Kids Baking Championship - General Discussion

[susannah]

5 hours ago, Tippi said:

Some of these creations made me think "mud pie."  Hoping that things will improve, but if Food Network ever asked for my input, I'd have to say contestants no younger than 12 years old.

I just looked at the past winners, and two 11 year olds won their seasons, and several more in their final three were 10 and 11. I don't know if it is the age that matters as much as the skills. Ben's age wouldn't matter if he had knocked it out of the park, but he was relying on "I'm so little and cute" instead. None of these kids seem to have the skills, so far, but I have to keep remembering that they had to audition for the show, so they must have done something right.

[emmawoodhouse]

10 should be at the low end of the participants, not the elder statesmen. And that said, a 10 year old was the first out in this iteration. I bet the producers keep Benjamin around for a while for the cutesy factor. 

[theatremouse]

I'm assuming the reason they're pushing the whole "youngest ever!" thing is to imply "they're just as good if not better than who you've seen before, but younger" ergo, more interesting to watch. So far, not necessarily the case, but clearly what they're going for.

[susannah]

5 hours ago, emmawoodhouse said:

10 should be at the low end of the participants, not the elder statesmen. And that said, a 10 year old was the first out in this iteration. I bet the producers keep Benjamin around for a while for the cutesy factor. 

I agree. Most all of the other winners and runners up were 12 or 13. 10 should be the youngest they should go, and 13 is good for the oldest, as it is.

[SweetSable]

7 hours ago, susannah said:

I agree. Most all of the other winners and runners up were 12 or 13. 10 should be the youngest they should go, and 13 is good for the oldest, as it is.

I'd actually like to see them do a season with older kids, not younger ones - say from 13 to 17.  Maybe a Teen Baking Championship?

 

[mlp]

I wanted Ben to be eliminated because he's obnoxious but the commercial they kept showing had him sassing Duff in a bit that didn't happen during the first episode so I knew he'd be staying around.  IMO Eva-Leigh (pretty name) shouldn't have been up for elimination.  The cake with the jelly beans that wasn't even a butterfly looked worse.

Most of the cakes looked so bad that I wouldn't have put them anywhere near my mouth.  I don't know how Duff and Valerie stomach some of the things they have to try.  

[Guest]

1 hour ago, mlp said:

IMO Eva-Leigh (pretty name) shouldn't have been up for elimination.  The cake with the jelly beans that wasn't even a butterfly looked worse.

The non-butterfly cake with jelly beans WAS Ava-Leigh's cake. I believe the judges also said something about its consistency. I liked her a lot, personality-wise, but I can see why she was eliminated.

[mlp]

3 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

The non-butterfly cake with jelly beans WAS Ava-Leigh's cake.

I guess I'm remembering it all wrong then - which happens easily any more.  :)  I thought the girl with the blue streaks in her hair made the non-butterfly cake.  

[emmawoodhouse]

3 minutes ago, mlp said:

I guess I'm remembering it all wrong then - which happens easily any more.  :)  I thought the girl with the blue streaks in her hair made the non-butterfly cake.  

That's Finley. She made the underbaked (practically raw) cake. 

[CeeBeeGee]

On 12/28/2021 at 4:00 AM, susannah said:

I have heard a rumor that the black kids are often too quickly chopped, and I don't know if that is true, but it was wrong to keep Ben's mess of a cake and chop Eva-Leigh, whose cake was also a mess but not as bad.

 

Ben's cake was ridiculous--an amateurish, garish mess. I honestly can't believe he wasn't the first one cut. They made the wrong choice.

 

[Guest]

9 hours ago, mlp said:

I guess I'm remembering it all wrong then - which happens easily any more.  :)  I thought the girl with the blue streaks in her hair made the non-butterfly cake.  

I remember it was Ava-Leigh because her reasoning was "I'm putting jelly beans on my cake because I like jelly beans" 😆 She'll be missed.

[susannah]

47 minutes ago, tracyscott76 said:

I remember it was Ava-Leigh because her reasoning was "I'm putting jelly beans on my cake because I like jelly beans" 😆 She'll be missed.

Her hair was gorgeous.

[Starry-Eyed]

23 hours ago, CeeBeeGee said:

Ben's cake was ridiculous--an amateurish, garish mess. I honestly can't believe he wasn't the first one cut. They made the wrong choice.

 

I HAVE to believe that the producers ordered them to keep Ben around, because there is no other justification. He is the kind of obnoxious that people who don't deal much with kids think is "cute" and "funny" at first, but is really just bratty, disrespectful, and irritating.

[CeeBeeGee]

3 hours ago, Starry-Eyed said:

I HAVE to believe that the producers ordered them to keep Ben around, because there is no other justification. He is the kind of obnoxious that people who don't deal much with kids think is "cute" and "funny" at first, but is really just bratty, disrespectful, and irritating.

Yup. I work with kids and the kind of kid that thinks "ha ha, it's cute if I misbehave'--hard f***ing pass. Like, he's eight, I'm not going to come down too hard on him--but I think the whole premise of them eliminating kids is terrible (have a smaller group and don't eliminate anyone because hello, they're children, so have them learn from their mistakes and definitely don't film their reactions to being cut). 

So when they eliminate the older kid because either: the younger kid is better TV (they think), or they don't want to hurt the youngest kid's feelings--I call bullsh*t. His cake was hands down the worst. He should not be on the show--he should've been eliminated.

[theatremouse]

I think they kept him - even though his was a hot mess that didn't really look like a butterfly - because technically he did do the butterfly part of the challenge, even if his decoration obfuscated it. Whereas the jelly bean cake didn't flip the two semicircular sides out to call them wings, didn't cut them into specific wing shapes, didn't really meet the "butterfly" part of the challenge at all. I think the choice basically boiled down to "ugly green blob that definitely has some sort of wing shape" vs "circular cake".

[Starry-Eyed]

13 hours ago, theatremouse said:

I think they kept him - even though his was a hot mess that didn't really look like a butterfly - because technically he did do the butterfly part of the challenge, even if his decoration obfuscated it. Whereas the jelly bean cake didn't flip the two semicircular sides out to call them wings, didn't cut them into specific wing shapes, didn't really meet the "butterfly" part of the challenge at all. I think the choice basically boiled down to "ugly green blob that definitely has some sort of wing shape" vs "circular cake".

If Ava-Leigh had flipped her cake halves like she intended, it wouldn't have been beautiful and  perfectly sculpted,(or even close to some of the actual competent cakes like Ellora's) but it would have been recognizably a butterfly. Both their cakes had other problems, but was not flipping the cake halves REALLY a bigger error than pouring a fourth of a cup of sanding sugar on top on that mess?

[susannah]

1 hour ago, Starry-Eyed said:

If Ava-Leigh had flipped her cake halves like she intended, it wouldn't have been beautiful and  perfectly sculpted,(or even close to some of the actual competent cakes like Ellora's) but it would have been recognizably a butterfly. Both their cakes had other problems, but was not flipping the cake halves REALLY a bigger error than pouring a fourth of a cup of sanding sugar on top on that mess?

Or half a cup! I couldn't agree more, that there was no way Ben should not have been cut.

[trudysmom]

This show joins the (growing) list of shows I continue to watch and ask myself why I'm watching something I don't enjoy anymore.  The baking championships were meh at best, though better than last season, the holiday themed 'wars' were trash, even the gingerbread show was a bust and I love the hosts. 

KBC show, the time limits and twists are ridiculous.  There are too many kids!  A field of 6 or 7 would be plenty, and give them time to produce something good.   It seemed like a fairly simple challenge, though.  A single layer of cake, cooled, cut and decorated to resemble a butterfly.  The flower twist was ridiculous and if they have to do it why do it so late in the challenge when the poor kids are already scrambling to finish?  I also don't think that assigning them a flavor is necessarily fair.  Sure they may end up with 5 lemon or chocolate cakes to taste but it would be a truer measure of what the kids are actually good at.

[MerBearHou]

34 minutes ago, trudysmom said:

The baking championships were meh at best, though better than last season, the holiday themed 'wars' were trash, even the gingerbread show was a bust and I love the hosts. 

I so agree with the above.  The hosts are not the problems IMO (except this super annoying woman on the Tiny Food competition show) - the bakers are.  It’s as though 1/2 are very talented and the other 1/2 can’t keep up.  I think the impatience with this now is a factor from year-in and year-out of watching.  Least favorite for me — the Holiday Wars — the dinosaurs, gremlins, freaky looking faces of elves, planets and moons — I just do not get it and every episode seems to be in this vein.  I tune in to HW for a second because I really like holiday baking and every time, I change the channel.  Anyone feel like I should stick with it next time?

I’m hopeful TPTB are getting wind of the viewers’ opinions on casting these super young bakers this season.  It’s just not entertaining.  I’ve enjoyed every other season, though every once in awhile there has been a young baker who really got on my nerves (Jane) so am hopeful this KBC will improve in a couple of episodes.  I’ll stick with it but…

[CeeBeeGee]

Benjamin. is. ANNOYING.

FFS, stop arguing with the host who 1) has forgotten more than you'll ever know about baking, and 2) who is trying to help you not get eliminated!

Ugh, he is so irritating!

[MerBearHou]

I’m out.  This season is a joke.

[Adeejay]

Finley was robbed.  Ben should have been eliminated. There is a huge difference between bratty and cute.  Ben is the former.  

[Jess14]

It’s clear that they’re keeping Ben around for the drama, but it’s not cute or funny. He just comes off as immature and bratty. He should’ve been eliminated in both of the 2 eliminations. 

[scriggle]

I smell producer interference. Ben definitely should've gone. His antics are not cute. His parents and TPTB are doing that child a disservice by having/keeping him on the show.

Duff seems to be done with the kid.

[LexieLily]

11 minutes ago, Sproutlet said:

I hope someone had a long chat with Ben after they filmed that episode, because that was ridiculous. Getting all defensive and defiant over a simple suggestion, and that petulant, "Stop it!" when Duff told him his bars were underbaked? No. You're on national TV and the judges are very kindly giving you advice and constructive criticism. If you can't be respectful, go home.

I would bet that once in the relative privacy of being away from the cameras, Duff and/or Valerie had comments about Ben that would not be appropriate for eight-year-old ears.

Valerie has a son and Duff has a child now as well. You know that sometimes they have to have thoughts about the behaviors, positive or negative, of these kids.

Edited January 4, 2022 by LexieLily

[Grizzly]

The final products looked a lot better this week. I guess since there wasn't much to decorate. Children who talk back to adults are not cute, no matter what Hollywood  says. Not sure why the kids made those huge batches of popcorn and only needed a little bit to fill those bags.

[toodywoody]

Why do I not like Finley? I love Joseph and his faces. 

I loved last week's episode and how Valerie went and talked to Finley when she was crying.

[Guest]

I mean, I liked Finley better than Ben and wish she was still there, but his was simply underdone while hers was clearly just straight-up raw. So from an execution standpoint, I can see it.

Agreed that overall this was a better week for pretty much everyone except the bottom two. Duff and Valerie's reaction to Riya's potato chip pastry cream telegraphed her win, and it was well-deserved! Figures the grizzled 11-year-old veteran would come up with that 😆

Edited January 4, 2022 by tracyscott76
word choice

[KBCfan]

CBG - you’re too kind…annoying is too nice, Ben is simply a brat and should have been kicked off tonight.  If he is still around after next week, I’ll just stop watching. If I were his parents, I’d be so embarrassed.

[CeeBeeGee]

17 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

I would bet that once in the relative privacy of being away from the cameras, Duff and/or Valerie had comments about Ben that would not be appropriate for eight-year-old ears.

Valarie looked surprised by his rudeness at the judging--but Duff looked straight up pissed.

They really need to stop rewarding behavior like that. I work with kids and when you don't curtail that kind of behavior, they will think it's okay and will just escalate. Eight years old is plenty old enough to know that's inappropriate.

[toodywoody]

Good lord Ben is a turd. 

While I realize the kids had to use all three ingredients. I wish most would have done more than just a crumble. 

I've never heard if Zaatar. Her and Joseph are my favorites. 

Oh yeah Santiago bugs me too. He had a problem with time last time then he was just leaning up against the counter this week.

Edited January 4, 2022 by toodywoody

[CeeBeeGee]

1 minute ago, toodywoody said:

Good lord Ben is a turd. 

While I realize the kids had to use all three ingredients. I wish most would have done more than just a crumble. 

I've never heard if Zaatar. Her and Joseph are my favorites. 

I loved Joseph's chill last week. He nonchalantly made a great cake with an ingredient he'd never heard of before. "So, do you like chai?" "Nah." He just seems really chill but still has little kid excitement at times.

[ProfCrash]

Watching tonights episode and am at the tasting. But I can say that Ben needs to go home. He is not precocious, he is annoying. Not in a cute way but in the way that screams  like a kid whose parents need to take a parenting class. He is that kid who has always been told he is wonderful no matter what he does. Just not cute. 

I get it, he is 8, he is not going to be a sophisticated baker or all that great at decorating. But his attitude is awful and his stuff just looks like crap dumped on it. 

I think most of the other kids are fine. Lots of the desserts tonight look a lot better, well executed. There were some interesting flavor choices but they seemed to pull it off. 

The potato chip pastry cream was really cool.

Finely with two unbaked items in a row is the right call to go but I hope that Ben goes next. 

[GeorgiaRai]

Do we think Finley also got input from Duff or Valerie about needing more bake time?  Because to me, it's more forgivable to underbake than to underbake after being told outright to put your dish back in the oven.  I think Ben should've gone home.

Edited January 4, 2022 by GeorgiaRai

[MerBearHou]

44 minutes ago, GeorgiaRai said:

Do we think Finley also got input from Duff or Valerie about needing more bake time?  Because to me, it's more forgivable to underbake than to underbake after being told outright to put your dish back in the oven.  I think Ben should've gone home.

That irritated me to no end how much Duff was advising Ben.  No, I didn’t see Finley get any of that same “needs more bake time / it’s raw” guidance.  Holler at me when Ben is off the show and I’ll tune back in (as if they care).  

PS:  I love Joseph.  He is so genuine and dear.

[susannah]

OMG, Ben needs to go and go NOW. I could not BELIEVE how he spoke to Duff, when Duff was trying to help him, and then to the both of them at the judging. He looked at them with pure contempt. His stuff looks awful and he needs slapping upside his head. Several times. I think Finley was robbed. No one helped HER with any advice, and she made that mistake. To keep Ben who was flat out TOLD to bake it longer, which he flat out refused to do, and cut Finley for the same mistake, was just every kind of wrong. I could tell Duff was pissed at him and to see Valerie's shock at his attitude...  I was wondering if all those mix ins would affect baking times of the cookie bars/blondies and it seems that they did.

I think the other kids did much better jobs this week. Everyone's looked much neater and showed more imagination. I am glad Lucia's pastry cream finally turned out, and liked Duff's advice to her. I just am so pissed at the injustice of this show. The kids work so hard to get there and to stay there and that little cretin remains.

[LexieLily]

43 minutes ago, susannah said:

OMG, Ben needs to go and go NOW. I could not BELIEVE how he spoke to Duff, when Duff was trying to help him, and then to the both of them at the judging. He looked at them with pure contempt. His stuff looks awful and he needs slapping upside his head. Several times. I think Finley was robbed. No one helped HER with any advice, and she made that mistake. To keep Ben who was flat out TOLD to bake it longer, which he flat out refused to do, and cut Finley for the same mistake, was just every kind of wrong. I could tell Duff was pissed at him and to see Valerie's shock at his attitude...  I was wondering if all those mix ins would affect baking times of the cookie bars/blondies and it seems that they did.

It may be my interpretation but the way Valerie said "Thank you, Ben" at the end as a way to dismiss him, she sounded over him, too, at least for that day. Why wouldn't she? He came into judging defensive with an attitude that he wasn't going to listen to a thing Duff and Valerie said.

[emmawoodhouse]

I don't advocate violence, but man, I wanted to smack smug ass Ben. He can't go fast enough. I noted last week that the producers were probably overriding Duff and Val to keep the twerp. Now I'm sure of it.

[orangekit]

I think Duff had two work hard to control himself with that little brat Ben .  I wonder if Valerie is more tolerant and wanted to keep him. She seems like weird mom is who raised a big baby obnoxious son from what I’ve seen in her cooking show. And she still  teams up with him to attack idiots on Twitter who insult him in his band ! If she thinks that normal to do with a 30 year old she may be thinking Ben’s bratty behavior is ok .

[40Love]

9 minutes ago, emmawoodhouse said:

I don't advocate violence, but man, I wanted to smack smug ass Ben. He can't go fast enough. I noted last week that the producers were probably overriding Duff and Val to keep the twerp. Now I'm sure of it.

Can you just see the smug, condescending, weaselly little bureaucrat he's no doubt going to grow up to be: obnoxiously denying claims and writing up his employees and co-workers?!  Duff does indeed seem to be over him. 

[susannah]

26 minutes ago, emmawoodhouse said:

I don't advocate violence, but man, I wanted to smack smug ass Ben. He can't go fast enough. I noted last week that the producers were probably overriding Duff and Val to keep the twerp. Now I'm sure of it.

I so did too. All of it really bugs me but it was just so unfair to Finley, who would have listened to anyone advising her to cook them longer. If Ben had not been advised, it would have been more fair, since Finley's were way underbaked. But he was, and she wasn't. Why would the producers want to keep him?

[emmawoodhouse]

11 minutes ago, susannah said:

Why would the producers want to keep him?

They want to be vindicated for casting an 8 year old. 

[LexieLily]

Even if he's an obnoxious eight year old that doesn't listen and crossed the line into rude?

[Rammchick]

On 1/3/2022 at 6:57 PM, ProfCrash said:

Watching tonights episode and am at the tasting. But I can say that Ben needs to go home. He is not precocious, he is annoying. Not in a cute way but in the way that screams  like a kid whose parents need to take a parenting class. He is that kid who has always been told he is wonderful no matter what he does. Just not cute.

I noticed that we're not seeing the parents this season.  It would be enlightening to see his parents' reaction to this behavior.  My bet is that they'd be laughing and pronouncing it adorable.  I only know my parents would have been mortified.

Edited January 5, 2022 by Rammchick

[susannah]

2 hours ago, emmawoodhouse said:

They want to be vindicated for casting an 8 year old. 

Ben isn't a cretin because he is eight. He is a cretin because he hasn't been taught to have respect for others, and that is true of all ages. He thinks he's all that, but his work isn't backing him up. That's not to say that another kid that age mightn't have the skills to really impress.

[trudysmom]

If the producers allowed us to see what we saw of Ben and his obnoxious behavior, what didn't we see?  Is it edited in a way to create the 'precocious little boy' character, or is this the best they had to offer of him?  In my experience working in public schools, that kid is not only a pain in the ass to his teachers but to other kids as well.  He may be getting a pass now because he's 8 but that ship is gonna sail soon enough. 

[ProfCrash]

4 hours ago, Rammchick said:

I noticed that we're not seeing the parents this season.  It would be interesting to see his parents' reaction to this behavior.  My bet is that they'd be laughing and pronouncing it adorable.  I only know my parents would have been mortified.

I noticed that as well. The parents are missing. And I glad that they are. That was just weird and took time away from the kids, who are what I want to watch.

I live in Finley's area, not McLean but the same school district, which is huge. Finley started backing during the Pandemic. She mainly worked with box mixes until her family ran out and then she started watching YouTube. She seems like a nice kid who picked up baking as a hobby during the pandemic and not a kid who was interested in baking before hand. 

Granted, that means she started at 8 and not 4 or 5 or 6 or whatever but I don't get the feeling that she was someone motivated to bake because she loves baking. And I am sure she appreciates that today is a snow day so she doesn't have to go to school after the elimination episode. 

[rlc]

9 hours ago, Rammchick said:

I noticed that we're not seeing the parents this season.  It would be interesting to see his parents' reaction to this behavior.  My bet is that they'd be laughing and pronouncing it adorable.  I only know my parents would have been mortified.

I’m sure that Ben’s parents see nothing wrong with his behavior. Puppies don’t have alligators and a**holes don’t have kittens.

Edited January 4, 2022 by rlc

[kcrabtree06]

What makes me mad about this season being “the youngest cast ever” is if you look at past seasons, the younger ones on the cast are always the first ones to go!! Once in a blue moon they’ve struck out with someone like Peggy or Meadow who is 10 and can bake really well, but looking back at past seasons only two 10 year olds have ever made the finals and neither of them won. Why have a whole season of primarily kids 10 and under when the stats show they just don’t do as well as kids 11-13!?

[Jess14]

11 hours ago, GeorgiaRai said:

Do we think Finley also got input from Duff or Valerie about needing more bake time?  Because to me, it's more forgivable to underbake than to underbake after being told outright to put your dish back in the oven.  I think Ben should've gone home.

Exactly. He explicitly ignored instructions to put his cookie back in the oven and then served an underbaked cookie (with an attitude). I don’t care how bad Finley’s cookie turned out, he should’ve went home, and that should’ve served as a lesson to him and the other kids.

And that isn’t even going into how awful his popcorn had to be. As soon as he started dumping all of that paprika and nothing else on it, I knew it would be terrible. I find it very hard to believe that Finley’s popcorn was worse.