S09.E08: Danish Week

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

Volkommen to Danish Week with a bread signature requiring style and substance, a spherical technical and an elaborate pastry showstopper fit for a Danish birthday party and everyone is out to impress.

Original air date: 10/16/18

[Occasional Hope]

poor Manon.  She did perform poorly, but based on this week alone it should have been Rahul.  He was clearly the worst in all three challenges.  past glories may have protected him.

[Danny Franks]

Okay, Manon and Ruby were wearing the hell out of those Hawaiian shirts. Nice tribute to Jon from them all, though. This group really seem to have become friends, especially Manon, Ruby and Briony.

Danish week seems like they were a bit desperate to come up with something new. Baking a loaf of rye bread and putting some sandwich stuff on it? Really? Paul acting as though tandoori chicken and cucumber is a clever, unexpected sandwich combo? Come on.

The technical doughnut things, with apple and cinnamon, looked amazing, though. Even if they were incredibly fiddly. Ruby saying, "I've got no time for this nonsense" was great.

It bears mentioning again, that Noel seems to be a complete natural at getting people to relax, with a funny little anecdote or line. In the first challenge alone, he did that with Briony and then Ruby.

Ruby was deservedly star baker. Definitely the best overall, even if she couldn't figure out how to fill the technical things.

For once, Rahul was actually justified in his self-flagellation. But his inability to find any worth in his baking, even after all the praise he's had, has become infuriating. And the first time he gets real criticism, he just falls apart. The guy honestly could do with some therapy.

I was sure that there was no way Paul and Prue would choose Manon to stay over their darling Rahul, even though she was better than him on the first two challenges, and made less of a mess of the showstopper. And I was right. It makes a mockery of their stance that the worst baker each week goes home. I'll actually be really pissed if Rahul ends up winning the whole thing.

[dippydee]

I think Rahul was probably saved by a combination of being Last Man Standing and having great weeks previously because on the basis of this week alone (which is sometimes how the judges decide) he was worse than Manon. At least all her dishes were edible. 

I’m happy to see Ruby get star baker. She did deserve it this week even if she screwed up the technical. Though the others must have been pretty bad for the judges to give her third despite her cutting the doughnut things to add the filling.

Seeing Kim Joy trying to hold it together in the Showstopper made me feel really bad for her, I’m glad she didn’t go this week.

[Trichromatic]

27 minutes ago, dippydee said:

I think Rahul was probably saved by a combination of being Last Man Standing and having great weeks previously because on the basis of this week alone (which is sometimes how the judges decide) he was worse than Manon. At least all her dishes were edible. 

Manon's dishes weren't always edible. Wasn't it her who the made the pretty-looking but inedible showstopper cake in one episode, and previously had served another showstopper cake with the plastic collar still around it? 

[dippydee]

41 minutes ago, Trichromatic said:

Manon's dishes weren't always edible. 

But they were in this episode. It just so happens this is one of the weeks where they seem to be considering past performances instead of just basing it on the current weeks performance. I don’t mind much either way since I like both of them, I just think Rahul was worse this week.

Edited October 16, 2018 by dippydee

[oldCJ]

Unpopular opinion but I agree Manon deserved to go. In both the non-technical challenges she went French, not Danish. At least Rahul attempted to fit the brief. If contestants just start making whatever they are most comfortable with instead of the challenge set out for them, it wouldn’t be much of a show. 

[sum]

It's said that Danish week was chosen, not surprisingly, by Sandi, Vegan week by Noel, which turned out to be two of the most disastrous weeks...

Kim-Joy's decoration skills are extraordinary. Her creations are so refined and elegant and I like the fact that she achieves them by using mostly subtle colors.
I also loved how Manon carried herself through the showstopper challenge despite all sorts of troubles. In fact, the young ladies are such a cheerful bunch. Each baker is so delightful in their own way, I can't pick my favorite.

On a different note, I found the way they zoomed in on Kim-Joy's face when she was trying hard to hold back tears and the tears were falling down unnecessary and a bit distasteful. I've been enjoying C4 version of the show a lot, but that moment made me wonder if they would've edited the same way a couple years ago.

[Athena]

I can see why they sent Manon home because she seemed to miss the brief on the Showstopper and the Signature by not actually being Danish enough. She didn't really make a true rye bread and her Danishes were plain. As much as I like Manon, I think she played it too French and safe. 

I am disappointed in Rahul though. He was narrowly saved by another baker doing just as bad as him. He seemed to have faltered this week. I think another thing that saved him was his confectionery skills seemed to surpass the others. 

 

1 hour ago, sum said:

On a different note, I found the way they zoomed in on Kim-Joy's face when she was trying hard to hold back tears and the tears were falling down unnecessary and a bit distasteful. I've been enjoying C4 version of the show a lot, but that moment made me wonder if they would've edited the same way a couple years ago.

I have definitely noticed this with the Channel 4 version. Mel & Sue really fought back against this kind of editing from the beginning and the show respected it when they were on the BBC. TPTB seems to have forgotten that aspect and I honestly think they show crying too much. It feels slightly garish and manipulative of the audience.

On a positive note, I think I will try to bake Ruby's rye loaf. 

[sum]

7 minutes ago, Athena said:

I have definitely noticed this with the Channel 4 version. Mel & Sue really fought back against this kind of editing from the beginning and the show respected it when they were on the BBC. TPTB seems to have forgotten that aspect and I honestly think they show crying too much. It feels slightly garish and manipulative of the audience.

Yeah, it seems really noticeable this season. And now I recall Sue and Mel would use swearwords loudly anytime someone starts crying, to make the footage unusable. Someone pass on that tip to Sandi and Noel, please.

[rhys]

7 hours ago, Occasional Hope said:

poor Manon.  She did perform poorly, but based on this week alone it should have been Rahul.  He was clearly the worst in all three challenges.  past glories may have protected him.

Man I so agree and I was so sadly geared up to say goodbye to Rahul. I was shocked he was saved

Loved the shirts!

[Corgi-ears]

The show kept saying that the bakers weren't expected, in the signature, to bake true Danish rye bread (since that normally takes a day, blah blah blah), and they had to figure out their own versions. But at the same time they apparently couldn't really put their own spin on it -- otherwise your rye bread gets accused of being too much like THE NATIONALITY YOU ARE, and you get sent home. Makes perfect sense!

I could hear the editors congratulating themselves on their restraint, somehow able to resist the temptation of putting bow-chicka-bow-wow music over all the times Ruby proclaimed that she had no idea which hole everyone was talking about.

Did Briony's swans end up on her sandwiches? Because I feel like the five-second rule shouldn't apply when your accident is televised.

Edited October 17, 2018 by Corgi-ears

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Recipes:

Signature challenge - smørrebrød
Ruby's smørrebrød

 

Technical challenge
Paul's æbleskiver

Showstopper challenge - kagemand and kagekone
Ruby's apricot and frangipane kagekone
Manon's rose marshmallow strings
Briony's Nana Pat kagekone

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Awww, I loved all the bakers wearing Hawaiian shirts as a tribute to Jon!

I'm not a fan of rye bread but I was interested to see what the bakers made since it seemed like they were told they had some freedom to make it their own. I totally cracked up when first we saw Manon, Briony, and the other bakers  trying to pronounce Danish properly and then they cut to Paul saying "smørrebrød" in the most British way possible.

Rahul's smørrebrød with remoulade, pickled cucumber, and asparagus looked like a mess. His smørrebrød with smoked salmon, pickled beetroot, and cream cheese looked messy too. Such a shame that the bread didn't turn out well. First Paul said it was so dense that it was like a cake and when he tried to eat it, he said that the bread was awful and turning back to dough in his mouth. Prue said it was heavy and gluey. It was sweet to see Manon whispering, "It's okay" to him from her work station.

Paul interrogating Ruby about the weight of her flour and how much water was in her rye dough made me roll my eyes. We got more than halfway through the season without that old bull shit so I thought he had retired that schtick. When she asked how you're supposed to make a sandwich look nice, I thought go look at Kim-Joy's and you'll see! Ruby's Mediterranean breakfast smørrebrød with avocado, chorizo, asparagus and quail egg sounded so delicious. The yolks looked properly gooey but the avocado looked sad and discolored. Did she not add a bit of lemon juice to keep it from browning? Her tandoori chicken lunch smørrebrød with cucumber and rice sounded good too.

Briony was ambitious to make two different doughs for her marble rye bread. Her Spanish smørrebrød with chorizo, sweet potato, fig jam, and Iberico ham sounded really good. Her west country smørrebrød with flaked smoked mackerel and eggs sounded tasty too. I thought she was kidding when she said she was going to make tomato swans. They looked great until she dropped them.

Kim-Joy's smørrebrød with hard boiled egg bees and havarti cheese was so cute. Her smoked salmon smørrebrød, cucumber, dill, capers, and radish sounded very Danish. I loved the way she layered the cucumber and radish slices to look like fish scales. I didn't realize that whole meal sourdough counts as rye.

Manon's smørrebrød with strawberries, roasted beetroot, goat cheese, and vinegar glaze sounded really good (and good for her not doing salty/savory!). Her smørrebrød with pear, chutney, and mascarpone gorgonzola sounded good too. Both of her creations looked nice too.

I'm glad Sandy was there to pronounce æbleskiver correctly for us! I had to laugh when Rahul said, "I'm not very good with time constraints." Everyone was on pretty even footing for the technical. It was interesting to see the bakers' personalities when faced with knowing they hadn't done well. Ruby was exasperated and forcing filling into her little dough balls, Rahul was like Eeyore, Briony get plugging away, and Manon said, "We're doing our best, Sandy!" No surprise that Rahul came in last because his were so burnt. I couldn't believe that they gave Ruby third place with stodgy dough and cutting them open to put the apple filling inside. But good job to Briony for getting first!

Briony's Nana Pat kagekone with toffee, ginger crème pâtissière, and blueberries shoes, and a sherbert handbag was not the prettiest showstopper I've ever seen, but her flavors sounded good.

Ruby's apricot and frangipane kagekone of her sister with honeycomb, marzipan, and chocolate truffles was cute and colorful. Despite Paul's warning, the marzipan on top made it bright and fun.

Oh, Rahul, I want you to go back to your hotel room and watch Star Wars with Noel! His Indian king kagemand with orange zest, salted caramel, and crème pâtissière was a mess. His pastry was burnt and his decorating skills are probably the weakest of everyone left at this point.

Manon's birthday girl kagekone with nougatine, caramel, marshmallow, bon bons, and pain au chocolate arms was very intricate. I liked how many elements she used to decorate her girl. The braided marshmallows added a nice texture.

Kim-Joy's opera kagekone with crème pâtissière, white chocolate, and royal icing was beautiful. The piping was gorgeous and so delicate. The face was beautifully painted. Awww, it was so hard to watch her trying to hold back her tears, but it was sweet when Sandy offered to carry her showstopper back to her work station. I think Sandy was afraid she would drop it because she was so upset.

Congratulations to Ruby for winning star baker. I would have sent Rahul home instead of Manon. Raul's rye bread in the signature challenge was so bad that Paul wouldn't eat it. He was last in the technical challenge. His pastry was burnt in the showstopper. If that isn't grounds to send someone home, I don't know what is.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Manon's exit interview

Quote

I saw Kim-Joy’s hair in Week One and I said if I make it halfway through to Week 5, I am going to dye my hair bright pink like hers, which I did, and I’ve kept it pink since. A group of us are planning a trip to Berlin in November, and we have lots of other plans ahead, so it’s going to be a lifetime friendship I think.

Edited October 17, 2018 by ElectricBoogaloo

[dippydee]

3 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Manon's exit interview

group of us are planning a trip to Berlin in November, and we have lots of other plans ahead, so it’s going to be a lifetime friendship I think

Aww, that’s super cute. I know there’s always a few people every year that c (Sophie/Stephen from last year) but this lot seem really close as a whole. I don’t think I’ve ever seen quite the nod to a departed contestant as this years Hawaiian shirts for Jon. 

[Danny Franks]

2 hours ago, dippydee said:

Aww, that’s super cute. I know there’s always a few people every year that c (Sophie/Stephen from last year) but this lot seem really close as a whole. I don’t think I’ve ever seen quite the nod to a departed contestant as this years Hawaiian shirts for Jon. 

I read that Manon, Ruby and Briony have met up a few times, since the show was recorded, and I saw a photo somewhere of Manon and Ruby hanging out with Anthony, the big, smiley Indian guy who was eliminated quite early.

In fact, here's a pic from Ruby's instagram, a couple of weeks ago: 

Edited October 17, 2018 by Danny Franks

[Occasional Hope]

It's always lovely to see how well the bakers bond.

[ShortyMac]

On 10/16/2018 at 4:13 PM, Occasional Hope said:

poor Manon.  She did perform poorly, but based on this week alone it should have been Rahul.  He was clearly the worst in all three challenges.  past glories may have protected him.

My thoughts exactly.

[halopub]

I'm noticing more and more this season that Sandi's such a straightforward presence in the tent that she largely blends into the background. Which is a shame for viewers not otherwise familiar with her. Sandi's so quick-witted and hilarious in her other work. Not that I want her to be like Sue and get into contestants' faces but I wish Sandi got to joke around with the contestants a little bit more. It was moving to see her tearing up when Kim-Joy was struggling to keep it together. 

I thought it was hilarious that Ruby's considered the quiet one in her family. 

 

On ‎10‎/‎16‎/‎2018 at 7:18 PM, sum said:

Kim-Joy's decoration skills are extraordinary. Her creations are so refined and elegant and I like the fact that she achieves them by using mostly subtle colors.

I agree that her work is usually neatly composed but I'm not a huge fan of her general aesthetic, which to me is overly Etsyish kawaii with a heaping of preciousness. It can get a little one note with the cutesy turtles and foxes. That said, I surprisingly liked the decorations this week on her kagekone and the concept of the bee-shaped/nori eggs on the smørrebrød. They were a better balance of cuteness for me.

 

On ‎10‎/‎17‎/‎2018 at 1:05 AM, Corgi-ears said:

Did Briony's swans end up on her sandwiches? Because I feel like the five-second rule shouldn't apply when your accident is televised.

I'm not 100% sure, but I think they were a garnish next to her sandwiches.

[rasalas]

On 10/16/2018 at 8:13 PM, Athena said:

I can see why they sent Manon home because she seemed to miss the brief on the Showstopper and the Signature by not actually being Danish enough. She didn't really make a true rye bread and her Danishes were plain. As much as I like Manon, I think she played it too French and safe. 

Which made it even weirder when Paul chided Manon for using Danish butter, instead of "French" butter, in her Danishes. 

 

On 10/17/2018 at 12:05 AM, Corgi-ears said:

I could hear the editors congratulating themselves on their restraint, somehow able to resist the temptation of putting bow-chicka-bow-wow music over all the times Ruby proclaimed that she had no idea which hole everyone was talking about.

Wait until Extra Slice, when they surely must have some fun with Manon saying, "I'm so hot" and "I'm so sticky." :-D

[sum]

On 10/17/2018 at 2:05 PM, Corgi-ears said:

I could hear the editors congratulating themselves on their restraint, somehow able to resist the temptation of putting bow-chicka-bow-wow music over all the times Ruby proclaimed that she had no idea which hole everyone was talking about.

 

58 minutes ago, rasalas said:

Wait until Extra Slice, when they surely must have some fun with Manon saying, "I'm so hot" and "I'm so sticky." :-D

They don't waste their time. :p 

[Rinaldo]

On 10/16/2018 at 7:18 PM, sum said:

On a different note, I found the way they zoomed in on Kim-Joy's face when she was trying hard to hold back tears and the tears were falling down unnecessary and a bit distasteful. I've been enjoying C4 version of the show a lot, but that moment made me wonder if they would've edited the same way a couple years ago.

I thought they did exactly that, way back in Season 3 when Brendan's final interview found him verge-of-tears unable to say the next word, and the camera held on him in closeup for a full 30 seconds at least. So it's not new.

I adore Rahul, but I did think that on the merits he should have been the one to go this week. Normally I would allow the judges plenty of leeway because we viewers can't taste the results, but Paul found Rahul's bread inedible and his final pastry overbaked, and he came last in Technical.

[pfk505]

I'm loving this season as usual, but this was the first time I've been seriously angry at the show. Manon was utterly robbed. Rahul should be gone, but I suspect they kept him because they rightly suspected how popular he would be. He finished behind her in all 3 challenges. I have praised this show in the past for foregoing the usual reality tv shenanigans, but I'm afraid I can no longer do so. And I like Rahul as much as the next person.

Side note: endless double entendres this episode! and finally some actual criticism from the judges. Glad they've remembered that part of it!

[RealityCheck]

On 10/19/2018 at 9:11 AM, rasalas said:

Which made it even weirder when Paul chided Manon for using Danish butter, instead of "French" butter, in her Danishes. 

Paul questioning Manon about using Danish butter was an issue with technique.  This article explains why French butter is used by professional bakers when creating pastries requiring lamination.

I remember on season 1 of Bake Off: The Professionals, the British Navy team used standard butter for their croissants while the other professional teams used French butter.  The oven started smoking and set off the alarm because all the butter melted out of the pastry before they were finished baking and the end-product ended up butterless and dry.

[TVbitch]

I'm not a fan of these new "out of the box" theme weeks. Baking is hard enough but this was yet another challenge that most of the bakers were overwhelmed by. None of them were really able to shine, and we had more tears and the total collapse of Rahul. I just want to see gorgeous bakes!   

[justmehere]

I agree that the bakers tend to do less well with unusual themes. However, vegan week didn't seem outrageous to me since they've done non-traditional ingredient weeks before, (no dairy at least once, I think, so part way to vegan already). Also, why not go beyond the norm and learn how to bake deliciously for a growing population? Even vegetarians -- who might be OK w/eggs and butter -- aren't going to want gelatin in baked goods. (Whether or not any of the bakers are interested in being professionals, they're likely to have friends or family who fit either category and would appreciate the effort.)

Danish week didn't come across as extraordinary to me. Some still did OK with the rye bread, and creating sandwich toppings while the dough rises & bakes was certainly reasonable. Only giving them an hour for the technical seemed crazy, though. Even 15 minutes extra would have helped there. As for the showstopper, they've done laminated dough plenty of times. They've formed sculptures plenty of times. They've had multiple elements and decorations, so it didn't feel like anything new.

Re: Rahul staying rather than Manon... it did seem a matter of him failing at what was set out vs. her doing OK while not really following the challenge. Also, they've looked at past weeks before when two are basically tied, and if that was the case here, Rahul has done better previously.

Paul was irritating in this one, undermining bakers at the worst times. Changing elements last-minute is likely to be disastrous, and it's just unkind, when they're already pressured and maybe too far along to adjust anyway. I was glad they showed Prue calling him out on criticizing Manon.

[Mellowyellow]

I was so relieved Rahul was saved. Imo he is head and shoulders above Manon overall and we have lost 2 good bakers in a row already I would have been so upset to see him go.

I know they are supposed to judge week by week but I don't care! His previous success saved him and I for one am glad about it! 

I really hope he chills and recovers next week though.

On another note I wish I knew how to make Briony's swans! My kid would LOVE a swan tomato! He loves tomatoes! 

[Rinaldo]

6 hours ago, Mellowyellow said:

I wish I knew how to make Briony's swans! My kid would LOVE a swan tomato! He loves tomatoes!

Here's a video that shows one way to do it.

It seems that creating a pair of swans is an essential part of the construction. It won't stand up with just one.

[Ceindreadh]

7 hours ago, Mellowyellow said:

I was so relieved Rahul was saved. Imo he is head and shoulders above Manon overall and we have lost 2 good bakers in a row already I would have been so upset to see him go.

I know they are supposed to judge week by week but I don't care! His previous success saved him and I for one am glad about it! 

I really hope he chills and recovers next week though.

On another note I wish I knew how to make Briony's swans! My kid would LOVE a swan tomato! He loves tomatoes! 

I am also exceedingly relieved that Rahul was saved.  I was so nervous while watching the episode that I paused the DVR during the technical and googled the results for the week, just so I'd be prepared if he left the tent.

I know his bakes were (really really) bad, but he was at least fulfilling the brief given, whereas Manon's bakes - while not as bad - weren't what the judges had asked for. 

[Aulty]

I liked Danish week and the idea of having a week dedicated to one country's traditional bakes. It will give them many options for future seasons like Austrian or Bohemian week (you could make a whole season based on Viennese bakery alone - Danish pastry was brought to Denmark by Viennese bakers btw) or something Russian, Asian or Middle Eastern. They did Mochis in the Canadian show and it was great because it was a process that we haven't seen before. I find this more interesting than making challnges more difficulty by asking them to make a cake tower, cookie sculpture or 15 different biscuits instead of one interesting thing.

I think it was a draw between Manon and Rahul and there would have been discussions and different opinions either way. But why did Ruby not come last in the technical? She, of all the bakers, did not get the technique right!

PS: @ElectricBoogaloo I'm not stalking your boards ;-) I'm just a bit bored and apparently watch the same stuff as you.

[Winter Rose]

Wow. Paul went an episode without giving out a handshake.

I loved all the Hawaiian shirts in honor of Jon.

I honestly didn't see a difference in Rahul responding to criticism vs. getting complimented. He got lucky Manon strayed too far from the briefs, or at least that's all I can think of to justify sending her home instead, because it sounded like he did worse in every single challenge.

Ruby was really the only choice for Star Baker. I think everyone left has won it now, which it's nice when more people get to experience it.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

On 11/11/2018 at 4:05 PM, Winter Rose said:

Ruby was really the only choice for Star Baker. I think everyone left has won it now, which it's nice when more people get to experience it.

And when you're this far into the competition (meaning almost at the finale), I would prefer to have the remaining finalists have ALL won star baker at least once, not because everyone deserves a trophy but because I really don't like when people slide into the top four or five by simply not being the worst every week. I want the last people standing to be the very best bakers who have been excelling, not just scraping by because there was always someone else who had a disastrous week. This is my general feeling about any competition though, not just GBBO.

[MorganSte]

Rahul makes me not want to watch the rest of this season.  He's just like nails on a chalkboard to me.  That he is continuing and Manon is not - disappointing!

[GaT]

On 10/16/2018 at 4:18 PM, sum said:

On a different note, I found the way they zoomed in on Kim-Joy's face when she was trying hard to hold back tears and the tears were falling down unnecessary and a bit distasteful. I've been enjoying C4 version of the show a lot, but that moment made me wonder if they would've edited the same way a couple years ago.

 

On 10/16/2018 at 6:13 PM, Athena said:

I have definitely noticed this with the Channel 4 version. Mel & Sue really fought back against this kind of editing from the beginning and the show respected it when they were on the BBC. TPTB seems to have forgotten that aspect and I honestly think they show crying too much. It feels slightly garish and manipulative of the audience.

Yes, I've noticed this also, & I don't like it. At one point they showed 4 or 5 people either crying or about to one after the other. I expect crap like that from other shows, but not GBBO, I hope they got a lot of complaints about it.

On 10/20/2018 at 5:02 PM, TVbitch said:

I'm not a fan of these new "out of the box" theme weeks. Baking is hard enough but this was yet another challenge that most of the bakers were overwhelmed by. None of them were really able to shine, and we had more tears and the total collapse of Rahul. I just want to see gorgeous bakes!   

Me either. I feel like they're really stretching to come up with different week themes & the showstoppers are strange. I hope this show doesn't forget it's roots.

[Quilt Fairy]

On 11/13/2018 at 11:58 AM, MorganSte said:

Rahul makes me not want to watch the rest of this season.  He's just like nails on a chalkboard to me.  That he is continuing and Manon is not - disappointing!

I agree.  I  don't get all the Rahul love.  He's had almost 2 months of continuous positive reinforcement on his baking but he remains constantly dismal and self-doubting.  What a horrible childhood this guy must have had.  Did he never develop any sense of humor?   As a previous poster mentioned several episodes ago, he needs therapy.  What nerdy guy has never even heard of Star Wars?

I watch this show to lift my spirits and Rahul kills all the joy in the room.   Give me someone like Anthony over Rahul any day.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

13 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

He's had almost 2 months of continuous positive reinforcement on his baking but he remains constantly dismal and self-doubting. 

8 weeks x 2 days of baking/filming/judging per episode = approximately 16 days of positive reinforcement

Unfortunately, it takes more than that to overcome a lifetime of self doubt. I hope that the experience of being on the show and getting praise for his work has helped, but it would take a miracle for him to erase 30 years of self doubt solely because of a few weeks of praise on the show. I agree that therapy would help him deal with that a lot better. I've known people with similar attitudes and it's usually due to their parents putting so much pressure on them to be perfect that instills such crippling self doubt. It takes a lot to break free of that and accept that it's okay not to be perfect, to not constantly worry about what other people might say you did wrong, to not go over and over in your head what you should have done differently to achieve a better outcome. Most of us look at whatever they've done and think it's great but all they can see is every flaw and then they silently berate themselves for every perceived mistake they think they made. It takes a lot of conscious effort to change those reactions and patterns. To put it another way, it's similar to the way some people with eating disorders see themselves as overweight even when they'rer 100 pounds. What they see when they look at themselves is not the way the rest of us see them because they have a very distorted and hypercritical view of themselves.

Edited November 15, 2018 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Enigma X]

Rahul's self doubt had no effect on whether I enjoyed the show.  Although there was something about Rahul that did not sit well with me. I can actually relate to his constant worry of not meeting the standard though. So, that was not it.

[Quilt Fairy]

12 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

8 weeks x 2 days of baking/filming/judging per episode = approximately 16 days of positive reinforcement

Unfortunately, it takes more than that to overcome a lifetime of self doubt.

I'm not trying to equate the two, and I know I phrased it awkwardly.  But we have seen many, many other contestants who were literally shaking in their boots and/or speechless at meeting Paul and Mary, and without exception as far as I can remember, every one of them loosened up and changed for the better over the course of the season.  It's one of the things that makes it such a happy show.  They can't even get Rahul to smile when he gets a compliment!  (Maybe when he saw the pheasants..... just maybe.)

This is nothing personal against Rahul, who appears to have accomplished a great deal in his life, and apparently is a fine baker.

[dleighg]

another one of those "two countries divided by a common language." I was so confused when Briony said that "sherbet was decorating the handbag." Apparently sherbet is some sort of powdered candy. Who knew. I thought it was like fruity ice cream!

[apollonia666]

Oh Rahul. I alternate between wanting to give him a hug and wanting to grab him by the shoulders and shake him. I have sympathy for him and whatever made him such an Eeyore must have been awful, but geez Louise he sucks the air out of the room.

I totally spoiled myself this morning (I won't reveal anything here, though!). I usually manage to keep myself free of GBBO spoilers, but didn't realize this season had ended so recently and went to Prue's Twitter to try to find who makes her necklaces. Scrolled down a tad too far and DANG IT. Prue spoiled another winner without even knowing it! :D

[dleighg]

yeah I got spoiled following a twitter earlier here that was about all the double entendres -- all strung together (it was rather amusing)--- but it more or less advanced to more recent tweets and I saw the result right there in front of me. Oh well. Yeah I agree with you on the sad sack of Rahul. How can someone so clearly talented have such a poor opinion of himself? 

Re: Prue's necklaces; did I imagine or did she have two versions of more-or-less the same necklace? Big spiraly things-- I thought one set was all red, and another was red, white, and blue. Maybe I misremembered.

[rab01]

They've had Spanish and Italian weeks so a Danish week didn't bother me.  It's a little less mainstream but not crazily so.

I'm glad that they kept Rahul around -- being star baker or up for star baker so often should earn you a second chance -- but it's too bad that, from what they showed, he clearly didn't deserve it.  He was last in every round, which made it a little hard to watch.  The sad part is that it makes me root for him a bit less and it's totally not his fault.  

Edited November 19, 2018 by rab01
to add "so often", they've all been star baker at this point

[Dots And Stripes]

I'm team Manon on this one. Rahul messed up the first two rounds too badly and didn't do well on the showstopper. I thought Paul was too harsh on Manon for bringing her French influence to her bakes. I liked the signature challenge assignment in theory (bake bread for your sandwich), but when you tell them they need to make a bread that takes 24 hours in a much, much shorter time frame, of course it is not going to be authentic! I felt like Paul was playing gotcha with Manon, trying to prove he knew enough about French baking to find the inspirations. 

The shirts as a tribute to Jon were a really sweet touch.

[Aulty]

I am in Denmark for business at the moment and just had my first Æbleskivers - they were DELICIOUS! Served warm, with strawberry compote and a mountain of sugar. I am tempted to check whether I can pick an Æbleskiver pan somewhere.

Horray for Danish week!

Edit: here is a pic :-)

Edited November 21, 2018 by Aulty

[ElectricBoogaloo]

1 hour ago, Aulty said:

I am in Denmark for business at the moment and just had my first Æbleskivers - they were DELICIOUS! Served warm, with strawberry compote and a mountain of sugar. I am tempted to check whether I can pick an Æbleskiver pan somewhere.

Horray for Danish week!

I'm pretty sure I've seen those pans at Williams Sonoma, but you can probably find them elsewhere for a more reasonable price.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

2 hours ago, Aulty said:

I am in Denmark for business at the moment and just had my first Æbleskivers - they were DELICIOUS! Served warm, with strawberry compote and a mountain of sugar. I am tempted to check whether I can pick an Æbleskiver pan somewhere.

Horray for Danish week!

Found it!

[MisterGlass]

It did seem like Rahul should go based on edibility of the dishes.  I think he would have gone if Paul had not been so offended by some of Manon's decisions.  When she said she was baking her loaf in pot instead of a pan he looked so contemptuous.  And again on the lack of rye taste.  And again on the decision not to fill her danishes (which does seem odd to me).  It wasn't a good side of him.

The æbleskiver looked wonderful.  In appearance they reminded me of Japanese savory takoyaki.  It's the only other thing I've seen cooked like this.

[Normades]

I don't know what makes someone behave the way Rahul does and I do honestly feel badly that he seems to have problems with social interaction, but it does put me off.  To me, when people behave that way, it feels manipulative.  Their behavior prompts others to coddle them or to fawn over them.  It makes me wonder if that manipulation played into the decision to keep him over Manon.  I'm not saying it's conscious manipulation on his part, but I think it's there to a degree.

[AmandaPanda]

I spent 6 weeks in college in Copenhagen for a short-term study abroad program, so I loved Danish week. It was giving me so many flashbacks to the amazing food I ate and had me going to Google to try to find a Danish bakery in my town. Unfortunately, all I could find were bakeries that serve Danishes. Coincidentally, when I just saw the title "Danish Week," I thought it was going to be about danishes and not Denmark. It was a very pleasant surprise. 

As far as them keeping Rahul over Manon, I was okay with it. Since this was the quarterfinals, now is the point where I'm okay with them taking past performance into consideration. There have been other weeks where I thought Manon should have been the one to go. This was the first week where I felt like Rahul was even close to the bottom. I think some of Rahul's grimacing and things like that could also be a cultural issue. When Noel was bringing up "Star Wars," Rahul seemed like he had genuinely never heard of it. Rahul seems like someone who has only ever been given criticism in a negative way, rather than constructive criticism. When you spend years being told all the things you have done wrong, it takes a lot more than 2 months to get past that. My dad criticized me all throughout elementary and middle school and into high school. My first panic attack was when I was 13. The vice principal had to calm me down. I got a B+ in AP Chem when I was a senior and came home in tears, profusely apologizing to my dad for disappointing him. That was the moment where he seemed to realize how much all the criticism had affected me and told me it was okay if I didn't get A's in everything. If Rahul's parents (I'm assuming it's a parent, based on how deep-rooted it appears) never had the same realization, they probably never let up on the criticism.