Kids Baking Championship - General Discussion

[BigBingerBro]

I also don't like to snark on kids for speech issues as well as looks.  Attitude, that's a bit different.  I will be watching the upcoming episodes with a sharp eye to see if they play up the speech impediments because I swear that it seemed like they were slyly prompting those kids to say certain words because they knew they would say them strange.  

[ExplainItAgain]

Many of the neapolitan desserts looked good! One of the better challenges I thought, no outright disasters.

I really thought Grayson was a goner for those not blondies. She's so polite. I like Saleem and Elise's personalities so far. Reggie seems to know a lot about baking and technical stuff.

[MerBearHou]

56 minutes ago, ExplainItAgain said:

Many of the neapolitan desserts looked good! One of the better challenges I thought, no outright disasters.

I really thought Grayson was a goner for those not blondies. She's so polite. I like Saleem and Elise's personalities so far. Reggie seems to know a lot about baking and technical stuff.

I really like Reggie from Oregon -- seems like such a steady, good kid.  Actually I like most of the kids.  The neopolitan challenge was a good one but I wouldn't want to eat most of their buttercream heavy creations!  I'm in the love-Duff-and-Valerie as hosts camp.  Their dynamic and friendship seems so genuine and I think they're just right with the kids.  Encouraging, funny but not in the way, helpful but light critiques, warm.  Not a fan of the young lady who thinks it's cute to be "I'm all that" -- ugh.  Her bake last night was much, much better than last week.  

[BigBingerBro]

The kids seems much more relaxed this week and therefore a bit more mugging and silliness, but at least they are having fun and no breakdowns or crying!!

I learned something new - "macronage"  I'm not completely doubting that Sam didn't know this prior to the show, but it's another hint that they all might get some mini-lessons before the competition.  I wish they would show more from behind-the-scenes!

Reggie seems to be the most confident and skilled, I just hope he doesn't over-reach and shoot himself in the foot later.

I thought the twist was a bit lame.  In general I felt the kids that got Napoleans had a bigger advantage over the other options since the puff pastry was pre-made.  Especially the ones that just slapped them together with buttercream. I was shocked that Naima won as hers seemed too basic, but I guess she met the criteria and it was a delicious eclair.  

Sahana should have started over the moment her dough was so crumbly.  When she almost didn't finish, I know she was a goner.

Maybe it's the editing, but the reactions the kids have during the judging is odd.  When Duff showed the one boy that his meringue had melted to an egg-white mess, he just stared at him.  No "oops" or "I'm sorry"   And the non-blondie girl kept insisting they were blondies, no "maybe I missed something" or "what could I have done wrong?"...  wierd. 

[Eliza422]

Phew, most of those creations were pretty gross looking. Not a single one of them thought to do a mousse, or pastry cream (except that one gal)? 

Are they not allowed to do a swiss or Italian meringue buttercream? at least those aren't nearly as sweet, but I know they are using cooked sugar and they might not be allowed to risk it.

[mlp]

2 hours ago, BigBingerBro said:

Maybe it's the editing, but the reactions the kids have during the judging is odd.  When Duff showed the one boy that his meringue had melted to an egg-white mess, he just stared at him.  No "oops" or "I'm sorry"   And the non-blondie girl kept insisting they were blondies, no "maybe I missed something" or "what could I have done wrong?"...  wierd. 

I have no knowledge here whatsoever but my guess is that the kids are told not to argue with the judges, maybe told not to say anything unless they're asked a question.

So far I like most of the kids.  They seem like a talented bunch.

[RoxiP]

Several of them had planned to do a Swiss meringue buttercream but ran out of time if I remember correctly.  I think a couple of them did pastry cream because the judges specifically mentioned it.  I don't quite understand why Liam did that enormous thing - he could have cut it in half and done a much nicer job.

[TomGirl]

I knew Greyson was in trouble right from the get-go when she asked another kid, “One cup of butter is four ounces, right?”  Because no, one cup of butter is eight ounces.  I was surprised Duff and Valerie didn’t ask her outright how much butter she used.

[theatremouse]

The butter question was even more confusing because the sticks generally say the measurements on the label in both ounces and cups...unless all the butter the kids had was pre-unwrapped. Even so...they have measuring implements in the kitchen.

[BigBingerBro]

That butter question also gives away that they must be using recipe cards that we cannot see.  

I noticed Sam side eyeing something off camera when he was measuring some ingredient with a teaspoon as well.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I'm wondering if some of the kids have braces, the invisible ones, or some other type that I can't see, and that affects their speech.   

I think the girl that did the Macarons did a wonderful job, and some of the other ones looked good.   However, I'm sure the buttercream amounts were a bit much to actually eat.  

[hookedontv]

I loved Sahana’s comment after she was eliminated, how the best part of doing the show was making new friends and that she plans on staying in touch with them. 
Sweet kid. 

[RoxiP]

Don't they normally get those huge chunks of butter as opposed to the sticks we get from the store?

[NJKBCFan]

Wasn't able to watch the episodes when they aired, so just caught up last night on DVR. First thing I noticed was that a few of the kids seemed more physically mature than in previous seasons. In particular, Morgan and Saleem look and sound like teenagers, as do a few of the others. They are younger, but seems like they've hit those growth spurts a little early? There are definitely some younger and pre-growth-spurt kids too, but my overall impression is that these kids are older.

I liked the challenges in both episode. In both this and last season, the kids seem to be more confident and at ease in the kitchen than in early episodes of previous seasons. I wonder if they do something with the kids before the competition starts? Like some kind of orientation? Earlier seasons had more mistakes in the early episodes, so maybe the show has adjusted for that.

So far, Reggie seems to be the most talented (or at least the most experienced) baker. Avner also seems to be really good. In general, though, it feels like this cast might be the best set of bakers 1-12 so far. Other seasons have had some great bakers together with some not-so-great bakers. Having said that, I also think I agree that there aren't really any standout personalities here (yet).

[RoxiP]

So far my favorite is the little girl who has diabetes - not sure of her name but she has the sweetest expression on her face at all times.

[TomGirl]

5 minutes ago, RoxiP said:

So far my favorite is the little girl who has diabetes

I think you mean Elise.

[RoxiP]

That sounds right.  I just like her sweet little face and great attitude.

[Fostersmom]

On 1/10/2020 at 4:05 PM, BigBingerBro said:

I also don't like to snark on kids for speech issues as well as looks.  Attitude, that's a bit different.  I will be watching the upcoming episodes with a sharp eye to see if they play up the speech impediments because I swear that it seemed like they were slyly prompting those kids to say certain words because they knew they would say them strange.  

Last week for sure with the Napoleon theme. This week I'm really feeling like one of the boys, Anthony, does have a speech impediment, but also has a severe case of baby talk going on too. Every time they showed him talking it was in this whispy little almost toddler voice. At one point, and I know this is mean, I was literally wondering why his parents hadn't told their damn 12 year old to cut the crap and use his big boy voice. All 3 of my nephews had speech impediments, so I'm no stranger to hearing them and yeah, his baby talk is obvious. It was blatantly obvious when he was presenting his dessert for judging. Little faces and pouts for the judges. 

On 1/15/2020 at 1:41 PM, RoxiP said:

So far my favorite is the little girl who has diabetes - not sure of her name but she has the sweetest expression on her face at all times.

Naima is a diabetic, she mentioned it again last night. She's the little girl who was trying to make the brittle and the second batch went up in flames. She's a smiley girl for sure. She cracked me up when she covered her face about the flames and she said she hoped she didn't get sued because she's broke! LOL!

Apparently Elise is diabetic too! When she went out the door at the end of the episode, you could see her glucose monitor attached to her arm. I didn't realize until the very end of the episode and was typing all of this while watching. She's a cutie too. 

[RoxiP]

Elise was the one I was referring to...she mentioned her diabetes in one of the earlier episodes.  So sorry to see her go!

Saleem was getting on my nerves last night (and apparently also on Reggie's).  

[Kakistos]

47 minutes ago, Fostersmom said:

She's a smiley girl for sure. She cracked me up when she covered her face about the flames and she said she hoped she didn't get sued because she's broke! LOL!

That, and her comment about the second time almost resulting in death. Even the camera man (or whoever else was in the room) laughed at that. 

Edited January 21, 2020 by Kakistos

[BigBingerBro]

The "imposter" shows are my least favorite.

Saleem needs to go, he should have been sent instead of Elise.  It seems he's there more for exposure vs a love for baking.  

Naima needs to cut down on the cutesy act and focus.  She's quite a good baker but she's obviously loving being in front of cameras.

[Eliza422]

I think it was the right choice to send Elise home. Saleem didn't have a knockout dessert, but at least his components were competently made. Elise's pate a choux was terrible and I think they said something about the innards too.

I'm not very fond of dessert imposter challenges in general, but it bugs me that they have things the kids don't know, like the banh mi sandwich. If they are going to do that I think they should have an actual sandwich there, not just a pic, so they could be more accurate.

 

[mlp]

I find Naima annoying because she seems very "Look at me; I'm on TV."  She's very aware of the cameras.  

It seems odd to me that diabetic kids would choose baking as their hobby.  

I like Sam despite his somewhat babyish voice.  His vocabulary and sentence structure make me think he's probably quite bright and he seems to know what he's talking about.

I know I say this every season but I love Duff and Valerie.  They seem to genuinely like each other and enjoy working together.  

17 minutes ago, BigBingerBro said:

Naima needs to cut down on the cutesy act and focus.  She's quite a good baker but she's obviously loving being in front of cameras.

Exactly.  I had already typed my comment above and was getting ready to submit when your post came in.

[snarkylady]

6 minutes ago, BigBingerBro said:

The "imposter" shows are my least favorite.

Saleem needs to go, he should have been sent instead of Elise.  It seems he's there more for exposure vs a love for baking.  

Naima needs to cut down on the cutesy act and focus.  She's quite a good baker but she's obviously loving being in front of cameras.

Came here to post the exact same things! 

I've never liked the imposter episodes.  I think this year's were some of the worst as far as resembling the assigned food.  Glad it's over for this year.

Naima patting herself on her back during the eliminations -- not cool.  Somewhere during the baking she announced that she looks good.  Preening for the camera.  I do think she's cute and talented, has a style of her own and is well put together.  AndI think the other kids like her.   Maybe I should cut her some slack. 

Saleem.....definitely needs to go.  Doesn't seem to have the talent the others do.  I'm not sure why he's there.

One of the boys, and yeah, it would help if I knew their names, has reached an annoying level himself.  I'll have to pay closer attention next week to see who it is.

[BigBingerBro]

8 minutes ago, mlp said:

It seems odd to me that diabetic kids would choose baking as their hobby.  

Well Naima explained that her type of Diabetes is more an immune system disorder vs a sugar intake issue.

I d like Duff and Valerie, they work well together, but i wish this show had a host like the adult shows do.  Like a mentor for the kids.  It always bothers me when the judges are all up in the contestant's business while they are trying to cook.

[docmatt]

58 minutes ago, mlp said:

It seems odd to me that diabetic kids would choose baking as their hobby. 

 A lot of diabetic kids learn a lot about food because they need to be so aware of what they're eating, Baking or cooking actually make a lot of sense as hobbies

 

[ExplainItAgain]

2 hours ago, Eliza422 said:

I'm not very fond of dessert imposter challenges in general, but it bugs me that they have things the kids don't know, like the banh mi sandwich. If they are going to do that I think they should have an actual sandwich there, not just a pic, so they could be more accurate.

Agree, couldn't they at least list the ingredients in the sandwich on the back of the cards. I don't think a lot of kids that age know what a banh mi is.

[Katherinereply]

It is difficult to watch the show with the speech impediments. I know the two boys cannot help it but you just have to say it is odd that there are two out of the group.  I am not sure why Anthony has it much worse. Since the school systems are great with speech therapy options is it possible they were home schooled and did not have this opportunity? Had to stop watching this season.

[TVbitch]

Hell, I don't know what banh mi is and I'm 54!

I will skip this epi cuz I hate hate hate imposter challenges. On the adult shows too. It's just so... why?!?!

Sometimes I wonder if the judges have a spit bucket when they are taking big bites of 11 plates of buttercream. I would be absolutely sick after that. 

[theatremouse]

19 hours ago, ExplainItAgain said:

Agree, couldn't they at least list the ingredients in the sandwich on the back of the cards. 

I'm pretty sure they do? It wasn't on camera in this episode but in previous seasons' imposter episodes there were kids who announced they didn't know what the thing was but then later were shown iterating a list of what it should contain. That made it seem like they get not only the photo but a list of general components.

(Although then I have no idea why Elise put a red sauce on the thing...unless it was supposed to be Sriracha) But I'm pretty sure they either have it on the cards - or they get an off-camera explanation of the brief. I mean, they definitely get an off-camera explanation of the brief, that's standard, but I'm assuming if the general components of the sandwich were not on the card, they'd also get an explanation during that session.

[mlp]

3 hours ago, TVbitch said:

Hell, I don't know what banh mi is and I'm 54!

I only know what it is from food TV.  There is no place around here that serves Vietnamese food so I've never even seen one much less eaten one.  I'd need a picture and a list of ingredients before I could make one, real or imposter. 

I've always assumed that the kids get briefed prior to filming but one boy did say, "What's a banh mi?"  Maybe he was told to do that.  I don't think everything we see is exactly as it seems.  For example, when the new cast walks into the kitchen area for the first time, they all ooh and aah and act like they're totally surprised and amazed.  Then, after they get their assignments, they all run to their stations and start grabbing what they need.  It's obvious they've been there before.

[BigBingerBro]

1 hour ago, mlp said:

Maybe he was told to do that

Kind of like when Saleem was asking if anyone had any eggs and then when he said he needed 12, they all looked at him like wtf? Then he said, "Oh I'll just go back and get some".  I have a feeling they are told to share and ask each other for ingredients as it adds "filler".

[Guest]

This is a pretty dry, low key group of kids so far and I’m digging it.

[RoxiP]

Not sorry to see that one boy go.  He seemed to be struggling and yet oddly enough also seemed over-confident.

[suebee12]

I must say, I am not really enjoying this year. The kids seem to know how to bake but they surely can't decorate very well. Only Greyson's llama even vaguely resembled what a llama should look like. The other thing that bother's me are the two boys with speech problems. Both of my boys had speech therapy when they started school and their problems were solved quickly(and at a very young age). Why haven't the parents done something. It is really hard to watch these kids struggle with speaking.

[Rammchick]

11 minutes ago, suebee12 said:

I must say, I am not really enjoying this year. The kids seem to know how to bake but they surely can't decorate very well. Only Greyson's llama even vaguely resembled what a llama should look like. The other thing that bother's me are the two boys with speech problems. Both of my boys had speech therapy when they started school and their problems were solved quickly(and at a very young age). Why haven't the parents done something. It is really hard to watch these kids struggle with speaking.

Agreed.  Also, Naima's unfounded overconfidence is getting very annoying.

[BigBingerBro]

I also had no issue with them sending Saleem home, it was a long time coming.  I felt he was probably one of the few that was there mainly for stardom vs actual baking skill.  

So, Duff claimed that Llamas are the new unicorns and that they are everywhere!  I guess I'm way out of the loop as I didn't know that.  Maybe because I don't have kids?

I'm have very bad decorating skills, so I can't imagine being able to create anything that looks like a llama either, but at least most of the kids tried.

Regarding the speech impediments, I really wonder if Anthony truly has one, or he's just using baby-talk combined with a NJ accent?  I wonder what his parents sound like.

I thought it was sweet when Valerie gave Greyson her necklace.  I wonder if she would have also awarded it to a boy?

[RoxiP]

Why not award the llama necklace to a boy - sounds like they would have all welcomed it.

I am disappointed at the level of decorations last night also.  They were making cupcakes - they really don't take that long to bake so they should have had plenty of time to decorate (just my opinion and I'm a horrible decorator but goodness!).  There were plenty of examples of llamas around to show them what they should look like.  Seems like they didn't put in much effort.  

[Guest]

2 hours ago, RoxiP said:

Why not award the llama necklace to a boy - sounds like they would have all welcomed it.

I am disappointed at the level of decorations last night also.  They were making cupcakes - they really don't take that long to bake so they should have had plenty of time to decorate (just my opinion and I'm a horrible decorator but goodness!).  There were plenty of examples of llamas around to show them what they should look like.  Seems like they didn't put in much effort.  

A llama has a pretty distinct look that seems like it would be difficult to create in a way that doesn't make it just look like a horse or rabbit or steer (or whatever other animals were invoked last night XD). Plus they were given the task of making grass and dirt, too, which took away decorating time. So it might have been more difficult than it seems. And it cracked me up how they all acknowledged that their llamas looked horrible.

Perhaps I'm alone in enjoying this season. I already mentioned liking the dry humor of the kids, on full display last night with Reggie's pathological hatred of alpacas/llamas, and Naima surveying her dirt crumble and calmly saying "Looks good. I wanna eat it. But I have to serve it." And Sam, who seems like a bomb could go off next to him and he'd just be like, "Time to frost my cupcakes".

And having Graysen thrown in amongst this group of deadpanners, with her open-mouth, hands-to-the-face smile like she was just given a dozen puppies, adds a whole 'nother layer of comedy. I love it.

Plus you have the delightful absurdity of Valerie brightly asking "And what is your dirt? ^_^"

Good times. Until the end of the episode when the eliminated kid starts crying. That is not good times 😞

Edited January 28, 2020 by tracyscott76
Fixing the spelling of Graysen's name...again

[RoxiP]

Oh I always enjoy the kids.  I just wonder at the talent level of this group compared to previous seasons - but I'm sure their skills will improve as they progress through the competition.

Reggie was cracking me up.  He was so deadpan when he was talking about his hatred of llamas.  

I would like to see Grayson relax her hair - I feel like with it skinned back from her face and then that mouthful of braces she looks a little fake - and I suspect she is not.  

[theatremouse]

I thought Avner's second-attempt llamas actually looked OK, but then when he stuck them in the frosting on top of the cupcakes, it covered part of it and the end result looked more....cow-ish. But when they were on the sheet setting they were close enough. Not as good as the winner's, but much much much closer than the rest.

What I found odd was in the montage of llama stuff at the beginning, they showed full sized llama cakes. I'm glad they didn't have the kids do that, since it'd be so close to the "shag" challenge. But it was odd to me they treated "llama cupcakes" as though it were an established thing, but then had zero footage of an example. The examples were cakes. Like they had the kids do unicorn cakes in the past, and that is certainly a known thing, but also harder to translate into cupcake. Especially since the llama look is so dependent on both the ears combined with the height of the neck....making this cupcakes was sort of asking for failing on the decorating? I do think the kids who went the route of Make Something Llama Shaped and Stick It On Top had the better approach than the kids who tried to do essentially a llama face on the cupcake itself.

They had the little llamas telling them what flavor to do. I was a little surprised no one outlined that and used it as a template to try to make a smaller llama, rather than relying on going freehand. Make it was disallowed in the off-camera rules.... otherwise, easy cheat-sheet right there.

[mlp]

The live llama they brought in was beautiful and calm.  Reggie's comments were making me laugh, especially when he said both llamas and alpacas are "rude."  I can see how it would be difficult to make a decoration that looked like a llama and not some other animal with a long nose and pointy ears but not one of the kids made anything that remotely looked like one.  I thought of the boy with artistic ability who was on a couple seasons ago.  I'll bet he would have painted a nice one on top of his cupcakes.

I like all the kids who are left except Naima.  Every year there's one kid who thinks she's cute and plays to the camera and, this year, she's it.  My favorites are Sam and Greyson.  Graysen?  I'll have to pay attention to how she spells her name.  Anthony is a cutie but, yeah, he needs some help with his speech.  Before his voice changes.

[Guest]

49 minutes ago, RoxiP said:

I would like to see Grayson relax her hair - I feel like with it skinned back from her face and then that mouthful of braces she looks a little fake - and I suspect she is not.  

I do agree about Graysen's hair; it's really pulled back tight. Perhaps that's just her "baking" look to keep it out of her face (and the food). On the other hand, that seems to be a common style among tweens so maybe she just likes it that way.

Edited January 28, 2020 by tracyscott76
Darn you Graysen!

[snarkylady]

I'm adding myself to the list of people not particularly enjoying this season. Perhaps I'm just bored with the concept.  

I would like to see one challenge as a "surprise us".  Contestants have to make a dessert that represents them -- their style, or taste, or heritage or geographic location.  There are no restrictions other than time and there are no "twists".  No shouts of "25 minutes bakers!!!!!!"   And while I'm at it, no fake tears (last night's tears when the ear cookies fell on the floor and when the boy was eliminated were fake, fake, fake).

[RoxiP]

16 hours ago, snarkylady said:

I'm adding myself to the list of people not particularly enjoying this season. Perhaps I'm just bored with the concept.  

I would like to see one challenge as a "surprise us".  Contestants have to make a dessert that represents them -- their style, or taste, or heritage or geographic location.  There are no restrictions other than time and there are no "twists".  No shouts of "25 minutes bakers!!!!!!"   And while I'm at it, no fake tears (last night's tears when the ear cookies fell on the floor and when the boy was eliminated were fake, fake, fake).

I'm not sure Saleem's tears were fake, but he obviously had no way to deal with disappointment other than immediately crying...or to be honest I did wonder if he thought if he cried Valerie or Duff would come by and rescue him...not sure but I was not sad to see him go.  He seemed very needy, but then again these are young teens and they are by very definition of their age emotional beings!

[Kakistos]

His tears must have dried up quickly since they didn’t immediately cut back to him after the commercial break or show anyone comforting him. 

[RoxiP]

15 hours ago, Kakistos said:

His tears must have dried up quickly since they didn’t immediately cut back to him after the commercial break or show anyone comforting him. 

I noticed that too!  Usually when they come back they recap what just happened (which is rather annoying) and then the storyline continues but they glossed right over Saleem's breakdown.  He's probably a great kid - he just seemed to be a bit socially awkward and immature.

[hookedontv]

I have to say, I'm enjoying this season. I like that most of the kids are NOT over-the-top and are pretty easy going compared to other seasons. Creating a llama cupcake really was too hard of a challenge. I can't draw well, my llama would end up looking like a cat/dog/fox/squirrel type thing. It would not be good.

I really like Sam. He seems to know his stuff in terms of baking and is smart.

Sam reminds me of Dwight from The Office. Does anyone else see that? Maybe it's his hair, I dunno. And that's not a dig on Sam - I love Dwight and that show. 

[Kakistos]

Do you think any of the eliminated kids ever quit baking?  
 

Seems like every episode, someone says “don’t quit baking” or “I’m not going let this stop me from baking.”  I’ve never understood why they say that. 

Edited February 2, 2020 by Kakistos

[RoxiP]

17 hours ago, Kakistos said:

Do you think any of the eliminated kids ever quit baking?  
 

Seems like every episode, someone says “don’t quit baking” or “I’m not going let this stop me from baking.”  I’ve never understood why they say that. 

I agree.  Find a better tag line please!