Spring Baking Championship - General Discussion

[emmawoodhouse]

3 hours ago, CharlizeCat said:

I want a meme of Nancy saying, "I can't taste the cinnamon."

I'm sure a meme already exists where you would just have to replace "booze." 😁

[springbarb]

On 3/12/2022 at 6:00 PM, MyMaui said:

 I think the main point, for me at least, is the forcing of this.  Molly is being forced here.  Forced of her farmhouse, forced of it being her as host, and forced of her being on the judging panel.  None of this was forced before.   And add in the tad of "with Molly Yeh" on the show too.

To me she is not a host she has become the show "with" the judges and contestants.  This is the same thing the Halloween show did too and ruined it   Have the show and say she is the host.  Don't make her the star of the show.  She isn't and never will be. 

I hate how contrived these things are--on all the baking competitions. I don't need a story about why you're making the contestants do something. Just say that you want a cake that looks like a Mardi Gras float or a dessert that looks like a garden or whatever. And don't have the judges look surprised at whatever the challenge is. It's all so contrived and dumb. And it's even MORE grating here, where they're pretending they're in Molly's barn? It's dumb. It's not like Chopped tries to pretend it's something more than chefs in a kitchen.

[dleighg]

11 minutes ago, springbarb said:

I hate how contrived these things are--on all the baking competitions. I don't need a story about why you're making the contestants do something.

Like asking how the (RANDOMLY ASSIGNED) fruit "represents you"? What a load of crock.

[libgirl2]

Spoiler

Just what was the point of Stephon? I am sure he is a delightful person, but they got rid of him real fast. 

 

Edited March 15, 2022 by libgirl2

[Grizzly]

I don't drink coffee, hate the taste, or tea. I'd have failed tonight's challenges big time.

[mlp]

I am a coffee drinker and I can't imagine coffee paired with lemon.  Yeccch.  I thought the winning dessert should have been near the bottom myself.  It looked sunken in and those flavors do not go together.  Romy should have won.

They seem to be focusing on Jaleesa quite a bit.  Maybe I'm being too cynical but I wonder if that's significant.  She hasn't impressed me much so far.

Molly continues to be annoying.  

[GaT]

Sunny has grown up woman hair! And she looks great!

[Mellowyellow]

10 minutes ago, GaT said:

Sunny has grown up woman hair! And she looks great!

I kinda liked the crazy hair! I was thinking "Good way to express yourself and go over the top with the hair instead of the hosting!"

***
Second challenge in the Easter Baking Ep2. Were they given their cakes pre made? I seemed to recall everyone assembling and no one baking. Also no comments on the cake taste so I assume it was all generic cake that they had to decorate?

[orangekit]

I am wondering if FN couldn’t avoid seeing all of the negative feedback about Molly and edited her out of quite a few segments .

I think we saw  less of her interviews where she bugged contestants this week , although when she did do it a, she was super sappy and annoying ! Her over the top reaction to Stephon saying he used an easy bake oven by was annoying and sappy ! When she actually said , “I’m going to cry “ , it was just too much ! She is ridiculous !

But , even when Molly isn’t on screen as much anytime she talks the over the top expressions , emoting and painted on smile is irritating !

At least we didn’t get the camera panning to Molly’s annoying over the top facial expressions and reactions as she tasted the food like previous weeks !

I like Kardea on her cooking show , but not so much as a judge . She seems to have her favorites and it shows in her judging . I miss Lorraine .  I am sure everyone has  their favorites and likes some contestants better than others , but Kardea is so obvious and her personal love for Jaleesa is over the top during judging .  

My least favorite contestant is Tom, he always seems to be putting on a show and his baking is not as good as the others ., but the judges seem so enamored with him that they seem to go easier on him that the others.

Nancy criticized the beautiful decorating which  portrayed the colors is the Mexican flag by Diego , but was so thrilled by that blob of brown with little yellow designs that was supposed to be spilled coffee ? She even said it was springy ! How? .  

 

 

[ProfCrash]

Yeah, Nancy's comments about Diego's decorations were confusing. It was a pretty pattern in springy colors that matched the Mexican flag when he had Mexican Hot Chocolate as his flavor. Maybe he should have just down flowers in those colors instead of a pattern. 

The spilled coffee was cute but not springy. I think there were some flowers on the mug that was tipped over? The concept was brilliant, given the nature of the challenge, but it didn't scream spring to me. 

None of the Bakes are really standing out to me. Maybe it is the challenges so far but nothing screams amazing. 

And what was the point of bringing Stephen into the competition? Was there an ancillary competition somewhere that you win a chance to participate in the show and this is how they handled it? Instead of putting those people in the show one day one you had the stupid bake off and then the baker who won goes home almost immediately because they were not good enough to make it onto the show. 

I mean, who thinks a giant brown ball on top of a brown cookie is 1) a tea dessert or 2) springy? Maybe find a way to decorate the truffle so that it looks prettier then a giant brown ball. 

I am not connecting many names to faces because they are not standing out to me. I did love the Hawaiian Tea. It looked great and showed the type of artistry that I expect. 

Jaleesa is memorable only because she is struggling with the pressure and still manages some good tasting desserts. I am not as sold on her designs though. 

Just not feeling this season.

[Dottie D]

I miss Lorraine and Carla.  I don't like Kardea as a judge.  I've enjoyed watching Molly's shows, but she seems both out of her element and annoying as the show host.

[libgirl2]

I also noticed a lot less Molly. I thought good, she calmed down, no i am suspecting clever editing.

Still no rhyme or reason to what is springy or not. I did love that pineapple teapot.  

I said before, what was the point of Stephon.  He lasted one week. I guess they thought it would be a nice twist and then were stuck with him in the footage so he couldn't be edited out. 

Edited March 15, 2022 by libgirl2

[libgirl2]

I did enjoy the Julia Child show lot. 

[MerBearHou]

46 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

I did enjoy the Julia Child show lot. 

I did too!  It was informative through the Julia videos and my goodness, the guy who won is so talented.  Michael Voltaggio was very wowed by him (I was too).  Speaking of Michael V, he was so warm on this show -- his sort of severe look and serious expressions do not show that he has a really engaging side.  Antonia needs to drastically slow down when she speaks -- I thought "is someone directing her to talk at 100 mph".  

Yes, Kardea (who I like a lot) is showing her favorite (Jaleesa) to the point of gushing.  I get that they bonded when Jaleesa had her panic attack and Kardea was by her side, but now, let's get back to proper judging.  I don't want this to become the "look at Jaleesa overcoming" show -- it's not fair to the others.  

[dleighg]

11 hours ago, mlp said:

I am a coffee drinker and I can't imagine coffee paired with lemon

In Italy it is just taking a lemon twist and rubbing it around the lip of the espresso cup. It's very subtle.

And it is an ESPRESSO cup. Not an EXPRESSO cup, folks! It was as bad as the ever present MARSCAPONE instead of Mascarpone.

[MerBearHou]

4 minutes ago, dleighg said:

In Italy it is just taking a lemon twist and rubbing it around the lip of the espresso cup. It's very subtle.

And it is an ESPRESSO cup. Not an EXPRESSO cup, folks! It was as bad as the ever present MARSCAPONE instead of Mascarpone.

Oh, believe me, I noticed both of those -- AND macaroon instead of macaron.  

[dleighg]

7 hours ago, orangekit said:

My least favorite contestant is Tom, he always seems to be putting on a show

I agree. He's always mugging for the camera.

And what was Molly wearing? An upholstery fabric jumpsuit?

[Frost]

One hour of this show was definitely easier to take.  Very few of the bakers are memorable yet and I still can't remember anybody's name...except for Jalessa.  Who is getting way too much screen time.  I really hope we don't get a "nail biting risk Jalessa might not get anything on her plate" story line two times every week.  Everyone's food should stand on its own.  It's good or it's not so good taste and presentation.  It doesn't matter how it gets there.

[orangekit]

3 hours ago, dleighg said:

I agree. He's always mugging for the camera.

And what was Molly wearing? An upholstery fabric jumpsuit?

Diego is a way better baker than most of the contestants , including Tom. But this season seems to be about being cutesy or having an over the top personality, or about overcoming problems rather than about baking skills !

[CrazyInAlabama]

I think Tom, just like some other competitors on the various competition baking shows, is trying to impress the producers as a potential judge.   

[aussieinsydney]

Just came here to say I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks the new host is OTT and super sickly sweet and irritating as all hell. Gah!! Bring back Jesse, PLEASE!!

[MsMalin]

Loved the Julia Child's show, and man they seemed to have top notch serious cooks on there. I grew up watching her!

[libgirl2]

2 hours ago, MsMalin said:

Loved the Julia Child's show, and man they seemed to have top notch serious cooks on there. I grew up watching her!

They really do. The things they were making were amazing.  I also liked the feel of the show. Great respect for Julia. 

I grew up watching her too. The woman from Brazil reminded me of her. 

 

[jrzy]

10 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

They really do. The things they were making were amazing.  I also liked the feel of the show. Great respect for Julia. 

I grew up watching her too. The woman from Brazil reminded me of her. 

 

It is so much better than this years Spring Baking Championship,  do you think we could start a thread?

 

[libgirl2]

Just now, jrzy said:

It is so much better than this years Spring Baking Championship,  do you think we could start a thread?

 

I would love a thread. 

It is better. It has Julia!!

[Gramto6]

I missed the Julia Child show! So sad, will have to look for a rerun.

As far as the fake grinning smile on Molly, I remember reading somewhere, a long time ago, maybe in reference to Giada, that some of these TV people put vaseline on their teeth so their lips won't close all the way thus the fake smiles... Not something I would want to ingest...but for the big $$ these people get...who knows??

[Cetacean]

5 minutes ago, Gramto6 said:

I missed the Julia Child show! So sad, will have to look for a rerun.

You havent missed it, it's a series.  It think on Monday nights.  Episode one is repeated on  Thursday at noon EDT.

[Catfi9ht]

I watched the first episode of the Easter show and it's not for me. I don't like the shows that build things with edible items but don't actually eat them. The large amount of waste product just doesn't sit right with me. I did notice poor Sunny's makeup job was terrible. Her face was super airbrushed and shiny. You could see the makeup line on her neck and it was about 5 shades darker than her actual skin tone.

Echoing everyone else's sentiments about Molly and Stephon.

The inconsistent judging is pretty awful. In the first round, they said some things were not springy and they were and vice versa. Also, they complained about some of the cookies not being stuffed enough but praised others that were flat. Thank goodness there was no booze to make the obnoxious Nancy trifecta! 

Every time someone makes macarons I have flashbacks to that poor woman who was kicked off a previous season because her macarons didn't sit overnight. That was some serious bullshit.

I thought there were too many items in the second round. A teapot or teacups and 4 baked goods? If there had been fewer items, the quality of those items would have been better. I thought the teapot or teacups were the most clever idea but the bakers had to rush those items because of all the other nonsense they had to bake.

I do think there are quite a few talented bakers this season. Everything Diego makes is spectacular. Romy is getting comfortable I think and it shows. Carolyn is super talented. I think that's my top 3 currently. I'll probably change my mind next week. 😀

[Grizzly]

Have to give my rant about the Easter show. I think it was Whitney who made pate a choux, and needed help from Kathleen to get it right. She called it a donut and the judges didn't disagree. To me, it was an inside out eclair.

[LittleIggy]

I really like Diego (love his gun show!), but getting “breathe”tattooed on your throat? Seriously, dude?

Edited March 16, 2022 by LittleIggy

[littlebennysmom]

51 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

I really like Diego (love his gun show!), but getting “breath” tattooed on your throat? Seriously, dude?

But does he have "Reach" tattooed on at least one hand?  

[Catfi9ht]

12 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

I really like Diego (love his gun show!), but getting “breath” tattooed on your throat? Seriously, dude?

It's "breathe". Maybe it's a reminder to breathe (a calming technique) when he looks in the mirror. Maybe he suffers from panic attacks, anxiety, or another emotional stress disorder. Maybe it's not. It's his tattoo, not mine.

[hookedontv]

16 hours ago, jrzy said:

It is so much better than this years Spring Baking Championship,  do you think we could start a thread?

I just noticed that a separate Julia Child show thread was created a couple hours ago!

Edited March 16, 2022 by hookedontv

[SilverLake0315]

On 3/15/2022 at 4:47 AM, orangekit said:

Nancy criticized the beautiful decorating which  portrayed the colors is the Mexican flag by Diego , but was so thrilled by that blob of brown with little yellow designs that was supposed to be spilled coffee ? She even said it was springy ! How? .

I don't have as much of an issue with Nancy as a lot of people do... but this drove me nuts. Her declarations of what is/is not "spring-y" is baffling.

Edited March 17, 2022 by SilverLake0315
Misspell

[LittleIggy]

5 hours ago, Catfi9ht said:

It's "breathe". Maybe it's a reminder to breathe (a calming technique) when he looks in the mirror. Maybe he suffers from panic attacks, anxiety, or another emotional stress disorder. Maybe it's not. It's his tattoo, not mine.

But then it would be backwards! Still think it looks bizarre.

[springbarb]

20 hours ago, Catfi9ht said:

Every time someone makes macarons I have flashbacks to that poor woman who was kicked off a previous season because her macarons didn't sit overnight. That was some serious bullshit.

Yes! That made just ZERO sense and I also think of it every time someone does a macaron now.

[TVbitch]

Stephon, we hardly knew ye. ...but we didn't really understand what ye were doing there anyway. 

I don't feel like I got a very good look at the bakes this episode. It was all a bit rushed. But on the bright side, less time for Molly.

[YupItsMe]

On 3/15/2022 at 12:42 AM, GaT said:

Sunny has grown up woman hair! And she looks great!

Yes she does, but those pants are tragic.

[LittleIggy]

9 hours ago, SilverLake0315 said:

I don't has as much of an issue with Nancy as a lot of people do... but this drove me nuts. Her declarations of what is/is not "spring-y" is baffling.

I like Nancy, but she was dead wrong about Diego’s decoration colors.

[dleighg]

5 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

she was dead wrong about Diego’s decoration colors

I was actually rather embarrassed for her that she didn't recognize the obvious inspiration.

[ProfCrash]

3 hours ago, dleighg said:

I was actually rather embarrassed for her that she didn't recognize the obvious inspiration.

Duff pointed it out immediately and sounded confused with Nancy's comment. The lesson is use the colors but make the design out of flowers so that it is "spring" for Nancy. Or ignore her when she says something stupid. 

[mscool]

On 3/14/2022 at 10:12 PM, Grizzly said:

I don't drink coffee, hate the taste, or tea. I'd have failed tonight's challenges big time.

I agree! I kept thinking "I'd have no idea what those coffees were supposed to taste like and that means I'd have to taste a sample. Yuk."  I'd be voted out of the barn for sure. :) 

\

[Dena0033]

On 3/14/2022 at 7:18 AM, CharlizeCat said:

I want a meme of Nancy saying, "I can't taste the cinnamon."

 

[Refresh]

The first challenge this week seemed more like cookie cakes than giant stuffed cookies. Nothing wrong with either but it wasn’t what I was expecting to see. 

Challenging creativity is the show, but when your challenge and ingredients are brown on brown on tan, like the coffee challenge, Nancy needs to stop with the Springy requirement. I don’t want buttercream frosting on a cookie just to bring in pastel colors. Ick. 
 

I liked the tea challenge. The Hawaiian set was great. I would eat all of those passion fruit cups. I love passion fruit so much. 

[orangekit]

20 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

Duff pointed it out immediately and sounded confused with Nancy's comment. The lesson is use the colors but make the design out of flowers so that it is "spring" for Nancy. Or ignore her when she says something stupid. 

Well, Nancy is like an old drunk aunt who comes to holiday dinners and says weird things ! I like her , but she is annoying and weird ! I did find her feeding Jesse bizarre  when he hosted, but i would rather see that anyway than Molly’s  annoying smile and overreactions while tasting the food ! 

[ProfCrash]

8 hours ago, Refresh said:

The first challenge this week seemed more like cookie cakes than giant stuffed cookies. Nothing wrong with either but it wasn’t what I was expecting to see. 

Challenging creativity is the show, but when your challenge and ingredients are brown on brown on tan, like the coffee challenge, Nancy needs to stop with the Springy requirement. I don’t want buttercream frosting on a cookie just to bring in pastel colors. Ick. 
 

I liked the tea challenge. The Hawaiian set was great. I would eat all of those passion fruit cups. I love passion fruit so much. 

In fairness, there are cookie doughs that you can make and then dye. Someone could have done a stuffed cookie with a sugar cookie type dough, dyed pink or green, in an egg shape. Then add some decorations on it the add a design to the cookie. 

They didn't have to do a brown cookie dough. And they could have easily decorated the cookies differently. 

I was surprised by the number of what looked like cookie cakes instead of a series of 4 giant cookies that were stuffed with something. 

[libgirl2]

9 hours ago, Refresh said:

The first challenge this week seemed more like cookie cakes than giant stuffed cookies. Nothing wrong with either but it wasn’t what I was expecting to see. 

 

I agree, they looked more like cakes than cookies. 

[Cheyanne11]

On 3/16/2022 at 3:59 PM, TVbitch said:

Stephon, we hardly knew ye. ...but we didn't really understand what ye were doing there anyway. 

LOL, so pointless. 

As has been said, Molly is...a lot.  And not in the good way.  Also, I'm pretty sure I had that floral Laura Ashley-esque jumpsuit in the '80's.  Everything old should not be new again.

Love, love, love Diego.  His bakes sound and look delicious. 

[Rammchick]

8 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

In fairness, there are cookie doughs that you can make and then dye. Someone could have done a stuffed cookie with a sugar cookie type dough, dyed pink or green, in an egg shape. Then add some decorations on it the add a design to the cookie. 

They didn't have to do a brown cookie dough. And they could have easily decorated the cookies differently.

I'm with you for sure, but the challenge was to make coffee flavored cookies.  Probably not a lot you can do to cover the brown color when the main ingredient in your recipe is brown.  And you know that if they had attempted to cover the brown with food coloring, it would have taken quite a bit, and then the judges would have complained that they could taste it.  Damned if you do...

[orangekit]

Friday night I turned on the cooking channel and saw repeats of Spring  Baking Championship  and the Big Bake 

They have totally ruined the Spring Baking Championship. I felt that way before I saw old episodes before Molly, but when I saw the old episodes the new version looks even worse !

Jesse was so much better and not the center of the show . No stupid mugging the camera, grinning and stupid sappy conversations like annoying Molly ! No stupid gimmicks about the “farm”!  Ugh, the show sucks now so badly 

Also, Eddie Jackson who is an ex football player was a judge on the old Big Bake and way better than Kardea  and Molly ! 
 

I definitely miss Lorraine and Jesse even more now !