Kids Baking Championship - General Discussion

[Aquarius]

I don't know about baking with it, but I've had cocktails made with rose water.  It's a very interesting taste, sort of like the old fashioned Choward's Violet Mints, and not at all disgusting when done properly.  I'm sure like anything else it's not a taste enjoyed by everyone but it's not like chewing a rose petal.  Which I know, because as a child I did chew a rose petal. 

This challenge really annoyed me because WTF did coming up with stories for apps have to do with baking?  And then they were so disappointed in Jason because he loves to talk, and yet didn't come up with any good stories?  Uh, just because a person loves to talk doesn't mean he loves to extemporaneously come up with fake-ass stories for some stupid made-up apps.  It's true that Jason was annoying and he didn't live up to the challenge but the part that they focused on had nothing to do with baking.  Really, Audra should have gone home this week.

Aiden presents an under-baked sugar cookie under a half-inch of fondant (removable, luckily) and he's safe?  The mind, it boggles.

I dislike Cole and love Justice, but I have to admit Cole did get robbed this week.

[theatremouse]

I'm not saying it was a good plan, but I think the intention of the whole "story" thing was: they gave them names of fake aps; and the kids were supposed to decorate the cookies to look like what the theoretical icon for said ap would look like. So in an ideal world, it's not requiring some elaborate story off the top of their heads in the judging. They had to have decided what the ap supposedly did when they decided how to decorate the cookie. So "tell the story of the ap" is really just an exaggerated way of saying of saying "explain why you chose to decorate this like this". I can see how the concept of "make up a story" could easily be much more daunting/pressure/not-necessarily-interesting for the kids to do than if they'd just said "explain your decorations", but I do think that's really what it boils down to.

[mlp]

I continue to like Cole better with each passing week and I thought he should have won this time.  Justice is still my favorite though.  I loved the way he just stood back when the others were all scrambling for the apps and figured he could work with whatever was left.  Each of the rest of them can go any time.  I don't mind Audra but she's in way over her head.  Kaniya would be cute if she weren't so incredibly annoying.  

[kj4ever]

Is Kaniya's baby talk getting worse?  In a previous season there was a girl named Peggy that everyone thought was so cute but she was annoying AF because she talked like she was 3 years old.  I hate when kids do that that are way old enough to know better.

Sugar Cookies?  Seriously?  I make sugar cookies at Christmas time with all my nieces every year and the 4 year old did a better job of decorating hers compared to these bakers.  I said it before, and I'll say it again they have totally dumbed down this season because they realized (to late I think) that these kids have no talent.  In the first episode they always show pictures of desserts the kids have made at home and it is quite obvious that most of them did not make those all by their lonesome.  I think TFN got punked.

[KLovestoShop]

I thought this was the worst baking challenge of any show of this type I've ever seen.  I don't give a rat's ass about computer apps and baking.  Geeze, just give these kids a challenge for actually baking something without having a story to tell.  But like so many of you, I can't stand any of these kids, and I don't believe they're not coached beforehand on what to bake.  

[justjen]

I think we're missing the big picture that I think Jason brought up (maybe Aiden but probably Cole )...with only 2 girls left it looks like chances are pretty good we'll have a Boy winner! At last a win for a group that has just suffered so so horribly throughout time!!! It is about time a Boy is proven to be better at something than a girl.

[Rammchick]

Quote

Is Kaniya's baby talk getting worse?  In a previous season there was a girl named Peggy that everyone thought was so cute but she was annoying AF because she talked like she was 3 years old.  I hate when kids do that that are way old enough to know better.

Clearly, someone at home thinks this is adorable *shudders*

[theatremouse]

7 hours ago, kj4ever said:

Is Kaniya's baby talk getting worse? 

It didn't seem much more in this episode to me than it had in previous episodes. That said, I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt: it might be a stress reaction. Some kids suddenly revert to sounding younger when they're tense. (It could also be coaching to try to be "cute" for TV, but I'm willing to glass half full that it might be involuntary.)

[AlliePK]

On 2/14/2017 at 9:54 AM, steven T said:

I missed this episode but from reading these comments that they couldn't even bake cookies.  I'm just curious if they can even put bread in a toaster without it coming out as burnt toast.  Amazed if they can put milk in their cereal without it overflowing and flooding the counter.  Another poster said their kid was inept in the kitchen, he would've fit right in on this show.  You need to put his audition tape in for next season.

My kid would sooner die than be on this show.  He's too old anyway.  He would be funny though.  Valerie: "Jacob, tell me a story about your cake..."  Jacob: "It's cake.  And if you want a story lady, read a book." 

[LegalParrot81]

I did my own mini-marathon this weekend and honestly, Jason should have been gone long before now.  I think they kept him for comic relief, the problem with that is.....he wasn't funny.

I'm rooting for Justice.  He comes off as just a genuinely nice kid.

[docmatt]

Nothing Kaniyah did tonight made her seem any less unpleasant, but it IS a baking contest and that pineapple upside down cake looked damn good! But in general Cole and Justice seem like the two best bakers. Justice also seems like the most likeable of the kids as well (though I think Cole is probably a nice kid, just hypercompetitive).

Also, Did Duff say that Cole's spider, awesome Charlotte's Web reference by the way, looked "like a dick"?!?!?

[laffytaffy997]

45 minutes ago, docmatt said:

Nothing Kaniyah did tonight made her seem any less unpleasant, but it IS a baking contest and that pineapple upside down cake looked damn good! But in general Cole and Justice seem like the two best bakers. Justice also seems like the most likeable of the kids as well (though I think Cole is probably a nice kid, just hypercompetitive).

Also, Did Duff say that Cole's spider, awesome Charlotte's Web reference by the way, looked "like a dick"?!?!?

Lol! I really thought that's what he said too, but I think he said "tick"

[penbrat]

I fell asleep at the end last night (shows how much I am into this show) who got booted?

[Rammchick]

Yes, it was a tick.  Biologist that I am screamed that spiders (and ticks too) have eight legs.  And rabbits eat fruit.  OK.  Kaniyah continues to be a little snot.  Go away.

Edited February 28, 2017 by Rammchick

[ShelleySue]

22 minutes ago, Rammchick said:

And rabbits eat fruit.

Kaniyah totally made up that story about seeing rabbits eat pineapple at a petting zoo.  Obvious others thought that too or they wouldn't have researched it. She's lucky that rabbits do eat pineapple.  BTW - We have pet rabbits and give them the hard core when we have fresh pineapple.  They do love it.

[steven T]

From the beginning, I thought Cole, Justice, and Kaniyah were the top 3 bakers and the rest were sitcom filler.  It is very telling that Audra made her BEST cake of the competition and it still wasn't that good and got her eliminated, yet she made the top 5.   Three tablespoons of banana extract? Really?  She was making mistakes like that the whole competition, but there someone always worse.  I don't hate watch, but disappointed that these kids were nowhere near the talent of the first 2 seasons.

[AlliePK]

What has to happen in order for Aiden to get off my television?

[LizBug]

Random thoughts:

Take the sugar away from Kaniyah ... she's just way too hyper.  

Cole is a talented baker but not the best one in the competition.  He's seems to be standing apart from the group with is legs crossed and an "I'm bored as heck" attitude.

Aiden should be cut next week unless he does something totally amazing.

[camom]

UO here, but Kaniyah doesn't bug me nearly as much as Audra did.  So glad to have her off my teevee.

Quote

Kaniyah totally made up that story about seeing rabbits eat pineapple at a petting zoo.

So what if she did?  Did they believe Cole's story about the peaches and whatever animal he had (don't remember, which shows how forgettable this show is).

I hope Justice wins.  Not only is he a decent baker (at least compared to the rest of them) but he seems like a genuinely nice kid.

[Rammchick]

Quote

BTW - We have pet rabbits and give them the hard core when we have fresh pineapple.  They do love it.

I'm not surprised.  Rabbits will chew anything hard like that.  But I guess Kaniyah has never seen Bugs Bunny because hello, carrots, anyone?

[Aquarius]

Yes, Kaniyah was FOS about seeing rabbits eating pineapple at a petting zoo.  But Justice completely made up a story linking peach pie to guinea pigs, so I don't feel like that really matters.  Apparently neither do Duff and Valerie because they are very inconsistent when it comes to enforcing the challenge rules.

Random thoughts:

How good could that pineapple upside cake be?  It's not one of my favorites, but how would one differentiate it?  And seriously, Black Forest cake is something from the Dark Ages but pineapple upside down cake is somehow cutting edge?

Cole's spider looked like a tick.  I can't believe he doesn't know spiders have eight legs.  Also, that was a nice Charlotte's Web reference, but I can't help but think that Charlotte would have been HORRIFIED to be presented on a plate with bacon.  I don't know, I was getting some sociopathic vibes from the whole mini-pig = bacon thing, and the reference to Charlotte's Web just added to it.  Did Cole not read the book, or did he just really not get the book?  I really don't like Cole so understand that my whole viewpoint is colored by that. 

Aiden's dessert was a hot mess.  I laughed so hard when Duff pointed out that one of the turtle's legs wasn't even attached.  He also made a comment during deliberations that Aiden stuck eyes on a blob of buttercream and called it a fish.  Hee.  It's wrong of me to get such glee out of these things, because Aiden is a kid and he does seem like a nice one.  But I am just so tired of his histrionics and drama, coming as it does with fairly mediocre baking.  I'm hoping Duff's comments this episode are foreshadowing for next episode and we can bid Aiden farewell.

"I'd be amazed if that egg came out of that chicken." - this cracked me up.  But c'mon, they are cake decorations (albeit not very good ones).  Since when do fondant cake decorations need to be to scale?  It was even mentioned during the elimination that this was one of the problems with Audra's cake.  As much as I love Justice, that donut hole bore no resemblance to a guinea pig and I don't remember him being called out on that.

And finally, what dessert would one associate with a guinea pig?  I could think of ones for the rest but nothing came to me for guinea pigs.

[camom]

Quote

And finally, what dessert would one associate with a guinea pig?  I could think of ones for the rest but nothing came to me for guinea pigs.

I totally agree.  The challenges are so random and strange.  How about having them just bake a specific item and decide who did it best?  And how about something besides desserts?  I'd love to see what they can (or can't) do with bread or rolls.

[AlliePK]

I would love to see them be given a true baking challenge, given a reasonable amount of time to complete it, and not be given a ridiculous "twist" that only serves to stress them out and take away from the true challenge.  let the kids bake already.

Edited February 21, 2017 by AlliePK
typos irritate me.

[mlp]

When this show started, I thought Cole was way too impressed with himself.  After weeks of watching him, I now think that he's just more introverted than the rest of them and is someone who takes things seriously and is hard on himself if he makes a mistake.  He seems like an intelligent boy who will grow up to be a success, possibly with a stress ulcer.  :)  I quite like him now.

Kaniya is a cute girl but she's such a little show off that I mostly want to smack her every time she starts talking.  Her pineapple upside-down cake did look good.  

I wonder how this show finds contestants and what criteria they have to meet.  It seems like there must be a lot of kids in a country the size of the U.S. who have baking talent yet, despite all the talk these days about childhood obesity, they cast two seriously overweight boys and also a daughter of an employee.  To clarify, I don't think the boys' weight would be an issue on some other show, Chopped Junior for example, but they didn't seem like the best choices for a baking show.

[theatremouse]

Now this show has reaped what it's sown with the whole "tell us the story" thing last week. Because while last week was a little less conspicuous, this week I'm sure what they really meant was "explain why you did this". Yet they got the "make up a story" thing in the kids' heads now so what do we get: "once upon a time". No, no, children. There is no "once upon a time" in baking. Don't flaunt how you're making this shit up as you go along. Ugh. I mean, of course that was the lesson learned, but man oh man it shouldn't have been. 

I can't believe this but I'm realizing what's frustrating me is these children are not good enough liars? Like...Justice could've just said most of the guinea pigs he'd seen were sort of white and peachy colored, so it was inspired by the color of the animal. Or something. Much easier than some weird vulture fairy tale. I mean, at least in the TH he basically said "they told me to tell stories so I will" but it annoyed me completely that with multiple presentations we get some once upon a time bullshit. 

[Ravenclaw]

Okay I know that I need to get a life outside of this show... but Cole. Cole is the most annoying and glitter obsessed social skill lacking 12 year old I have ever had the misfortune of laying my eyes on. He's such a talented baker and I would love to try the things he makes but he needs to go to a class that teaches appropriate body language and also turning ones demon eyes off when you don't come in first place. What spoiled and unappreciative brat doesn't know how to congratulate a fellow competitor when they come in first or even do well in general? All the kids have annoying and over dramaticized qualities about them but at least they know how to be kind. 

Edited February 22, 2017 by Ravenclaw

[backgroundnoise]

I find Kaniyah almost unwatchable.  Enough with the cutesy shtick.

[Aquarius]

9 minutes ago, Ravenclaw said:

Okay I know that I need to get a life outside of this show but Cole. Cole is the most annoying and glitter obsessed social skill lacking 12 year old I have ever had the misfortune of laying my eyes on. He's such a talented baker and I would love to try the things he makes but he needs to go to a class for body language and telling other kids "wow good job!" And also turning his demon eyes off when he doesn't come in first place. Also Justice for life. 

I could have written this.  I know I didn't because I'm not so charitable as to say "He's such a talented baker and I would love to try the things he makes . . ."  I hate that I can't because he's a kid.  But he's an obnoxious sore-loser kid so I'm hoping my seat in Hell isn't too too close to the eternal fire.

Justice for life.  Even willing to forgive the lame-ass guinea-pig story because I'm rooting for him so much.

[Ravenclaw]

22 minutes ago, Aquarius said:

I could have written this.  I know I didn't because I'm not so charitable as to say "He's such a talented baker and I would love to try the things he makes . . ."  I hate that I can't because he's a kid.  But he's an obnoxious sore-loser kid so I'm hoping my seat in Hell isn't too too close to the eternal fire.

Justice for life.  Even willing to forgive the lame-ass guinea-pig story because I'm rooting for him so much.

I only really said that because I don't want to seem like too much of a jerk. But I hate him. Sometimes I pause the tv on his snarky little dimpled face and yell things at him. Maybe our seats in hell will be close to each other.

 

Yes... Justice... what was with that story? They ate all the peaches and then the end. 

[TomGirl]

Ravenclaw and Aquarius - save me a seat!

[gingerella]

6 hours ago, Ravenclaw said:

I only really said that because I don't want to seem like too much of a jerk. But I hate him. Sometimes I pause the tv on his snarky little dimpled face and yell things at him. Maybe our seats in hell will be close to each other.

 

Yes... Justice... what was with that story? They ate all the peaches and then the end. 

Ummm, can y'all scooch over so I can sit down next to you...I think we'll need our own room in hell...there's a lot of us I think...

[camom]

Make room for me in that room.  Cole is sooooo annoying.  For me he and Audra were running neck and neck in that department.  For some reason Kaniya doesn't bother me so much.  I think it's because to me her behavior looks like natural kid stuff and not put on.  I feel like most of them are putting on a show, but she's just a kid.  YMMV.

[Thadeeeyus]

Kamiya was bugging a lot this week but maybe it's partly due to having more air time now that there are fewer contestants.  She does seem to bake well. Except for sugar cookies.  Happy that Audra is gone.

[HyeChaps]

The commercials have begun for Spring Baking Championship. Can't wait to see professionals display their skills. 

[WaitForMe]

Why do they have to have somebody CRY every week!!! They've all taken turns crying and being comforted and then going on like nothing's happened.  The criers should be kicked off then and there. Well, I guess that wouldn't be fair would it. 

[LexieLily]

We have in the finale a boy that can't make tart shells so he "deconstructed it" and put everything in a bowl and a girl that only got one required element onto her dish because a co-contestant literally did it for her, while the pie she made lacked in flavor and smoke. Justice has to win next week, right?

[Ilovecomputers]

Yes, I was no fan of Cole, but they said Keniyah's pie lacked smoke and flavor and she needed help to complete the task so I think Cole should have gone on to the finale. Really it should be scored cumulatively because anyone can have a bad day. Justin's plate looked boring. Stupid tasks, really. My mouth doesn't water for peanut butter snow or smoky apple pie and I've no desire to use any of those techniques. 

[Beh]

I don't think Keniyah should be in the finals.  Tonight's twist was making whipped cream with a whisk.  Keniyah did not do this task and should not have moved on to the finals.

[Ravenclaw]

We all know that I am no fan of Cole,  but I was really surprised to see him go! And I think if they were to judge on cumalitve merit (and not levels of annoying eye rolling) than he is a more talented baker than Kaniyah. 

[Stinkerbell]

I think Kaniyah is only going on because they wanted a girl in the finale. Cole didn't do well tonight but she didn't even make her own whipped cream 

[jenniferrt]

How in the world did Kaniah make it!!!! She is annoying and not a good baker. She is rude to the judges every time she goes before them. Cole absolutely should have made it!!! And Aiden always creeps on the other kids to see what they are doing!!!

[Tyrone Biggums]

The Food Network's total transformation to a bloody turd has manifested itself in this season of this show.

They should have canned her about 17 times over the last six weeks, then tonight, she should have been disqualified twice.

1) She starts weeping like a dope because she put off one of the two requirements of the episode, and

2) SHE DIDN'T EVEN COMPLETE THE REQUIRED TWIST.

This season is making me lose any respect I had for Duff, and I already knew Valerie was just a home-cook hack who's here because she was on a famous sitcom 35 years ago.

[theatremouse]

My impression was Cole's was raw and didn't taste right. Kaniyah's was baked and didn't taste right. So basically, baked and bad wins over raw and bad?

[snowydaze]

Maybe Cole's crust was raw but at lest he actually completed he tasks that were required . It's kind of obvious to that Kaniya's tears kept her in the competition, along with them needing to have a girl in the finale.  

And why are disrespectful, little bratty kids thought of as "cute"?  

Kamiya is  every kind of annoying . She has that annoying baby talk thing going on, she also had a snotty, disprerctful tone .  But, it seems as thought if you cry, you stay, even if you couldn't complete the required tasks . She should have been automatically eliminated for not finishing her tasks .

in general, I have a problem with people assisting their competitors in s competition where you win $25000. Although it's a nice gesture, it's not realistic, and it's plain unfair to the others who are doing their work by themselves .

i know they are kids, but teaching kids that if they tear up, someone will do their work for them, and they are judged exactly like someone who did their own work, is not s good message . If they can not do their own work, and not sea orb being eliminated if they cry, they shouldn't be on the show .

Kaniys isn't the first kid on this show to stay on because of crying and it's ridiculous.

[cdp73]

I am going with the only reason Kaniyah is in the finals is because she's a girl.  I would much rather the three boys have made it.  I can't stand the way she talks and how rude she is.  Stand there quietly while the judges are tasting what you made.  Don't tell them to hurry up.

She should have been sent home for not making her own whipped cream.  Because she didn't plan properly, she didn't have time and another contestant did her work.  That, on its own, should have knocked her out of the competition.

[LexieLily]

I even take issue with the kids that need help frantically plating at the end of time (I swear there was one kid this season that had TWO other kids helping her) because of mismanagement, but at least that food/decoration is complete, only not on the finished plate. Kaniyah literally had Aiden whip her entire whipped cream (using the old-timey tool!) and plate it for her.

[stitcher73]

Dear Lord.   Please don't let Kaniyah become the child version of Damiano; showing up on my tv despite being irritating and no talent.

 

amen.

[theatremouse]

9 hours ago, snowydaze said:

Maybe Cole's crust was raw but at lest he actually completed he tasks that were required .

One could argue that raw=incomplete. If Aiden hadn't whipped her cream and she did and it were sort of halfway between just cream and whipped cream that's unfinished in a similar way to the dough being raw: it didn't get enough time. I think given we tasted none of it there's decent argument for either of them being tossed. If it were an adult show I wouldn't have minded if they both got the boot for being so bad and it were a 2-person finale. It seemed like the kicker seemed to be: Kaniyah's pie was boring, but it was pie and baked and her snow was apparently good. She didn't whip her own cream, but there's no rule against getting help from competitors so because it was on the plate, it counted. Whereas Cole's apples tasted good, but were just apples on raw crust, not pie. (although at the same time, they weren't required to make pie, but he advertised his as pie, therefore it needed to be pie) He whipped his own cream. Both their ice creams were deemed good. They both seemed to be dinged for time management issues because Duff really harped on how Cole shouldn't have waited on the immersion circulator to bake his crust. Meanwhile, Kaniyah forgot to whip her cream until way too late to finish. It is odd they throw in twists midway if they're not going to count significantly toward the outcome, at the same time, it seems like a failure to execute on the main challenge from the start was deemed a worse problem (and/or his stuff really did not taste that good at all either and they just didn't emphasize it in the edit to make the outcome less obvious).

[snowydaze]

Sorry but it's kind of  obvious they had to put a girl in the finale. Kainiya grabbed something out of another kid's hand in another challenge because she wanted what the other kid had, that should be disqualified.

Not to mention she's disrespectful and snippy to the judges . Is this what we want kids  to think is acceptable behavior?.

its one thing to help with  something that isn't required , but she didn't do her own required element . Personally, I  don't think they should be allowed to have help when going for a big cash prize.  It is a competition, and if you are winning a prize, you should do your own work .

Edited March 1, 2017 by snowydaze

[Aquarius]

Right or wrong, Kaniyah is certainly not the first contestant on this show to get an assist from another.  Personally, I find their willingness to help each other one of the endearing qualities of this being a kid competition.  I'm glad they don't come down on them for that.

I was shocked, to the point of exclaiming loudly, that Cole was the one sent home.  As others have mentioned, on balance, Cole has been the better baker.  I dislike him as a competitor because he was a sore loser and I'm not sure he's not a Special Snowflake, but even I have to admit, he's been the better baker.  They all had an off-day in some respect, trying completely unknown techniques.  The lack of "goo" in Cole's pie filling in his underbaked shell  seem to me to be a function of experimenting for the first time with molecular gastronomy and not any failing in his baking prowess per se.  It was strange to eliminate him for that showing after all his other successes. 

Sweet Aidan couldn't be sent home after coming to the rescue, but his failure to make successful tart shells was really not a function of the challenge.  (And am I wrong?  Are tarts not a form of pie - which he was sneeringly dismissing all his other competition for making while he made tarts?)  And as much as I am Team Justice, his ganache failure also wasn't related to the challenge.  How was Cole's underbaked crust so much worse than these failures?

But always, the judging on this show is skewed and strange.  Sometimes the rules of the challenge apply.  Just as often, they don't.  <shrug>

Kaniyah is annoying, that's for sure.  When Valerie said, "Love her!", I completely heard "Love her!   NOT!"