Kids Baking Championship - General Discussion

[KayVeeTeeVee]

15 minutes ago, jrzy said:

I was really disgusted with his actions and attitude.  He should be gone soon. 

But Bella was sure being bossy!  She should accept part of the blame.

[emmawoodhouse]

I think she became more demanding as he withdrew more and more. She seems uber competitive while he seems far more chill.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, emmawoodhouse said:

I think she became more demanding as he withdrew more and more. She seems uber competitive while he seems far more chill.

That's why I'm not ready to blame either of them. They just have different styles and ways of being that might be fine when you're just hanging out, but become real impediments when you have to work together. Sort of like deciding to room with your best friend and suddenly realizing all the things you can't stand about them because you're around them all the time.

Edited January 21, 2021 by tracyscott76
For clarity.

[TVbitch]

It's interesting to contrast these kids with the kids on Bake Off Juniors. 

I'm kind of over the parents thing. I don't mind the judges talking to them or them hugging the eliminated kid, but having them in the room getting stressed out cuz their kid is making a mistake or running out of time. I just don't need that anxiety on top of the kids' anxiety! 

 

Edited January 22, 2021 by TVbitch

[NJKBCFan]

Cant' seem to find the retrospective episodes online anywhere. Anyone have an idea where to find them?

[lh25]

On 1/20/2021 at 7:34 PM, tracyscott76 said:

That's why I'm not ready to blame either of them. They just have different styles and ways of being that might be fine when you're just hanging out, but become real impediments when you have to work together.

That's my take too.  They were just a really bad mix of personalities to work together, esp at their ages.

I can get passive aggressive if I don't watch it, and I'm 57.  

[Grizzly]

5 hours ago, NJKBCFan said:

Cant' seem to find the retrospective episodes online anywhere. Anyone have an idea where to find them?

Did you try at the end of the new episode? TV Guide lists it as a 2 hr show.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Grizzly said:

7 hours ago, NJKBCFan said:

Cant' seem to find the retrospective episodes online anywhere. Anyone have an idea where to find them?

Did you try at the end of the new episode? TV Guide lists it as a 2 hr show.

That's also how they are listed on Food Network's site: competition and retrospective together as one episode. If (big if) you can find the episodes online, the retrospectives are probably tacked on.

[NJKBCFan]

17 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Did you try at the end of the new episode? TV Guide lists it as a 2 hr show.

Yes, I checked that. On the FoodNetwork app, they only have the new episodes as 42 minutes, which is just the competition segment. The retrospectives are not there.

15 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

That's also how they are listed on Food Network's site: competition and retrospective together as one episode. If (big if) you can find the episodes online, the retrospectives are probably tacked on.

So far have only found the episodes on the FoodNetwork app (and the retrospectives were not there). Where else might they have them?

[Starry-Eyed]

I don't mean this to be offensive at all, but I have wondered if Bella is on the autism spectrum. She reminds me very strongly of two different students her age I have had, both of whom were on the spectrum. It first crossed my mind when she was so confused and distressed in the first episode that others were interpreting the twist differently than her, and it might be part of the "My Way is the Only Way" mindset that makes her come across as bossy or hard to work with.

[theatremouse]

4 hours ago, NJKBCFan said:

Yes, I checked that. On the FoodNetwork app, they only have the new episodes as 42 minutes, which is just the competition segment. The retrospectives are not there.

So far have only found the episodes on the FoodNetwork app (and the retrospectives were not there). Where else might they have them?

If it's not directly on the FN site/app, if you have cable the whole thing might be available OnDemand. Those are the only official sources I'm aware of, and I ask that this discussion end here as we do not condone use of anything other than official sources.

[Guest]

4 hours ago, theatremouse said:

8 hours ago, NJKBCFan said:

Yes, I checked that. On the FoodNetwork app, they only have the new episodes as 42 minutes, which is just the competition segment. The retrospectives are not there.

So far have only found the episodes on the FoodNetwork app (and the retrospectives were not there). Where else might they have them?

If it's not directly on the FN site/app, if you have cable the whole thing might be available OnDemand. Those are the only official sources I'm aware of, and I ask that this discussion end here as we do not condone use of anything other than official sources.

Hope it's ok to briefly extend the discussion simply to confirm that the retrospectives are indeed available OnDemand (via Comcast in my case), as the second hour of the regular episodes.

[NJKBCFan]

On 1/23/2021 at 5:32 PM, tracyscott76 said:

Hope it's ok to briefly extend the discussion simply to confirm that the retrospectives are indeed available OnDemand (via Comcast in my case), as the second hour of the regular episodes.

Unfortunately, they are not there OnDemand on Fios (they only have the 42 minute competition episodes). 😞

[TomGirl]

Can’t believe D’Von keeps skating by.  I still love Haylin, but Keegan and Jonah are clearly the ones to beat.  Love their bromance!

[susannah]

46 minutes ago, TomGirl said:

Can’t believe D’Von keeps skating by.  I still love Haylin, but Keegan and Jonah are clearly the ones to beat.  Love their bromance!

Jonah's macarons were lovely and apparently tasted just right also, so he definitely  deserved the win. I agree with Duff that they looked like they could be in a pastry shop in Paris.  Keaton's cake looked beautiful, but as as Duff said, it was a vanilla cake. I don't think that the boys' friendship should be referred to as a "bromance,"  Haylin's doughnuts had a couple of slight errors, but she took the risk, as the others did with the eclairs and macarons.  Bella made a simple gingerbread cookie with frosting hearts, and that shouldn't have been good enough at the beginning, let alone more than halfway through the competition. I thought that Namiah might have frosted her eclairs with a knife instead of trying to dip them, they could have been swirled with a pretty effect. She had a good attitude after getting sent home though. I thought Haylin's mother was  funny.."she's never worked with 5 spice or fresh ginger or ever made doughnuts before. What could go wrong!" I also really hope Nemo gets his puppy! I remember Linsey, a previous season winner and a total cutie, also using her being on tv to lobby for a puppy and she got one.

Edited January 26, 2021 by susannah

[Dansgreens]

On 1/20/2021 at 1:09 PM, Rammchick said:

And again, he's a kid.  This is behavior you'd expect from an adult.

Well, D’Von is 13 years old not 10! He has learned some very passive aggressive behaviors. Bella was bossy , but he was very nasty and  aggressive. If at 13 he has thar underhanded and passive aggressive, that is not a good thing .

He was literally undermining his teammate and what they were supposed to accomplish.     
 

Sorry, but he should be gone for that kind of behavior .  That was calculated and nasty .

Bella was bossy and should be talked to, but she was not trying to intentionally hurt someone .

 

Edited January 26, 2021 by Dansgreens

[Dansgreens]

On 1/18/2021 at 9:06 PM, adore said:

Same. I look younger with lighter hair for sure. In Valerie's case, it seems to have the opposite effect. She looks much older (to me) as a blonde.

When you have very dark hair you can lighten it to a lighter brown, but going blonde always makes women look older when their natural hair color is very dark . 
I do not get why women who are Italian .which I am , and have darker hair , go for that bleached blonde  hair that does not match their complexion when they get older . Covering grey with a lighter brunette color is way more flattering.

Also they not only need to cover grey , they need to bleach and put blonde coloring in their dark hair all the time, when they could just gradually cover the grey with lighter brown.  My hair dresser had done this on me and it just looks way more natural. He actually commented on how unflattering Valerie’s hair looks .

[TomGirl]

5 hours ago, susannah said:

. I don't think that the boys' friendship should be referred to as a "bromance," 

Why not?

[susannah]

57 minutes ago, TomGirl said:

Why not?

Because it is insulting, diminishing and inaccurate, if you read the definition. The boys are friends.

[Guest]

53 minutes ago, susannah said:

1 hour ago, TomGirl said:

Why not?

Because it is insulting, diminishing and inaccurate, if you read the definition. The boys are friends.

While I think mileage varies on what, exactly, bromance means and how literally it should be taken, I would tend to stay away from any word including a variation on romance when it comes to pre-teens.

Sorry to see Namiah go, as I liked her low-key demeanor, but I can see why she went over D'Von. I love how Nemo is obviously a riot and a quick wit, but also snaps into professional chef mode ("Mr. Goldman") when he's in the thick of his work. Haylin is a savant, clearly, since she produced a topnotch donut first time out. I liked the interaction when she asked Valerie if she liked her filling soft or hard, and instead of giving her the answer outright, Valerie asked her how SHE thought the filling should be. Nice work.

[Mrs. Stanwyck]

8 hours ago, susannah said:

Bella made a simple gingerbread cookie with frosting hearts, and that shouldn't have been good enough at the beginning, let alone more than halfway through the competition.

I'm surprised that Valerie and Duff didn't at least comment that they expected more than a cookie with fairly plain frosting.  I feel like they've made that comment in other seasons when the kids do something pretty simple.  Also, what did Bella do for 2 hours?  It shouldn't have taken that long to make cookies so how did she run out of time to do her decorating?

I knew Namiah was probably the one to go but I was sorry to see it.  I really liked her.

[Dansgreens]

47 minutes ago, Mrs. Stanwyck said:

I'm surprised that Valerie and Duff didn't at least comment that they expected more than a cookie with fairly plain frosting.  I feel like they've made that comment in other seasons when the kids do something pretty simple.  Also, what did Bella do for 2 hours?  It shouldn't have taken that long to make cookies so how did she run out of time to do her decorating?

I knew Namiah was probably the one to go but I was sorry to see it.  I really liked her.

I was sorry to see Namiah go too , she was a sweet girl and talented .

I think the judges said that they coulD make any dessert , so they really couldn’t say a cookie wasn’t good enough for Bella’s dessert.. 

[TomGirl]

2 hours ago, susannah said:

Because it is insulting, diminishing and inaccurate, if you read the definition. The boys are friends.

The Cambridge Dictionary defines a bromance as “a close, friendly, but not sexual relationship between two men.”  I don’t find anything insulting, diminishing or inaccurate in that, but obviously YMMV.

[susannah]

32 minutes ago, Dansgreens said:

I was sorry to see Namiah go too , she was a sweet girl and talented .

I think the judges said that they coulD make any dessert , so they really couldn’t say a cookie wasn’t good enough for Bella’s dessert.. 

Yes they did say that, but to make a simple cookie, and then not have enough time in two hours to even frost them right, should not have gotten a pass, IMO. None of the other kids went for the simplest, easiest thing to make. The judges are looking for risks taken and skills built on as they progress. Her cookie showed neither. Jonah made cookies too, but they weren't simple by any means.

[mlp]

3 hours ago, susannah said:

Yes they did say that, but to make a simple cookie, and then not have enough time in two hours to even frost them right, should not have gotten a pass, IMO.

It may not have been a pass as much as the fact that the losing eclairs and misshaped macarons were clearly worse.  Simple but pretty cookies probably beat out messy eclairs and poor technique.

I don't like the term "bromance" used for boys either.  The "romance" part of the term just sounds icky when applied to kids.

I love Haylin (and her mother) but it looks like she's going to get outdone by Jonah and Keaton unless one of them really goofs something up.  I like their mothers too.

[Grizzly]

4 hours ago, Mrs. Stanwyck said:

I'm surprised that Valerie and Duff didn't at least comment that they expected more than a cookie with fairly plain frosting. 

Because Valerie can't make royal icing, so she was impressed.

[hookedontv]

It was time for D’Von to go home, I think the judges got it wrong. 

[emmawoodhouse]

1 minute ago, hookedontv said:

It was time for D’Von to go home, I think the judges got it wrong. 

They said that she buried the 5 spice and ginger in chocolate. At least D'von seemed to have the flavor profiles, even if his macarons were a colossal failure. This is consistent with their judging, favoring flavor over aesthetics.

[susannah]

6 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Because Valerie can't make royal icing, so she was impressed.

I was afraid that was the reason Bella wasn't cut. I remember Duff telling another baker once that if they made something simple, it needed to be perfect. He told Bella that her flooding technique wasn't correct, there was inconsistency in her piping, and WHY they didn't ask her how she "ran out of time" only making cookies, in two hours, to not be able to decorate them all the same, I don't know. So obviously not perfect, and they said nothing.  In regard to some of the other pastries, eclairs, etc, it is hard for me. not really knowledgeable about them, to know what aspects about them need to be present to be considered good. I don't know why Namiah had such trouble with her ganache.  I would think adding milk or cream would thin it.

 

[Rammchick]

15 hours ago, susannah said:

I was afraid that was the reason Bella wasn't cut. I remember Duff telling another baker once that if they made something simple, it needed to be perfect. He told Bella that her flooding technique wasn't correct, there was inconsistency in her piping, and WHY they didn't ask her how she "ran out of time" only making cookies, in two hours, to not be able to decorate them all the same, I don't know. So obviously not perfect, and they said nothing.  In regard to some of the other pastries, eclairs, etc, it is hard for me. not really knowledgeable about them, to know what aspects about them need to be present to be considered good. I don't know why Namiah had such trouble with her ganache.  I would think adding milk or cream would thin it.

 

Adding cold milk/cream to a ganache breaks it -- chocolate will seize when a cold liquid is added.  

As for Bella and the cookies, the kind of comment you mention is something you routinely hear on the adults' version of this show.  Generally all the comments are delivered with "kid gloves" 😉

[susannah]

3 minutes ago, Rammchick said:

Adding cold milk/cream to a ganache breaks it -- chocolate will seize when a cold liquid is added.  

As for Bella and the cookies, the kind of comment you mention is something you routinely hear on the adults' version of this show.  Generally all the comments are delivered with "kid gloves" 😉

I'm not sure what you mean by "kid gloves." I remember Duff saying that exact thing.

[theatremouse]

I think he didn't comment extensively on Bella's too simple cookie during judging (or rather: the editing chose not to show that) because when he did his visit while the kids were still baking he asked her about how it'd be decorated. She even said the thing about his face (and then didn't end up having time to do that), but it probably would've felt redundant to twice show him commenting on the potential complexity of the decoration for this particular cookie. Hence instead the judge-time focus was on the not great execution of the piping and use of royal icing techniques.

[Rammchick]

4 hours ago, susannah said:

I'm not sure what you mean by "kid gloves." I remember Duff saying that exact thing.

That expression suggests that Duff and Valerie are softer on them than they would be with adult baketestants.  It's an old expression from when gloves were made from goatskin -- goat kids' skin is much softer than adult goat skin.

[Guest]

I would say Duff and Valerie might use kid gloves in the sense that they don't critique the kids in the way Gordon Ramsey, or even Lorraine, might do. But they don't shy away from criticism. Duff DID critique Bella's icing - maybe not in the exact way some would have liked, but he did say it wasn't perfect, and told her why. And they very clearly told D'Von and Namiah what was wrong with their respective desserts, and again, gave them hints on why. They never shy away from pointing out mistakes - a lot of times they even share a laugh with the kids about it. It's how criticism should be, in my opinion, for kids OR adults. "Here's what worked and what didn't, and here's a tip to help you in the future". I don't think they're going easy on the kids at all, honestly.

Edited January 27, 2021 by tracyscott76

[Starry-Eyed]

I feel like one of the frustrating things about watching food competition shows is you can't taste things through the TV. XD So to me, who can see Namiah's a bit messy-but-still-delicious-looking eclairs and D'Vonn's hot mess of macarons, but can only take Duff and Valerie's word for Namiah's chocolate masking the taste of the 5 spice and D'Vonn's macarons being delicious, it's a bit of a hard sell. Especially when it usually seems when two competitors have a rough equal bad day, the one with the better track record stays, and that would have been Namiah. I'll miss her chill, no nonsense attitude.

[susannah]

4 hours ago, Rammchick said:

That expression suggests that Duff and Valerie are softer on them than they would be with adult baketestants.  It's an old expression from when gloves were made from goatskin -- goat kids' skin is much softer than adult goat skin.

I know what the expression means. I was responding to the comment that it wasn't said to a child baker just like that, because it was. They aren't cruel to the kids, but they are often very clear about mistakes.

[Rammchick]

14 hours ago, susannah said:

I know what the expression means. I was responding to the comment that it wasn't said to a child baker just like that, because it was. They aren't cruel to the kids, but they are often very clear about mistakes.

My apologies, I misunderstood you.

[Guest]

Haylin is some kind of wizard - last week she makes a delicious donut for her first time out, and this week she makes a sablé cookie without even knowing it XD Glad to see her and Bella in the top two and Bella winning (spelling mistake aside 🤦‍♂️). Nothing against Keaton and Jonah, but they were starting to dominate, and I prefer when things are more spread around.

I'm just going to assume the kids washed their hands after each time they stopped by the puppies...

[susannah]

7 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

Haylin is some kind of wizard - last week she makes a delicious donut for her first time out, and this week she makes a sablé cookie without even knowing it XD Glad to see her and Bella in the top two and Bella winning (spelling mistake aside 🤦‍♂️). Nothing against Keaton and Jonah, but they were starting to dominate, and I prefer when things are more spread around.

I'm just going to assume the kids washed their hands after each time they stopped by the puppies...

I thought about the handwashing too! I thought Bella deserved the win tonight, and knew D'von would go. I just wish Duff would be consistent with his parameters. I can't remember which one he told was decorated too simply, but I know that Haylin's and Keaton's cakes were also minimally decorated. How hard is it to put a few sprinkles around the bottom and some frosting puffs on the top, or not even those. A couple of them just had the cookie on top. Keaton feels himself somewhat of an expert on cake making but his decorations are not knocking it out of the park, like they should. So either appearance matters or it doesn't.

[TomGirl]

Congrats to Duff!

https://people.com/parents/duff-goldman-welcomes-first-child/

[NJKBCFan]

Wow, Bella is surprising me! Early in the season, I thought that she was a bit careless and sloppy. But her work the last couple of weeks has been great, and this week in particular was stellar. Her decorating skills are fantastic to go along with strong baking skills. Well-deserved win, and she's definitely got momentum. 

My early season prediction was Keaton for the overall win, but Bella definitely has me questioning that now!

[OnTime]

On 1/26/2021 at 4:03 AM, Dansgreens said:

When you have very dark hair you can lighten it to a lighter brown, but going blonde always makes women look older when their natural hair color is very dark . 
I do not get why women who are Italian .which I am , and have darker hair , go for that bleached blonde  hair that does not match their complexion when they get older . Covering grey with a lighter brunette color is way more flattering.

Also they not only need to cover grey , they need to bleach and put blonde coloring in their dark hair all the time, when they could just gradually cover the grey with lighter brown.  My hair dresser had done this on me and it just looks way more natural. He actually commented on how unflattering Valerie’s hair looks .

Valerie looks completely different with blonde hair.  I'm more concerned about her weight but hope she is ok.

I think she looks so much better with darker hair. 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, NJKBCFan said:

Wow, Bella is surprising me! Early in the season, I thought that she was a bit careless and sloppy. But her work the last couple of weeks has been great, and this week in particular was stellar. Her decorating skills are fantastic to go along with strong baking skills. Well-deserved win, and she's definitely got momentum. 

My early season prediction was Keaton for the overall win, but Bella definitely has me questioning that now!

I wonder if Bella is more focused now because there are fewer kids left. I imagine it's easy to get distracted when there are people flying past you left and right, especially if you're somewhat inclined to chatter, as Bella seems to be.

[NJKBCFan]

58 minutes ago, tracyscott76 said:

I wonder if Bella is more focused now because there are fewer kids left. I imagine it's easy to get distracted when there are people flying past you left and right, especially if you're somewhat inclined to chatter, as Bella seems to be.

Fewer kids, or simply just getting more comfortable in the environment. I recall Linsey in season 4 had some rough times early in her season but after something like the 5th week really started coming up with consistently good stuff. Seems like that could be the case with Bella as well.

[kcrabtree06]

I am liking this season a lot. I think Nemo will get eliminated next judging by the preview and how he has done so far. He’s never really been at the top and he’s a bit younger than the other contestants and the younger ones never seem to go as far.

 

But man, it would be hard to pick between Bella, Haylin, Keaton, and Jonah for the finale as they are all so good and seem pretty equally matched. I could see Bella having a melt down/messing up, but for some reason I could also see something going horribly wrong for Keaton or Jonah and one of them has a surprise off day and goes home? I do like the bromance between Keaton and Jonah.

[MerBearHou]

Nemo has great comedic timing without trying to be a class clown type.  He is articulate beyond his years, has an adorable quick humor (esp with Valerie and Duff when they comment), and is a natural people-connector.  I know some of that comes from him being so active in his parents' restaurant, but some is just Nemo.  I love him.  I don't think he'll win but he's my favorite.  What a great-hearted kid and I hope he gets a puppy.

[snarkylady]

I would prefer not seeing the parents ever again.  Why are they on screen, especially to the extent they were in last night's show?  The show is about baking, the bakers and to a somewhat lesser degree Val and Duff.   The drama comes from the bakers, not a mother repeatedly advising her off-screen son to check the oven (although she was right, the cakes were too dry).  Or the mom who just couldnt understand why her child was preparing strawberries in one way while there was another way that was better and the contestant had experience in this preparation (obviously I can't identify the baker or the type of preparation, sorry).  But the point of that from the mom seemed to be face time for her and that she knew better.  I wish I could see the kid's embarrassment and annoyance when they watch this from home.  I think the competition is challenging enough for the kids without on screen commentary from the parents when it airs. 

Regarding Nemo and the puppy -- manipulation from the show.  I felt badly for both Nemo and his father. 

[susannah]

32 minutes ago, kcrabtree06 said:

I am liking this season a lot. I think Nemo will get eliminated next judging by the preview and how he has done so far. He’s never really been at the top and he’s a bit younger than the other contestants and the younger ones never seem to go as far.

 

But man, it would be hard to pick between Bella, Haylin, Keaton, and Jonah for the finale as they are all so good and seem pretty equally matched. I could see Bella having a melt down/messing up, but for some reason I could also see something going horribly wrong for Keaton or Jonah and one of them has a surprise off day and goes home? I do like the bromance between Keaton and Jonah.

No "bromance!" They are friends.

[crazycatlady58]

I hope that the puppy was not a surprise to the parents or the kids. That would have been very unkind to promise a puppy to a child who could not have one.

[TomGirl]

20 minutes ago, susannah said:

No "bromance!" They are friends.

Let’s not get into this again!  Clearly, mileage varies on this term.

Edited February 2, 2021 by TomGirl