S09.E06: Pastry Week

[Athena]

Quote

Paul and Prue are looking for perfection - with savoury and sweet samosas, a classic French Technical, and a daunting majestic pie fit for a banquet

[Occasional Hope]

It all went wrong for Dan, but Manon was pretty close to the edge.

Rahul is the most consistent overall through the competition so far, but when was the last time 5he front runner won this show?

[Rinaldo]

I was actually worried, after that last discussion about Dan's talents, that they'd eliminate Manon to keep him around. And I've loved Dan. But he clearly did consistently badly this week and had to be the one to go. So I was relieved, at the same time I was sad. Time management was repeatedly his downfall.

Good for Briony this time, and I was newly impressed with Ruby too.

Edited October 3, 2018 by Rinaldo

[Amarsir]

Poor Dan seemed to have gotten in his own head. He knew what was going wrong but kept exacerbating one mistake in another. I do think they would have given a generous bit of grace to him as former Best Baker, but he realky 0/3’d it.

Good for Briony, who’s been close herself in past weeks but really pulled up.

[Ceindreadh]

Poor Dan, he made some bad choices this week and they just didn’t work out for him. 

Using the pasta machine for the samosas might have seemed like a good idea to save time, but just ended up messing up his pastry. 

And he really messed up his time management on the showstopper. If he’d just taken the pastry out of the fridge earlier and worried less about getting it perfect and more about getting it cooked he could have saved himself. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Recipes:

Signature challenge - samosas
Jon's chicken pesto samosas and creamy orange custard samosas
Briony's beetroot, cranberry, and walnut samosas and peanut butter cheesecake samosas
Rahul's misti singara samosas and Rahul's paneer singara

Technical challenge
Prue's puits d’amour

Showstopper challenge - banquet pies
Ruby's fit for a queen pie

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Yay, pastry week! The closest thing I had in my house to a pastry was a double chocolate muffin, but I'm not complaining because it was DELICIOUS.

I liked that the bakers had to make one sweet samosa and one savory samosa. It was obvious that the bakers had to make a sauce or dip for each type of samosa so I wish they had told us what each of them were.

Jon's chicken pesto samosas didn't look great but the judges liked the flavor. His orange and vanilla crème pâtissière samosas got extra points for the chocolate drizzle (which didn't look well tempered, to be honest). Dessert is always better with a little chocolate!

Ruby's traditional samosas with onions, peas, and spiced potatoes looked good and had the perfect amount of filling to make them full without exploding. Interesting that Prue said she liked that Ruby didn't try to improve on the traditional samosa. I am certain that in past seasons, bakers who did something similar were chided for being boring, not taking risks, not being inventive/innovative. Her orange infused date and almond samosas with cumin seeds - Hollywood handshake!

Rahul's samosas were so pretty with the pattern on top. His paneer singara samosas with potato and ground coriander sounded great. I could tell by the way that Paul was staring at him that he loved it. When Prue demanded that Paul give Rahul a Hollywood handshake, after she tasted his misti singara samosas with coconut, ricotta cheese, and cashews, I wished that she had bypassed that option completely and said that she was inventing the Prue handshake and that he was getting the inaugural one.

Briony's beetroot, spinach, and walnut samosas with port soaked cranberries were absolutely gorgeous (which is something I'm certain I've never said about samosas before in my life). Not only were they all perfectly uniform with lovely pastry, but the red sauce on top was very striking and the tiny three tiered flowers were so delicate. Her peanut butter cheesecake samosas with mascarpone and golden syrup looked very dark in comparison. The filling sounded good though. Prue said the filling was gooey but that peanut butter always is. So does she just not like the texture of peanut butter?

Manon's chicken tagine samosas with green olives, potato, and confit lemon sounded good. I don't know why Paul said he couldn't get his head around the idea of her tarte tatin samosas with apples and salted caramel. Apple, caramel, and pastry - that's not a weird combination. Whichever ones she had on sticks with the little flower decorations were the perfect amount of whimsical. It's too bad that some of her samosas split open.

I was worried about Dan when he realized that rolling his dough through the pasta machine was overworking it and making it too glutenous. I thought that when he started over, he would be sure to use a lighter hand working the dough but the judges said that his pastry was very tough and almost bread.. At least they liked the flavor of his stilton, pear, and walnut samosas and his banana and caramelized hazelnut samosas.

Kim-Joy's paneer, onion, and kashmiri chili samosas with the Pythagorean theorem were a fun way to make them a little different. You'd think there would be enough spice in there! At least the judges liked her sweet samosas with Granny Smith apples, crystallized ginger, and chai spice.

I've never had puits d’amour, but pastry with crème pâtissière and strawberry compote? YUM! Interesting that the strawberry compote recipe also contains raspberries. Congratulations to Briony for winning! Jon did really well too.

I liked that the banquet pie showstoppers had to be shaped by hand.

Briony's Alice in Wonderland banquet pie with mushrooms, sweet potato, and venison was such a cute idea. All of the decorations were very detailed and fun.

Dan's salmon coulibiac with boiled eggs, rice, coriander pancake, and smoked salmon definitely did not look like a salmon because of the flat wide shape of the head. The silver paint ended up looking white. Prue complimented the flavor of the fish, but unless Dan smoked the salmon himself then I don't think he should get credit for that.

I cracked up at Jon's description of puff pastry as the heavy metal of baking like Ozzy Osbourne and Slipknot. And I loved his mincing tool! His Welsh dragon pie with chili infused minced beef, leeks, and carrots was a great idea. I thought it looked fine but the judges didn't seem to think so. At least they loved the flavor of the filling!

Kim-Joy's vegetarian mermaid pie with butternut squash, beetroot, caramelized onions, and feta cheese was a cute idea and it turned out very well. She had detail in the mermaid's face and hair, and I liked the spots of color she added.  It's too bad she had some thick underbaked pastry. I'm glad the judges liked the flavor of the filling so that she wasn't in danger.

Rahul's butterfly pie with lamb curry and rice was a good idea and I liked the bright colors. When it started leaking in the oven, I was worried for him, but it turned out fine.

Ruby's Kohinoor crown pie with chicken curry, rice, and nigella seeds was beautiful. She made some smart choices because the individual components (the braid at the bottom, the fleur de lis, and the diamonds) are simple but they really elevated the look of her presentation. She was also smart to put rice at the bottom to soak up the extra moisture to prevent the dreaded soggy bottom.

Manon's octopus pie with salmon, whiting, and scallops looked a bit too blobby. I agreed with Paul that the tentacles needed to be more open. Because they were so curled up and close to the body, it ended up looking like a mound.

Yay for Briony winning star baker! Dan had to go this week. Even though Manon didn't have a great week, Dan totally bombed all three challenges. He was sixth in the technical (and even though Ruby came in last, the judges said her puits d’amour tasted delicious but just didn't look good because they were overbaked as opposed to Dan's which were flat as a pancake, the pastry was not baked enough, and the crème pâtissière split). His pastry in the signature challenge was tough and his pastry in the showstopper was completely raw. In comparison, Manon didn't do well but she didn't do as poorly as Dan did. The judges kept talking about what great ideas he had so I was afraid they were gong to eliminate Manon so that they could keep Dan, which would have been really unfair since it's supposed to be about how the bakers did this week, not cumulatively.

Edited October 3, 2018 by ElectricBoogaloo

[rhys]

I am going to miss Dan and was hoping that Manon (sp?) was on the chopping block instead. She's fine, but he has more talent so I'll miss that & his quips to the other contestants. But he did mess up on all 3. His fish reminded me of a catfish ---all it needed was the whiskers. The color was pretty spot on. They are an ugly fish and have that flat-ish head.

rahul --take some deep breaths, man. I kinda love it when he gets a handshake from the male judge, but I'm beginning to wonder if the handshakes aren't being given out too freely.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

2 minutes ago, rhys said:

I'm beginning to wonder if the handshakes aren't being given out too freely.

It does seem like there have been a lot this season. I think we've had at least one every week this season (with multiple handshakes more than one week). But if they're well deserved, I can't complain. I'd rather have lots of handshakes than the usual icy stares and "Are you sure about that?" comments from Paul.

[Amarsir]

16 minutes ago, rhys said:

rahul --take some deep breaths, man. I kinda love it when he gets a handshake from the male judge, but I'm beginning to wonder if the handshakes aren't being given out too freely.

Hard to say. But since Prue is a bit more critical than Mary was, and Paul has softened in response, it may be this is part of it.

[Rinaldo]

1 hour ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Interesting that Prue said she liked that Ruby didn't try to improve on the traditional samosa. I am certain that in past seasons, bakers who did something similar were chided for being boring, not taking risks, not being inventive/innovative.

What I remember the judges saying in the past is that if you stick to the standard way of doing it, you had better execute it perfectly in every way, or you're in trouble. Indeed, Prue said something to that effect this time. But in this case Ruby did do everything perfectly.

1 hour ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

When Prue demanded that Paul give Rahul a Hollywood handshake... I wished that she had bypassed that option completely and said that she was inventing the Prue handshake and that he was getting the inaugural one.

She more or less did that, didn't she? I recall her grabbing Rahul's hand on her own, but (because of audio issues on my end) I couldn't make out everything she was saying.

[Danny Franks]

Dan definitely deserved to go. Everything he put out there was bad, and the "perfect pastry" he was gambling on for his showstopper was raw. I'm glad, because I haven't liked him much at any point in the show. Manon did badly as well, but she was a little better on both the signature and technical, and she managed to at least present a pie with mostly baked pastry. If Dan, despite ballsing up nearly everything he did, had been saved because he chucked a bit of silver paint on with seconds to go, it would have been a travesty.

I really love Ruby, though. She's so sparky and entertaining, and the number of time she seems to blurt something out without thinking amuses me greatly. The quasi-flirty banter she has with Noel is a lot of fun, and I really liked the moment where she, Noel and Manon teamed up to tease Rahul.

Speaking of, Rahul is fine interacting with anyone but Paul and Prue. But whenever he's practically wetting himself in fear that they might criticise him, I get so very tired of him.

Briony did very well, especially considering I thought she was the weakest of those left. She seems to be the least consistent of the remaining bakers, but she could have just found her stride.

[3 is enough]

4 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

Speaking of, Rahul is fine interacting with anyone but Paul and Prue. But whenever he's practically wetting himself in fear that they might criticise him, I get so very tired of him.

My thoughts exactly! After winning star baker and getting Hollywood handshakes he should be a bit more confident.  I am beginning to think the poor guy has the kind of parents who are never satisfied with anything he does.  It is actually painful to watch him.

I love Ruby and her snarky comments.  I'm also very fond of Kim Joy.  I do wish she would ditch the yellow eye shadow though.  It reminds me of the last stage of a healing bruise.

Edited October 3, 2018 by 3 is enough

[dippydee]

6 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

really love Ruby, though. She's so sparky and entertaining, and the number of time she seems to blurt something out without thinking amuses me greatly. The quasi-flirty banter she has with Noel is a lot of fun, and I really liked the moment where she, Noel and Manon teamed up to tease Rahul.

She’s my favourite in personality. I actually laughed out loud when Sandy asked her if her family made samosas from scratch and she said something along the lines of no way because they have lives. I’m kinda hoping Channel 4 gives her a presenting gig like they did with Liam because she’s hilarious. Also, if she’d just done a little better in her technical I totally think she could have gotten Star Baker over Briony this week.

[Rinaldo]

6 minutes ago, dippydee said:

[Ruby]’s my favourite in personality. I actually laughed out loud when Sandy asked her if her family made samosas from scratch and she said something along the lines of no way because they have lives.

She has made me laugh several times. One that I still recall with a smile was during the debriefing after the Naan technical challenge when she said "At least I wasn't the worst Indian in the room." I understand that she caught some flak for this on Twitter, but it struck me as silly self-deprecating joshing among friends, such as anybody might do.

[halopub]

8 hours ago, Rinaldo said:

She more or less did that, didn't she? I recall her grabbing Rahul's hand on her own, but (because of audio issues on my end) I couldn't make out everything she was saying.

She said the sweet one was absolutely faultless and that if Paul doesn't put his hand out for a handshake she's going to kill him. 

7 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

I really love Ruby, though. She's so sparky and entertaining, and the number of time she seems to blurt something out without thinking amuses me greatly.

It made me laugh when she stumbled across the I a choux you pun.

I'm glad Noel has adopted Rahul in his own way but I'm not sure about him being his English mum. Heh.

Yay Briony! So glad she baked to her ability this week.

[TVbitch]

I hope they will have EMTs and a therapist standing by in the event that Rahul get's eliminated. :)

[dippydee]

13 hours ago, Rinaldo said:

Naan technical challenge when she said "At least I wasn't the worst Indian in the room." I understand that she caught some flak for this on Twitter, but it struck me as silly self-deprecating joshing among friends, such as anybody might do.

I loved that too. I’m surprised to hear there was a negative reaction to that when it was clearly said in jest. The rest of the contestants (and Noel and Sandi) seem to get her humour though.

Also have to add my other favourite Ruby moment which was from week 1 when she made the wrong number of biscuits in the signature because she was “crap at maths”.

8 hours ago, TVbitch said:

I hope they will have EMTs and a therapist standing by in the event that Rahul get's eliminated. :)

Ha! Rahul’s jitters in front of Paul and Prue make me laugh, especially when he apologises for being good. I think he’s just no good with authority figures because he seems to come out of his shell when interacting with the other contestants.

[Lois Sandborne]

I would've axed Manon in favor of Dan in a heartbeat.

I loved seeing Briony chomp down on a samosa right before the signature judging.  They often also show Kim Joy taking little nibbles of her bakes once she's done. I find it cute.

Ruby and Jon have both become personal favorites of mine because they're so fun to watch.  Rahul is clearly an excellent baker, but as @Danny Franks said, he's so anxious and nervous about the judging, even after they've told him he's done well, it makes him tiresome.  I almost want him to talk to a counselor.

Paul hands out handshakes like hotcakes now, so he's diluted the significance for me.  They don't really mean anything anymore.  He has loosened up quite a bit in general though on this iteration of the show.  I've read people commenting that they can't tell a difference, but I think the handshake thing is a clear sign, and he doesn't do near as much of the piercing stare, or the alarming questions about flour choices.  I was catching up on Britain's Best Home Cook over the weekend; that's the show Mary landed on as a judge.  She seems much more relaxed there as well; warmer and much more willing to kid around with the other judges and presenters.  I don't know if it's a function of their new partners or if they've just finally learned to take it a bit easier because it's just cooking/baking on TV, but I like it.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Dan's exit interview

[Charlesman]

My favorite bit was Paul saying "This challenge will give them a chance to show their artistry", then, quick cut to Jon just smashing his pastry repeatedly with a giant rolling pin 

[PaulaO]

Rahul makes season 4 Ruby look overconfident.  Guy is going to have a breakdown.

[GaT]

Poor Dan, I'm sad to see him go, too bad he had a bad week.

On 10/3/2018 at 12:53 PM, 3 is enough said:

I'm also very fond of Kim Joy.  I do wish she would ditch the yellow eye shadow though. 

And the circles of unblended red blush, & the too red lipstick, & the hair buns that don't belong on a grown woman.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

22 hours ago, GaT said:

And the circles of unblended red blush, & the too red lipstick, & the hair buns that don't belong on a grown woman.

My version of feminism is this: if this make you feel pretty/confident/sexy/awesome in any way, then wear whatever you want and fuck what other people have to say about it. I personally do not like the yellow eye shadow and would never wear it, but if Kim-Joy likes it then good for her. There are some very deeply engrained standards about what is considered attractive so I always appreciate when people are confident enough to ignore them and do their own thing (even if it's something I would not do myself!). I always support a classic red lipstick - it's timeless!

I don't mind her hair buns. When my hair gets really long, it can get in the way so I understand choosing hairstyles that will keep her hair out of the way when she's spending all day baking (especially when the weather is hot like this season). My mom had waist length hair when I was a kid so to keep it out of the way (especially when cooking or cleaning), she would put it in a bun. As an adult whose hair length varies from shoulder length bob to past my waist, I totally understand why she used to pull all her hair up sometimes. When my hair gets long, it gets caught in doors, stuck on chairs, hopelessly knotted around necklaces, etc. so I can't imagine how she dealt with having long hair while she was chasing after my sister and me!

Ten years ago, you would only see makeup artists and artsy type people with brightly colored hair. Now I see grandmothers rocking royal blue hair, pink hair, purple hair, etc. so I don't have an issue with Kim-Joy's hair based on her age.

[AZChristian]

4 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Now I see grandmothers rocking . . . pink hair.

Have we met?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

1 hour ago, AZChristian said:

Have we met?

I'm not a grandmother but I'm definitely not a teenager. When I decided to do galaxy highlights in my hair a few years ago, I had a brief moment of doubt the night before because I realized that I'm not an 18 year old college student anymore. Then I thought pffft, whatever!

I have seen so many grandmothers totally taking advantage of their white hair to rock bright colors. I have dark hair so I'm envious of anyone who doesn't have to bleach their hair in order to get bright colors to show up. Kim-Joy has pretty dark hair so I'm guessing she has to lighten her hair first too!

[AZChristian]

34 minutes ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I have seen so many grandmothers totally taking advantage of their white hair to rock bright colors. I have dark hair so I'm envious of anyone who doesn't have to bleach their hair in order to get bright colors to show up. Kim-Joy has pretty dark hair so I'm guessing she has to lighten her hair first too!

I have white hair.  Easy to color.  Hubby helps by pulling the hair through the little cap so I can just do highlights.  At our age, we just consider it as cheap entertainment.

Which reminds me . . . there's still some pink dye in the bathroom closet.  And I'm bored.

[cherrypj]

Either Paul is handing out Hollywood Handshakes like hotcakes, or ... these bakers are really just that good. Given that Prue has been close to creating her own Prue Benedictions numerous times, I favor the latter theory.

(Taking naming suggestions for Prue's version.)

[lovinbob]

This season's cast has more sort of kitschy characters, like Kim-Joy and Jon, but they still seem to have a very nice and genuine camaraderie. Kim-Joy's look is not my favorite, but this show does a good job of reminding me that people's preferences should be about what makes them happy, not me. At one point I was worried that she was going to do a cat theme each week, but she has done her cutesy/mini creations well and is obviously a really good baker.

On 10/4/2018 at 8:56 AM, dippydee said:

Rahul’s jitters in front of Paul and Prue make me laugh, especially when he apologises for being good. I think he’s just no good with authority figures because he seems to come out of his shell when interacting with the other contestants.

He definitely seems to have an authority thing! Early on when walking away from the judging he would not turn his back on Paul and Prue. Despite his nervousness with the judges, in general this whole cast seems more relaxed about baking. In the past there have been a few bakers (Steven, John from the one of the early seasons) whose intensity was not pleasant to watch.

Dan was not always my favorite baker, but I loved what he said about being a stay at home parent, and how competing on the show made him feel proud of himself (or something like that).

If I didn't know better I would think Manon is faking her French accent--it is so on the nose!

1 hour ago, cherrypj said:

Either Paul is handing out Hollywood Handshakes like hotcakes, or ... these bakers are really just that good. Given that Prue has been close to creating her own Prue Benedictions numerous times, I favor the latter theory.

(Taking naming suggestions for Prue's version.)

A-Prue-vals? [I'll show myself out.]

Edited November 16, 2018 by lovinbob

[dleighg]

4 minutes ago, lovinbob said:

This season's cast has more sort of kitschy characters, like Kim-Joy and Jon

which one is Jon? I don't want to google for fear of getting spoiled, but I can't think of anyone other than Kim-Joy being kitschy--

Yes, it is nice that people are more free to dress, or look, however they want, regardless of what "conventional people" (like myself) might find attractive. I think back to my grandmother (this was a long time ago, as I'm 50+ myself) would remark on a scientist or other "important" person who might look a bit scruffy, or wear jeans, while being interviewed as "why can't they look 'nice' for this important thing?" Times have changed.

[lovinbob]

7 minutes ago, dleighg said:

which one is Jon? I don't want to google for fear of getting spoiled, but I can't think of anyone other than Kim-Joy being kitschy--

Yes, it is nice that people are more free to dress, or look, however they want, regardless of what "conventional people" (like myself) might find attractive. I think back to my grandmother (this was a long time ago, as I'm 50+ myself) would remark on a scientist or other "important" person who might look a bit scruffy, or wear jeans, while being interviewed as "why can't they look 'nice' for this important thing?" Times have changed.

Jon is the scruffy bloke who wears Hawaiian shirts and seems deeply devoted to his family. He's a character in his own way, and he has completely endeared himself to me. I'm unbelievably impressed with his creativity and technical ability. Some of his bakes are like delicious science experiments--in the best way. 

(I have never used the word "bloke" before but it feels right.)

Edited November 16, 2018 by lovinbob

[magdalene]

11 hours ago, dleighg said:

which one is Jon? I don't want to google for fear of getting spoiled, but I can't think of anyone other than Kim-Joy being kitschy--

Yes, it is nice that people are more free to dress, or look, however they want, regardless of what "conventional people" (like myself) might find attractive. I think back to my grandmother (this was a long time ago, as I'm 50+ myself) would remark on a scientist or other "important" person who might look a bit scruffy, or wear jeans, while being interviewed as "why can't they look 'nice' for this important thing?" Times have changed.

I think there is too much focus on being conventionally attractive - especially on American TV.  That's one of the good things about GBBO that there are all sorts of people.  And some of them don't have the standard "pretty" look.  Or they have an eccentric way of dressing and with their make-up. So what if Noel likes to wear these shirts and was channeling Marie-Antoinette in one episode?  Now, I didn't care for his hair cut in the first episode of this season, but that was because the style didn't flatter his facial shape.  And they already "fixed" his hair by the second episode. If Kim -Joy make-up makes her happy, more power to her. She is a terrific baker and decorator.

[Drumpf1737]

Does anyone else think Prue and Paul are a little mean to Manon? In my head, I chalk it up to the centuries-long animosity between the English and French lol.

[Enigma X]

1 minute ago, Drumpf1737 said:

Does anyone else think Prue and Paul are a little mean to Manon? In my head, I chalk it up to the centuries-long animosity between the English and French lol.

I actually got that feeling at times too.

[lovinbob]

I didn't necessarily think they were mean to her but I'd have to rewatch. My recollection is that she seemed somewhat averse to criticism. 

[AnnaBaptist]

Is there a recipe out for Ruby's chutney? Paul was very impressed by it and wanted the recipe. I want it, too!

[AdorkableWitch]

On 11/16/2018 at 6:21 PM, magdalene said:

I think there is too much focus on being conventionally attractive - especially on American TV.  That's one of the good things about GBBO that there are all sorts of people.  And some of them don't have the standard "pretty" look.  Or they have an eccentric way of dressing and with their make-up. So what if Noel likes to wear these shirts and was channeling Marie-Antoinette in one episode?  Now, I didn't care for his hair cut in the first episode of this season, but that was because the style didn't flatter his facial shape.  And they already "fixed" his hair by the second episode. If Kim -Joy make-up makes her happy, more power to her. She is a terrific baker and decorator.

See I thought he was channeling Bruce Campbell in the first episode and loved it! 

[AmandaPanda]

I was okay with Dan leaving because he really effed up every challenge. Plus, I wasn't a huge fan of him to begin. I also would have been okay with Manon leaving.

So happy to see Briony seemingly hitting her stride. She's been one of my faves from the beginning, so I was thrilled to see her getting star baker. Plus, that Alice in Wonderland showstopper looked amazing!

[nittanyvolleyball]

I'm so tired of Rahul looking like he's going to die every time Prue and Paul judge his dessert

I love Manon, her accent is adorable to me and I wanted her to do well this week. Was extremely disappointed she didn't

Ruby is hilarious, that is all

I can't believe how bad Dan was this week, yeesh

[Ilovepie]

On 11/30/2018 at 12:35 PM, nittanyvolleyball said:

I'm so tired of Rahul looking like he's going to die every time Prue and Paul judge his dessert

Me Too! It’s even more annoying because he’s probably going to win.

Man, it was brutal watching Dan crash and burn. I started out not really liking him, but he’s grown on me. I am glad he was sent packing because I think it was the only real choice if the show has any integrity. This show’s tag line should be “One day you’re in, the next day you’re out” (unlike the show that line came from). He took it pretty well, but it was disappointing. I was hoping he would make the finals.

I guess at this point I’m rooting for Jon and Ruby, mostly because I think they’re the only ones with a shot to beat miserable humorless (but talented) Rahul.