S04.E03: Semi-Final and Final

[Athena]

Quote

Five finalists remain in the tent as they face their final 3 bakes, all hoping to make it to the final round. With their toughest challenges ahead, like French custards and cakes, the heat is on where only one baker will be named America’s Best Amateur Baker.

Original air date: December 20, 2018.

[rhys]

Ack! This stinks that PTV will be offline tonight right when this ends. However will I manage?

[Rinaldo]

After the first hour, I'll mention that I was looking forward to what I consider the correct pronunciation of "genoise." (Not that I'm going to call the British "gen-oh-eez" wrong, it's just not what my ears are used to.) But argh! practically everybody said "jean-wah"!! Sherry at least ought to get it right. I know people proudly recall that "you don't pronounce a final S in French," but this S isn't final, there's an E after it. I would accept either "jenn-wahz" or "zhenn-wahz." I think only the announcer (Baby Spice, I think? if so, coached after the fact) and Tina got it. 

Edited December 21, 2018 by Rinaldo

[GaT]

I thought Tina would win, so congrats to her!

[mertensia]

Tina totally deserved that win. Congrats, Tina!

Seriously, though: a Princess cake and Baumkuchen? They've been done before.

Amanda was adorable freaking out "stop doing things that might cause my pots de creme to fail!" and if I were good enough to compete ( a hard no), I would be doing that, too.

[Rickster]

I thought the final three cakes very well done, and I would take any of them over the finalists in the FN Holiday Baking Challenge earlier in the week.

[libgirl2]

28 minutes ago, Rickster said:

I thought the final three cakes very well done, and I would take any of them over the finalists in the FN Holiday Baking Challenge earlier in the week.

I fell asleep right before the end. I can't wait to see the cakes. Very happy for the winner.

[luvapickle]

I liked that Tina won, she was pretty consistent throughout. However, they'll need to take out "Holiday Edition" as so much of it had nothing to do with holidays.  

[Adiba]

6 hours ago, GaT said:

I thought Tina would win, so congrats to her!

She seemed the most consistent. I fell asleep at the very end--thanks for posting the winner!

[Biggie B]

I'm so happy that Tina won! Of course I am biased, since I know her "in real life," but none the less - I think it became pretty clear that this was hers to lose. I knew she'd rock the gingerbread house and the last cake - I've seen the cookies and cakes she makes for friends and family and they are amazing. She is very meticulous in her work, too. It was nice seeing the previously eliminated contestants briefly at the end. Overall, for someone like me who is completely NOT interested in baking or cooking in any way, I enjoyed watching this. It's SO labor intensive that to me, it does not look fun, but I can totally appreciate the satisfaction that getting it right must bring - a delicious treat that brings happiness to others - what more could you ask for? All's well that ends well! 

[Kohola3]

I would have been happy with any of the three but it was kind of fun to "know" (albeit virtually and through one of the posters) Tina so I must admit I was rooting for her just a little bit.  

I agree, drop the whole "holiday" theme and just let them bake although I did enjoy the decorations.  Maybe they thought they couldn't ask for gingerbread houses any other time of the years.  But it was really silly to have them sitting around a fire wearing blankets when it was clearly summer vegetation.

[dubbel zout]

I thought Tina was the right choice to win, as she was the most consistent baker during the final. Amanda and the other baker (sorry, her name escapes me) got on my nerves in the final two episodes.

[JenMD]

So, so happy Tina won.  She put out consistently beautiful work and really earned it.  I can't tell you how much I adored her gingerbread bird house.  Clever and cute and those cookies were adorable.  I just love the creativity that went in to it.  Andrea and Amanda's gingerbread were both beautiful, as well.  Since the judges said the winner would come down to the showstopper, I'm glad they picked Tina because I thought hers was the most festive looking. The others were lovely, but if I'm looking for a holiday centerpiece, for me, Tina's was it, easily.  That was a nice short competition, but still fun (not that I remembered a lot of the bakers at the end).

[rhys]

I was hoping for: Sean & Dan travel the western US giving baking demos. Marcia 's baking YouTube videos are seen all over the world. Becky gives cookie baking !lessons to Somali immigrants.

obviously I don't remember the bakers names. But I always enjoyed the ending when it was posted what they were up to. This 4 weeks (?) was rushed.

Anyway, Brava Tina.

[Adiba]

I was surprised Andrea did not at least know the steps for a genoise sponge. She mixed the flour and butter at first? I have never made a genoise sponge, but I have seen it made on baking shows (and GBBO, especially) and know you have to beat the eggs and sugar (preferably over hot water) separately until they are foamy and thick. She perhaps got anxious and forgot?

[Eliza422]

I was wondering when we saw princess cake and baumkuchen if the contestants thought about the previous seasons of GBBS since those were on them.

I was rooting for Tina to win.

[Dots And Stripes]

2 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

I thought Tina was the right choice to win, as she was the most consistent baker during the final. Amanda and the other baker (sorry, her name escapes me) got on my nerves in the final two episodes.

I didn’t mind Andrea, but Amanda definitely crossed the line from snarky to rude in the last 2 episodes. Very happy for Tina!

[mjc570]

Totally agree that Tina deserved the win, her birdhouse was adorable and very clean.  I was only able to watch this by FF through the hosts appearance (and commercials).  Speaking of host appearances:  what is with that woman's hair, excessive makeup and short dress?  I know show biz people especially don't like to dress their age, but really, some stylist should step in. Also:  I had to laugh at Sherry's idea of a winter holiday dress. 

Edited December 21, 2018 by mjc570
Tina's not a fish

[libgirl2]

1 hour ago, Dots And Stripes said:

I didn’t mind Andrea, but Amanda definitely crossed the line from snarky to rude in the last 2 episodes. Very happy for Tina!

I'm glad I'm not the only one who was feeling that way. It seemed to come out in the last few episodes. I didn't like eat. Part of the charm of this show is the people are nice, she was crossing into American reality TV territory.

[Pickles]

Not that this has anything to do with anything, but Amanda is married to some super successful entrepreneur worth a bazillion dollars. I just read some unflattering article about him and how he hates to lose, so perhaps she has that same attitude. 

[libgirl2]

17 minutes ago, Pickles said:

Not that this has anything to do with anything, but Amanda is married to some super successful entrepreneur worth a bazillion dollars. I just read some unflattering article about him and how he hates to lose, so perhaps she has that same attitude. 

Interesting. She kind of lost me when she yelled at Jiwan about lumbering around..... please this isn't Hell's Kitchen. 

I just watched the last part that I missed last night. I like others felt that I knew Tina with her connection to this board. I was also so touched to see how excited Andrea was when Tina won.  I thought her cake looked so elegant too.  I wish they could do this American version at other times of the year. I know we have Food Network, but there is something I just love about this show.

Edited December 21, 2018 by libgirl2

[TomGirl]

3 hours ago, mjc570 said:

 

Totally agree that Tuna deserved the win.

 

That typo is too cute to fix.  Love it!

[mjc570]

56 minutes ago, TomGirl said:

That typo is too cute to fix.  Love it!

Thanks, But I ddidn't want to disrespect Tina/Tuna!

[Adiba]

1 hour ago, Pickles said:

Not that this has anything to do with anything, but Amanda is married to some super successful entrepreneur worth a bazillion dollars. I just read some unflattering article about him and how he hates to lose, so perhaps she has that same attitude. 

Read an article about a lawsuit by a former employee/friend who also alleged that Bill Nguyen was abusive toward one of his sons. Not flattering at all.

[hookedontv]

8 hours ago, mjc570 said:

I had to laugh at Sherry's idea of a winter holiday dress. 

That dress looked like something a 6 year old would wear! Glad I’m not the only one who was like WTH. 

PS: Does anyone know if Amanda lives in the woods? I don’t think she’s ever said...

Edited December 22, 2018 by hookedontv
Typo

[Kohola3]

17 minutes ago, hookedontv said:

That dress looked like something a 6 year old would wear! Glad I’m not the only one who was like WTH. 

 

It was just.....hideous.  It was like a car wreck, you want not to look but can't help yourself.

[ombelico]

20 minutes ago, hookedontv said:

Does anyone know if Amanda lives in the woods?

Amanda's from the Lake Tahoe area. There are lots of houses and cabins there that are up on hills or mountains surrounded by trees, so it would definitely appear to be in the woods when shown on tv. If her husband is as wealthy as someone upthread suggested, they could definitely afford one of the larger, more secluded houses there.

[ABay]

33 minutes ago, ombelico said:

Amanda's from the Lake Tahoe area. There are lots of houses and cabins there that are up on hills or mountains surrounded by trees, so it would definitely appear to be in the woods when shown on tv. If her husband is as wealthy as someone upthread suggested, they could definitely afford one of the larger, more secluded houses there.

I think @hookedontv might have meant it sarcastically. 

And, gosh, did you know she has BOYS? If only she'd mentioned them...

[Jillybean]

Well. I think Andrea's finale spot should have been Destane's. I'm glad I wasn't the only one who found Amanda's theatrics annoying AF. I was happy Tina won.

I've never heard of Sherry Yard but girlfriend needs a stylist if she's going to be on TV. I didn't like the way she practically cackled with glee while explaining all the things that could go wrong during the semifinal technical challenge.

[ombelico]

34 minutes ago, Jillybean said:

I think Andrea's finale spot should have been Destane's

Agreed. It wasn't exactly a good look at the end of the semi-final when Jiwan and Destane were both eliminated, leaving the three white women sitting between them as the finalists.

Edited December 22, 2018 by ombelico

[hookedontv]

1 hour ago, ABay said:

I think @hookedontv might have meant it sarcastically. 

And, gosh, did you know she has BOYS? If only she'd mentioned them...

Correct Abay! I was letting the snark fly....

[mlp]

Quote

It wasn't exactly a good look at the end of the semi-final when Jiwan and Destane were both eliminated, leaving the three white women sitting between them as the finalists.

I don't think race/color had anything to do with anything.  Both Jiwan (my favorite) and Destane presented less successful creations than the three who went on to the finale.  Simple as that.

Sherry's dress was indeed awful.  I thought the dress she wore the previous week was bad but she managed to top it.  I wonder if she was horrified when she saw the tapes of the show.  I've seen her quite a few times on other shows and she never looked ridiculous before.

Congratulations to Tina.  I thought she was the best of the bunch from the beginning so I was very happy that she won.

[Irlandesa]

13 minutes ago, mlp said:

I don't think race/color had anything to do with anything.  Both Jiwan (my favorite) and Destane presented less successful creations than the three who went on to the finale.  Simple as that.

Maybe not, although I do think the argument could have been made for keeping Destane and getting rid of one of the three finalists since I think there was a Top 2 and then a bottom 3. 

But even if 100% based on their performances in the semi-finals, the overall circumstances aren't exactly "winning" when they eliminate the final two people of color in the semis combined with the fact that they never aired the final episodes of last season where a black woman did win. (I'm still peeved we haven't gotten to see the episodes.)

[Enigma X]

I too was rooting for Tina and am glad she won.

[Rinaldo]

9 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

But even if 100% based on their performances in the semi-finals, the overall circumstances aren't exactly "winning" when they eliminate the final two people of color in the semis

So, what should they do? NOT judge on merit? 

[libgirl2]

19 minutes ago, Rinaldo said:

So, what should they do? NOT judge on merit? 

I think if either one of them had been successful with the gingerbread they would have been in the finals over Andrea. They were not. Their gingerbread scenes were not good. I was cheering for Jiwan, when I saw his castle, I knew he was done for.

[theatremouse]

For half a second, I thought maybe the fact that his gingerbread was great and Andrea's was chewy might get him the edge even though his design was not executed and hers looked pretty darn good. Didn't have high hopes, but it seemed possible.

[Enigma X]

I take no issue with Jiwan and Destane not making it through, but I do hate when taste loses out to look in a baking contest. I would have preferred Jiwan making it through based on his better tasting gingerbread as opposed to Andrea's better looking gingerbread. In a perfect world, you will have both. When you don't, I side on taste.

Edited December 22, 2018 by Enigma X

[dubbel zout]

44 minutes ago, Enigma X said:

I take no issue with Jiwan and Destane not making it through, but I do hate when taste loses out to look in a baking contest. I would have preferred Jiwan making it through based on his better tasting gingerbread as opposed to Andrea's better looking gingerbread. In a perfect world, you will have both. When you don't, I side on taste.

Same here, especially because Paul was making such a big deal about the gingerbread needing to be edible and have that snap.

[ombelico]

I mostly just meant that it wasn't a good visual, eliminating the last two people of color (who happened to be sitting on either end of the row of barstools), leaving the three white women in the middle. It was too bad that Jiwan or Destane didn't have a stronger showing, since frankly I haven't been that impressed with Andrea all season. Very happy that Tina (rightfully, IMO) won, though.

[libgirl2]

1 hour ago, ombelico said:

I mostly just meant that it wasn't a good visual, eliminating the last two people of color (who happened to be sitting on either end of the row of barstools), leaving the three white women in the middle. It was too bad that Jiwan or Destane didn't have a stronger showing, since frankly I haven't been that impressed with Andrea all season. Very happy that Tina (rightfully, IMO) won, though.

That is why I think if either one of them would come in strong they would have moved on. I do agree, that I thought maybe Jiwan would get in with his better gingerbread, but we weren't tasting it so maybe it wasn't enough or Andrea's gingerbread wasn't that bad.

[rhys]

Grrrr. Every time I see Destane's name here I read "desitin." It's that stuff you put on a baby's bum when she has diaper rash. Sorry , Destane.

[krankydoodle]

On 12/21/2018 at 11:15 PM, mlp said:

Sherry's dress was indeed awful.  I thought the dress she wore the previous week was bad but she managed to top it.  I wonder if she was horrified when she saw the tapes of the show.  I've seen her quite a few times on other shows and she never looked ridiculous before.

Sherry's styling through most of the series was unfortunate. I liked her well enough, but the unflattering clothes and makeup were sometimes distracting.

I didn't mind Spice and thought it was refreshing to see a host unabashedly eating contestants' bakes. And Emma Bunton has a lovely voice, so I enjoyed her narration. Still, they seem like odd choices for hosts.

Tina was my favorite, but I didn't like the decoration on her final showstopper. I'm glad it tasted good enough to put her over the top, and I loved her gingerbread house in the previous episode. That was a genuine showstopper. And her daughter was so sweet, saying that Tina would still be a winner to her even if she didn't win the competition.

[dleighg]

7 hours ago, krankydoodle said:

Tina was my favorite, but I didn't like the decoration on her final showstopper. I

yes, it reminded me too much of those sheet cakes you get at big box stores with gobs of huge frosted flowers on them. But in general she was very talented.

[galaxychaser]

Andrea should not have been in the final. She wasn’t good. 

Im happy Tina won.

Amanda was annoying my boys, my husband blah blah. We get it you aren’t a spinster who lives in your moms basement.

Destane why her parents misspell her name. Spell it right Destiny. It’s like Trynyty instead of Trinity.

[illdoc]

8 hours ago, galaxychaser said:

Destane why her parents misspell her name. Spell it right Destiny. It’s like Trynyty instead of Trinity

Tiphne (pronounced "Tiffany")---seen on an episode of "People's Court".

[TVbitch]

Couldn't really get into this version of Bake Off. Not sure if it was the pacing, or hosts, or lack of truly show-stopping bakes or what. I was rooting for Tina though. Her gingerbread house was perfection.  

[BigBingerBro]

I was glad to see Tina win.  She was the only contestant I warmed up to.  

I hated how this "season" was so rushed.  I also dislike the filming in UK.  Has anyone ever explained why they do this?  I know the production company is out of the UK, but is the budget that low they can't cross the pond for a few weeks?  

Paul is Paul but man he's looking rough.  It seemed so fake whenever they had to highlight differences or flavors that the British might not be familiar with.  Paul did a stint with Food Network in the US, I find it very hard to believe he had never tasted nor heard of a snickerdoodle,

I had seen Sherri before once or twice, but she looked like a cartoon version of her true self.  She needs to go back and get those dentures refitted.  I was afraid she'd start chewing them up while tasting the bakes.

Emma was delightful and a great choice for the voice overs.    I thought she wanted to separate herself from the "Baby Spice" world from where she started?  I guess most Americans really only know her from that.

The other guy was just annoying and rude.

[Enigma X]

I have seen Sherri before and she has always seemed very dull to me. It is not so much her "energy," but everything about her. 

[Lady Iris]

Very happy Tina won. She deserved it. Her gingerbread birdhouse was utterly charming and those cookies, absolutely adorable! I loved the fox ones she did. I admit, I didn't think she'd go far based on the initial eps but she really shone as it went on.

I do wonder why it was such a rushed season.

Where do I find me a princess cake because that looked delicious!