbarb]

I love the skill level of the competitors, but Jason...I just can't with him. He seems to get more over-the-top every time he pops up on something.

[Irlandesa]

Jason's shirt made me smile.  I don't know why but I liked it.

[BusyOctober]

I only made it up to the point Jason started speaking.  Honey, listening to him do his shtick annoys me more than a wet rooster a-slid’n down the wrong side of a hot tin roof in the middle of tornado durin’ a hog callin’ contest. ( I have no idea WTF that means either...just following Col.Cornpone’s lead).  I just cannot with him.  

[kathyk2]

I love this show due to the lack of stupid twists. I like that they give the bakers enough time to make a beautiful cake instead of rushing them.

[Ms Lark]

47 minutes ago, BusyOctober said:

I only made it up to the point Jason started speaking.  Honey, listening to him do his shtick annoys me more than a wet rooster a-slid’n down the wrong side of a hot tin roof in the middle of tornado durin’ a hog callin’ contest. ( I have no idea WTF that means either...just following Col.Cornpone’s lead).  I just cannot with him.  

Bravo BusyO! He must lay awake at night thinking of brand new hick shtick word salads he can spit out at random points during the show. Or maybe he has a Kentucky fried word generator app on his phone.

[Maya]

...and a woman was eliminated first. Shocking. 

A 6-hour cake baking challenge is usually something reserved for the finale. How are they going to top this next week? 

[Destiny74]

1 hour ago, Maya said:

...and a woman was eliminated first. Shocking. 

A 6-hour cake baking challenge is usually something reserved for the finale. How are they going to top this next week? 

Really?  You think it was sexist?  The judges couldn't taste elderflower, they thought the buttercream was greasy and, while I liked the decoration more than the "lady of the night garter" decor, it didn't scream either royal or baby to me.  I thought the right person went home.

After seeing the Princesstorte on the GBBS I was disappointed they only had two hours to create AND that they used half sphere molds.  Oh well.

[Rammchick]

On 5/14/2019 at 10:25 AM, mlp said:

That's always my objection too when I see judges with lesser qualifications than the people they're judging.  I like Jason but he's an amateur judging professionals.  I do not like Marcela and I don't think she's ever done much with her training but she does have the qualification.  Scott has nothing to do with baking/pastry but he's hosting, not judging, so it doesn't matter.  I was glad that they brought in Zac Young for the final decision.  A lot of people don't like his personality but he's highly qualified and successful in his field.  It looked like Sherry Yard will be a judge next week.  She's also a qualified pastry chef.  The first round doesn't eliminate anyone.  The second round counts so I'll be OK with the panel as long as there's a pastry professional in the mix.  

Marcela was a pastry chef.  Note this, from here:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcela_Valladolid

"Valladolid graduated from the Los Angeles Culinary Institute as a "Certified cook" and then moved to Paris, France, where she graduated as a classically trained pastry chef at the Ritz-Escoffier Cooking School."

So yes, I think she's quite qualified to judge this competition, no doubt, moreso than Captain Cornpone (sheesh, here we go again...)

[Destiny74]

At the very least, Conant is wearing a suit that fits him this season ...so far.

[springbarb]

17 hours ago, kathyk2 said:

I love this show due to the lack of stupid twists. I like that they give the bakers enough time to make a beautiful cake instead of rushing them.

This is why having Jason as a judge just bums me out. His mannerisms annoy me, and I don't think he has the background to judge these bakers.

[Rickster]

4 hours ago, Rammchick said:

Marcela was a pastry chef.  Note this, from here:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcela_Valladolid

"Valladolid graduated from the Los Angeles Culinary Institute as a "Certified cook" and then moved to Paris, France, where she graduated as a classically trained pastry chef at the Ritz-Escoffier Cooking School."

So yes, I think she's quite qualified to judge this competition, no doubt, moreso than Captain Cornpone (sheesh, here we go again...)

While having pastry school training is better than no training, it doesn’t mean one has the qualities to be a good creative chef. Sort of how graduating from law school does not make you a good lawyer. I have a relative who graduated from the CIA who in no way would be qualified to judge a top level cooking competition. Just a degree doesn’t mean that much, and is not that common in pkaces like France.

Sherry Yard, while she may not be that telegenic, is on a whole different level in terms of her accomplishments than Marcela or Jason.

4 hours ago, Destiny74 said:

At the very least, Conant is wearing a suit that fits him this season ...so far.

Looks to me like he lost some weight in the off season.

[Destiny74]

15 minutes ago, Rickster said:

Looks to me like he lost some weight in the off season.

So, same suit, different body?  🤣

[Guest]

Reminder: The topic in this thread is Best Baker in America. The topic in this thread is not telling other posters what they can or cannot post. Please stay on topic. 

[BigBingerBro]

I was looking forward to watching this as I was really hooked on Spring Baking Championship this past season.  I recalled, not keeping up with last years Best Baker in America, and couldn't remember why...   now I know.,... Jason...     Besides being totally unqualified, he's just silly and ruins the show.  Why FN didn't just give him his own show is beyond me.    I was rather blown away by all the awards and accolades each and every one of these contestants have on their CV.  I'm certainly not discrediting any of them, but by the time they got to the final baker, i couldn't but help but wonder how many friggen awards are given out in this sphere.  Seems like 100's of thousands.   I completely agreed with sending that lady home - her interpretation of the brief was totally off.  it was a gorgeous cake, but just not for this challenge.   As far as the winner this week.  His cake was definitely one of the best, so totally deserving there, but I don't care for him as a person.  He gives me the impression he'd be a totally prick and/or bully in real life.  Perhaps I'll be proven wrong if I am able to watch it til the end.

[LittleIggy]

The right person went home. She just couldn’t get her presentations together.

Marcella is no Lorraine. She takes big bites! 👍🏻

[kirklandia]

1 hour ago, LittleIggy said:

Marcella is no Lorraine. She takes big bites! 👍🏻

She took a big bite out of Paul Hollywood...

[Ms Lark]

Seems Capt Cornpone dialed back the hick-isms this week. There were only 1 or 2 by my count. Perhaps they're editing them out? He didn't get a lot of coverage, either.

Seems the CC  question has been raised before. Article from 2017 asks "Is Food Network Star’s Jason Smith qualified to judge professional bakers?" I say "f* no!" There are typically gaps in the knowledge base of the self-taught with no professional experience in any field. He may be a good baker, but he's no Paul Hollywood (Hmm. Maybe that's why they paired him with Marcella. No danger of scandal!). At any rate, he should feel ashamed to pass judgement on these contestants. It probably wouldn't be as grating if he didn't slather hick shtick on top of it. I'd find it demeaning and offensive were I a competitor.

[Maya]

I feel bad for Jason. He is likely highly encouraged to say things about roosters with socks on or whatever he was talking about last night. That said, I guess it’s on him that he took this job knowing he was hired to be the comic relief. 

[dleighg]

4 minutes ago, luvapickle said:

Jason, just like Marcella, or Scott, or anyone else....has taste buds & eyes.

Very true. While someone who is trained or who has a lot of experience might be able to say *why* something didn't work from a technical/scientific point of view, any of us, trained or not, can have an opinion on "too sweet" or "too dense" or "too dry" or "not enough lemon" or whatever. And that's really the most important thing.

[dleighg]

and Sherry Yard cannot properly pronounce "MASCARPONE." I give up.

[stitcher73]

On 5/14/2019 at 8:54 AM, Ms Lark said:

I'm not sure I can watch this season. Not because of the competitors, they're all highly qualified. I want to watch them. A lot. I don't feel the same about the judges. Capt. Cornpone is almost unwatchable with his lay-it-on-thick shtick. Marcella has cred for her cooking shows. Outside of Food Network, what do they have that qualifies them to judge pastry chefs that are probably all more seasoned and capable then they? Yeah, that's what I thought. Maybe with mute on for the judging. I'm cringing.  

p.s. I would never put a crown or tiara on a cake for royalty! Sooo tacky.

I will take Jason over that Italian guy...what's his name???  He pops up occasionally and i don't like him.   he was on one of the baking competition shows.