Kids Baking Championship - General Discussion

[Grizzly]

I was very happy Niall won. As soon as Naho lost time to decorate, I knew she wasn't winning. Niall is going to be quite attractive when he grows up. Just probably won't be on the track team with that strange way he runs.

[MerBearHou]

All 3 of the final cakes had good points and issues (as you would expect from kid bakers).  I couldn’t tell who would win but was so happy with Naiel as the winner.  He was my favorite young baker ever since the first episode.  Fun season and as always, I’m amazed at the level of talent in these kids.

On to Spring Baking Championship with the welcome return of host Jesse!  

Edited February 28, 2023 by MerBearHou

[Salacious Kitty]

Oh Naho! *sob* 

Congrats to Naiel. His cake was the clear winner. 

[Jess14]

I was rooting for Naho, especially after she got the hardest flavors and theme (skateboarding….really?), but her cake was just too messy. Naiel’s cake was beautiful, and he was able to overcome his issues, so I think he deserved it. Outside of a week or 2 towards the end, he was one of the best all season. Sohan also made a beautiful cake.

I hope that they keep using bakers who are older moving forward. The baking this year, including those final cakes, was so much better than what we saw in last year’s finale.

[RoxiP]

I would have been happy with either Naiel or Naho winning but happy it was Naiel.

[mlp]

It's too bad that Naho's cake didn't turn out well but I'm glad she will get a puppy.  I would have been happy with either boy winning.  I actually liked the looks of Sohan's cake better but apparently the texture was really off so I was happy for Naiel who seems like a nice kid.  I thought that buying a chocolate fountain seemed frivolous but then I Googled them and they're not expensive at all so he earned his indulgence.

[MoonKitty]

I really enjoyed this year's competition, and would have been happy with any of the final three taking the prize. Not an unlikeable person to be found all season--on either side of the judging table. 

[jcbrown]

4 hours ago, MoonKitty said:

 Not an unlikeable person to be found all season--on either side of the judging table. 

That is an excellent point, actually, and quite unusual. Thanks for pointing it out.

I did not realize how much I was rooting for Naho until it became clear she was not winning. My second choice won; I am happy (both of those kids are Bay Area, too, which is where I live).

[AZChristian]

I've just started watching prior seasons of the show, and sometimes binge 2 or 3 episodes at once.

Am I the only person who holds the remote to mute Buddy the cake boss whenever he starts saying, "There's a fine line . . . "?  The commercial comes on during EVERY break on the Kids Baking Championship, and he needs to have his adenoids out or at least blow his nose.  It sounds like he's saying "man man" instead of "mad man."  And at this point, it's just fingers on a chalkboard.

/rant

[Guest]

Looks like there's a Halloween-themed edition on tonight at 8 ET called Bloodcurdling Bakes. The usual "four fan favorites" type thing.

[Guest]

Well that was pretty fun, as these little Kids specials usually are. Duff was there, but they must always schedule the filming of these when Valerie isn't available. Instead we had Sam Seneviratne, who I was not familiar with - apparently she's a cookbook author/food blogger. She fit the vibe pretty well.

The four fan favorites were all from last season: Naiel, Jason, Peyton, and Genevieve! I knew she'd be back on at least one of these lol. It's always weird when they show clips from their original seasons and you hear how deep their voices are now. Genevieve got a lot taller, too. But she was still a hoot!

Spoiler

And she won! Hooray!

Good Halloween times.

Edited September 26, 2023 by tracyscott76

[Salacious Kitty]

I wonder if Valerie won't be doing Kids Baking any longer since her dump and stir was cancelled. I guess we'll find out when the regular season rolls around. 

Maneet filled in last year. 

[Grizzly]

This was a great foursome, I'd have been happy with any winning. Surprised they had Naiel on since he did win season 11. He's such a cutie, I didn't mind. He must have to beat the girls off with a stick.

So we weren't supposed to know that other judge? She wasn't a past kid all grown up?

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, Grizzly said:

So we weren't supposed to know that other judge? She wasn't a past kid all grown up?

She was not. They've had a couple of past kids on filling in for Valerie in these specials, but this was someone new.

[mlp]

I had no idea who the female judge was either but she was fine for this particular show.  I hope Valerie comes back for the regular show though.  She and Duff are great together.  

Jason didn't look much different but the others have all grown since their season.  I liked all of them.  It's always interesting to me what they covet from the display table.  Usually they mention the blast chiller but this year Naiel wanted the stand mixer and piping tips.  He's really serious about his baking.

[RoxiP]

I find Genevieve to be annoying and she has definitely been raised in the age of self-affirmation.  Good thing she was able to back up her positivity about her bakes!

I wish they had called Jason out on simply using toffee bits for his cake.  I thought that was taking the easy way out and really didn't fit the competition.

Still like Naiel.  And I agree - he's a cutie.

Peyton seems to have lost her cute Louisiana accent and her voice is so deep...both she and Genevieve sounded like grown women if you weren't looking at them.

I missed Valerie and I hope she's back for the regular KBC.

[Guest]

4 hours ago, RoxiP said:

I find Genevieve to be annoying and she has definitely been raised in the age of self-affirmation.  Good thing she was able to back up her positivity about her bakes!

If someone finds her annoying, so be it, but I'm not sure what being "raised in the age of self-affirmation" means. Is this another way of saying Genevieve is in the "everyone gets a trophy" generation? If so, I don't agree. She has pretty much always been able to back up her positivity with good results. She was usually in the running for winning challenges in her season, if not actually winning them.

Isn't self-affirmation just being positive about yourself and your abilities? What's wrong with that? I didn't see her as running her mouth off about how awesome she is...she was just being positive about what she was doing. If anything, she was more restrained this time now that she's older, a sign of maturation.

Interesting that the goofy, confident boy is a cutie, but the goofy, confident girl is annoying. (And for the record, I have no problem with Naiel)

Edited September 26, 2023 by tracyscott76

[RoxiP]

Naiel drove me crazy for the same reason on his first appearance on season 11.  Genevieve prefaced every description of her offerings with superlatives about it - it is just my preference that you allow your food to do the talking and you don't need to continuously pat yourself on the back.  But she did present great cake and great decorations so I give her praise for that - I would have just rather heard the judges heap accolades on her instead of her telling them how awesome she was...this is just a personal preference on my part and obviously not how you feel and that's fine with me.  We don't have to agree.

After all that, I thought it was a good show and I liked all of the contestants because they were all competent and had a good time.

[susannah]

I was glad to see Genevieve, and not pleased to see Naiel. He won his season, it was totally unfair to give him a shot to win some more stuff. I also got tired of his endless talking about "his" business, which his sister is also a part of, but only he is getting the attention and prize money, etc. I rooted for Genevieve the whole season. She was consistently good throughout and I thought she should have won. IMO, they should have a point system, like the top two get twenty five points, those who were "also safe" get 10 points and the one who wasn't sent home gets 1 point. It just seems wrong that one who was pretty consistently good the whole season, can have one bad day and lose, or the reverse also. Same with Elora. I was so happy that Genevieve won. More salivating over the blast chiller! I also missed seeing Valerie.

Edited September 26, 2023 by susannah
spelling

[theatremouse]

I'm pretty sure this isn't the first time they've had a past winner on one of the holiday one-offs.

[Guest]

30 minutes ago, theatremouse said:

I'm pretty sure this isn't the first time they've had a past winner on one of the holiday one-offs.

There was a holiday special last year that had 2 past winners on it, Paige and Keaton, plus Nemo, who I think had won an earlier holiday special. Though they billed that as an "All-Star" special, so that's not quite the same thing.

[Salacious Kitty]

I'm pretty sure all the specials are billed as "all star." 

[Guest]

13 hours ago, Salacious Kitty said:

I'm pretty sure all the specials are billed as "all star." 

Respectfully disagreeing here, but I don't think they are. They usually just have cute names like "Bloodcurdling Bakes", "Gobble Goodies", and so on, and say that four fan-favorites return. But with the All-Star holiday edition I mentioned, All-Star was right in the name and they made a big deal over the winners being there (turns out they were all winners: Paige & Keaton of full seasons, and Nemo & Taylor of previous specials). The list of specials is here: https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/kids-baking-championship/episodes/specials

I wish I could find a cast list of all the previous specials to see if winners ever appeared on the "regular" specials before Naiel, but the wiki page only lists one in 2016 (no winners there). I could probably find it with more digging, but I am at work, so...

[RoxiP]

Personally I don't care whether they have past winners or not.  I just enjoy watching how proficient the bakers are - especially considering how relatively young they are - I might not always be a huge fan of every participant but I am definitely jealous of their proficiency.  Honestly I barely remember who won from season to season.

[jcbrown]

Peyton cracks me up with her dry sense of humor. Love that kid.

I really enjoy these specials. I hope FN keeps doing them.

[Guest]

Time for another "four memorable kid bakers return" special, this one a Thanksgiving-themed edition titled "Sweets-Giving". It airs this Sunday, November 12th at 8 ET. Hosted by Duff (duh) and Kardea (eh).

[opus]

According to Valerie on Twitter her and Duff’s next season should start airing in January.

(I don’t know how to post tweets here but if you have access to such things you can go over there and look for it)

[HyeChaps]

So it was only her own cooking show that was cancelled.  Food Network hasn't cut her off altogether.

[Salacious Kitty]

22 minutes ago, HyeChaps said:

So it was only her own cooking show that was cancelled.  Food Network hasn't cut her off altogether.

Yeah, I wondered about KBC after they canceled Val's dump and stir show.

[RoxiP]

I'm happy to hear that Valerie will be back.  

[Guest]

The Thanksgiving special was fine as usual, though admittedly I wasn't as invested in this batch of kids - the first three out from the most recent season + Sohan, one of the finalists. I was amused to see Foster, who has sprouted to about 10 feet tall and towered over the boys, beat the pants off them in the initial sprint to grab the theme assignments.

Kardea seemed a bit awkward with the kids, which surprised me for some reason.

When Logan piped out that buttercream basket-weave for his cornucopia, I was seriously impressed - and then Duff had a very underwhelmed reaction: "well it's good but you should have done this and it would have been better." Tough crowd!

[RoxiP]

Sohan still seriously annoys me...his recitation of how he is tempering chocolate and that none of the other bakers could do it which makes him stand out - while it is true it came across wrong to me - and yet when he said one of his chocolate elements was butterscotch I too questioned that.  I love butterscotch but it isn't chocolate...you also buy peanut butter chips in the same area as chocolate in my store and I would never call that chocolate.  I give him credit for arguing his case though.

The kid who won has the sweetest smile.  I remember how shocking it was that he got eliminated in week 2 after excelling in week 1.

I thought this was good but liked the last Kids Baking Challenge (holiday edition) better.

[jcbrown]

I'm just hoping they have a Christmas one and I assume they will, after Halloween- and Thanksgiving-themed episodes. Agreed with those who were uninvested in this batch of kids.

[opus]

New year, new season 

Kids Baking Championship’ Renewed for School-Themed Season 12, New Episodes to Premiere January 1st

[carrps]

Are half the kids from Texas???

Happy that Jaime and Tassi were the top two, as I really liked their cakes, and their personalities.

[KayVeeTeeVee]

All the mini chefs were adorable, and likeable.  And they ALL said MASS car pone, for which I gave them an A+.  Loved the second hour!  Wish they'd bring back some of the veterans to judge.

[SweetSable]

Did anyone watch the 2nd episode last night?  I thought it was a ridiculous challenge, and that none of the kids did very well.  Not the best group of bakers the show's had.  

[mlp]

4 hours ago, SweetSable said:

Not the best group of bakers the show's had.  

I've been thinking the same thing.  These kids are messier and a lot less creative than most of the kids in previous seasons.  Most of them copied Duff's version of a tree and many of them made sandboxes and little else.  The one boy who was clever enough to make a swing set didn't seem to notice that it was very sloppy.  

[Shenanigan7070]

Quote

 Not the best group of bakers the show's had.  

Ha! I also thought that. Although I did appreciate the girl who was creative enough to make Neopolitan blondies. 

[MoonKitty]

53 minutes ago, mlp said:

I've been thinking the same thing.  These kids are messier and a lot less creative than most of the kids in previous seasons.  Most of them copied Duff's version of a tree and many of them made sandboxes and little else.  The one boy who was clever enough to make a swing set didn't seem to notice that it was very sloppy.  

Agree.

I kept telling myself it was just because I'm used to the more accomplished skills and creativity of the adults on Holiday Baking, etc. But then I recalled past kid seasons and there were always kids who knocked my socks off with their talent. Still fun to watch though. 

[jcbrown]

That eight year-old girl is seriously adorable, though. I am not usually susceptible to kids and I find her delightful, even though I have evidently not retained her name.

[carrps]

15 hours ago, jcbrown said:

That eight year-old girl is seriously adorable, though. I am not usually susceptible to kids and I find her delightful, even though I have evidently not retained her name.

Elsie?

[Salacious Kitty]

1 hour ago, carrps said:

Elsie?

I think that's her. And she's 9. 

[lgprimes]

On 1/10/2024 at 8:50 PM, jcbrown said:

That eight year-old girl is seriously adorable, though

Hah! Her over-reactions though…she’s really hamming it up. Hope she gets her puppy though.

 I’m going to miss the little boy who went home on the second episode, Andy. He was a cutie with his rosy cheeks. As a mom of the sons I admit to being partial to boys, but I think one of the girls is going to win this season.

[Grizzly]

I turned off the second hour as soon as they showed what's his name in the preview.

[lgprimes]

Ooh strong disagree on who got sent home last night!!

[KBrownie]

22 minutes ago, lgprimes said:

Ooh strong disagree on who got sent home last night!!

Same.

I thought Lila should have been the one to go. I was okay with Elsie being safe because her issue wasn’t taste or technical mistakes. Underbaking in a baking competition seems to be a bigger error than not enough filling. Isn’t this also at least Lila’s second time in the bottom?

I enjoy the all the variations of the baking championship, but sometimes the judging is frustratingly inconsistent. 

[mlp]

17 hours ago, Grizzly said:

I turned off the second hour as soon as they showed what's his name in the preview.

I couldn't stand that kid either.  He didn't come on until almost the end so I was glad of that.  I never did understand why Duff and Valerie loved him.  Still don't.  

The most interesting thing was seeing Ellora.  I didn't even recognize her until she spoke and I knew her voice.  I'm glad she's doing well.

[Salacious Kitty]

I didn't even bother with the second hour, in spite of treasures like Ellora. He who shall not be named ruins everything. And from what I gave seen in other specials, he hasn't learned a thing.

[Grizzly]

3 hours ago, KBrownie said:

Underbaking in a baking competition seems to be a bigger error than not enough filling. Isn’t this also at least Lila’s second time in the bottom?

Madison was in bottom 2 last week. I distinctly remember her standing there with her arms crossed. I would not miss Lila's big bow. Agreed that Elsie staying was a good choice.

When they announced bake sale as the challenge, I thought they had just done that. But I was confused, having just seen the first ep from season 1. Bake sale was the challenge for them. Hadn't seen season 1. They eliminated 2 kids the first ep and if On Demand is to be believed, there were only 4 eps.