Spring Baking Championship - General Discussion

[BryroseA]

3 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

Do you ever watch GBBO? You could be star baker one week and go home the next.

It is also hard to say something was mediocre if you didn't taste any of them? Remember there is a lot of editing that goes into these shows. They like to lead you on..... 

I do! They do usually take the other bakes from that episode into consideration, however - it isn’t only the showstopper. 

My mediocre comment was referring to the look of some of Luke’s bakes - that chocolate box for the preheat challenge - oof. 

[Grizzly]

1 minute ago, libgirl2 said:

He took risks all the time and I credit him for that. But yea, he should have redone them right away. 

Couldn't he have tasted the batter and known it was too sweet before baking it?

[libgirl2]

5 minutes ago, BryroseA said:

I do! They do usually take the other bakes from that episode into consideration, however - it isn’t only the showstopper. 

My mediocre comment was referring to the look of some of Luke’s bakes - that chocolate box for the preheat challenge - oof. 

Yes, they do.

I think his cake was probably so ahead if theirs that it gave him enough edge. Again, lots we don't see with editing. Luke might have excelled with flavors all season for all we know. He did win challenges.

 

Edited May 9, 2023 by libgirl2

[VanillaBear85]

Luke clearly won that round so I'm happy for him. The judges seemed to like the taste the most and I thought it looked the best.

I didn't like how Clement did the cherry blossoms. The branches were too thick and it looked like a bush that needed to be trimmed. I did like the lace.

I thought Christian's looked okay, but the piping was a bit sloppy. 

Edited May 9, 2023 by VanillaBear85

[laredhead]

Clement has mentioned several times that he is unfamiliar with many of the things they have been asked to make.  He has said he doesn't make wedding cakes, doughnuts, and a few other things that are common in American bakeries.  I wonder what he bakes?  Eclairs? Tartes?

I was kind of rooting for Christian to win, and I liked that he was going to use the prize money to help his classes at the school where he works.

[libgirl2]

8 hours ago, VanillaBear85 said:

Luke clearly won that round so I'm happy for him. The judges seemed to like the taste the most and I thought it looked the best.

I didn't like how Clement did the cherry blossoms. The branches were too thick and it looked like a bush that needed to be trimmed. I did like the lace.

I thought Christian's looked okay, but the piping was a bit sloppy. 

Those heavy branches over powered Clement's cake. A little restraint would have made a difference. Christian cake was "brown" and muted. I get the couple wanted Boho, but it just didn't do it for me. 

Luke's cake was the prettiest and must have tasted best. It might have seemed simple but it probably wasn't. I would have been happy with any of them winning but I was most happy with Luke. I felt he was "dismissed" by two bakers as not really being much competition at least from the edits. 

Edited May 9, 2023 by libgirl2

[Rammchick]

Jeez, stupid comments from the judges:

Nancy (of course): I don't see spring (but that's what the couple wanted)

Duff: It looks like two different cakes (they were, and again, what the couple wanted), not to mention his ding on the Eiffel Tower 

Kardea:  The wood's not shiny (it's wood)

Ugh.  Congrats, Luke, but glad this is over for another year.

 

[Dottie D]

I was so confused about Christian's cake.  Twice the couple mentioned they wanted a chocolate cake (once in their intro, and again when they were at his station).  How is it that they didn't get a chocolate cake?!  Or maybe I missed something.

I think the editing was horrendous this season.

Edited May 9, 2023 by Dottie D

[Guest]

47 minutes ago, Rammchick said:

Jeez, stupid comments from the judges:

Nancy (of course): I don't see spring (but that's what the couple wanted)

Duff: It looks like two different cakes (they were, and again, what the couple wanted), not to mention his ding on the Eiffel Tower 

Kardea:  The wood's not shiny (it's wood)

Ugh.  Congrats, Luke, but glad this is over for another year.

 

I'll add another one:

Kardea (re: Molly's donut): this doesn't have different textures, so it's one-note.

First of all, that contradicts Duff's (negative) criticism about biting into the donut and suddenly hitting the raspberries. And second of all...it's a donut! How many donuts (especially cake donuts) have you had that had multiple textures, Kardea?

Can't really comment on the rest because everything after the bake-off blended together into the background. Sort of one-note and lacking texture, if you will.

[mojoween]

No offense to Luke but what the fuck.  I mean, it was totally obvious the entire show what was coming, but it’s still crap.

Christian’s final offering was so not boho and also not his best, but Clement killed it.  Killed. It.

[libgirl2]

34 minutes ago, mojoween said:

No offense to Luke but what the fuck.  I mean, it was totally obvious the entire show what was coming, but it’s still crap.

Christian’s final offering was so not boho and also not his best, but Clement killed it.  Killed. It.

I think the branches did him in. That one thick branch just overpowered the cake and seriously looked like something it shouldn't look like. I think a bit less would have gotten him the win. I honestly thought it had lovely aspects but it was just "too". 

Edited May 9, 2023 by libgirl2

[Tippi]

I was rooting for Christian, was sure Clement would win, was surprised by Luke in the end.  Running out of time to do elaborate decorating probably put him over the edge.  His cake did look beautiful, and he definitely gave his clients what they wanted while also making a delicious cake.  Christian and Clement went too elaborate in the end, but Clement really did also give his clients what they asked for.  I'm another one who is baffled as to why Christian didn't make a chocolate cake.

I liked Luke, but I have to admit I'm a little let down by the end result.  What Luke produced in the two run-up heats was not good.  I also was not really into the love theme for the season.

Shallow observation--Jesse looked great in the blue shirt and blazer.  I'll be glad to see him in the Summer show!

 

[libgirl2]

Just now, Tippi said:

I was rooting for Christian, was sure Clement would win, was surprised by Luke in the end.  Running out of time to do elaborate decorating probably put him over the edge.  His cake did look beautiful, and he definitely gave his clients what they wanted while also making a delicious cake.  Christian and Clement went too elaborate in the end, but Clement really did also give his clients what they asked for.  I'm another one who is baffled as to why Christian didn't make a chocolate cake.

I liked Luke, but I have to admit I'm a little let down by the end result.  What Luke produced in the two run-up heats was not good.  I also was not really into the love theme for the season.

Shallow observation--Jesse looked great in the blue shirt and blazer.  I'll be glad to see him in the Summer show!

 

I forgot that they wanted chocolate. Why didn't he do that? 

[Dottie D]

Just now, libgirl2 said:

I forgot that they wanted chocolate. Why didn't he do that? 

The groom specifically said chocolate and raspberry.

[libgirl2]

2 minutes ago, Dottie D said:

The groom specifically said chocolate and raspberry.

At least he tried the boho? 

Luke listened regarding the orange and chocolate. I love those flavors together. 

Edited May 9, 2023 by libgirl2

[Tippi]

I thought the bride to be mentioned at least once, possibly twice that she loved chocolate.  I remember the groom to be mentioned cheesecake.  Christian did include these but they sure weren't the predominant flavors.

[libgirl2]

1 minute ago, Tippi said:

I thought the bride to be mentioned at least once, possibly twice that she loved chocolate.  I remember the groom to be mentioned cheesecake.  Christian did include these but they sure weren't the predominant flavors.

but the cake wasn't chocolate. I guess it is hard to get exactly what someone envisions. 

[jrzy]

2 hours ago, Rammchick said:

Jeez, stupid comments from the judges:

Nancy (of course): I don't see spring (but that's what the couple wanted)

Duff: It looks like two different cakes (they were, and again, what the couple wanted), not to mention his ding on the Eiffel Tower 

Kardea:  The wood's not shiny (it's wood)

Ugh.  Congrats, Luke, but glad this is over for another year.

 

I knew that Luke was being crowned before even all the tasting was done,  I liked him but thought Clement was clearly the overall winner.  This was a bit of a disappointment.  

[DEL901]

47 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

I think the branches did him in. That one thick branch just overpowered the cake and seriously looked like something it shouldn't look like. I think a bit less would have gotten him the win. I honestly thought it had lovely aspects but it was just "too". 

I thought the thick branch looked like a snake…and Duff was right, the flowers needed a white dot of something at the centre.   Too bad,I thought Clement would win, but you are just as good as your last bake.  

[mojoween]

1 hour ago, libgirl2 said:

I think the branches did him in. That one thick branch just overpowered the cake and seriously looked like something it shouldn't look like. I think a bit less would have gotten him the win. I honestly thought it had lovely aspects but it was just "too". 

I get that, and his branches did look like Lord of the Rings Ent cosplay, but his flavors!  A cake? That tastes like cannoli?  Yes gimme.

I am shocked that Christian, as quirky as he is, didn’t actually put a little lifeguard tower and girl in a pink bikini somewhere.

If they were making cakes for people’s weddings, how?  Everyone ate them before an actual ceremony happened.

[libgirl2]

9 minutes ago, mojoween said:

I am shocked that Christian, as quirky as he is, didn’t actually put a little lifeguard tower and girl in a pink bikini somewhere.

If they were making cakes for people’s weddings, how?  Everyone ate them before an actual ceremony happened.

That's right they mentioned the whole lifeguard thing. I feel like Christian went basically with what he wanted but still trying to stick boho. 

 

Edited May 9, 2023 by libgirl2

[Frost]

I'm confused about the wedding cake thing too.  Did the bakers commit to making their actual wedding cakes (you know, right before the wedding?) even though the show is over?

[libgirl2]

Just now, Frost said:

I'm confused about the wedding cake thing too.  Did the bakers commit to making their actual wedding cakes (you know, right before the wedding?) even though the show is over?

I want to say no. This was just for the show, but maybe one of the couples will have the baker make their cake. 

[carrps]

Hate to say it, but didn't Luke say he had a friend in the production side of the show, or something like that a few episodes back? It's shady that he was even allowed to compete. Almost -- almost -- Clarence Thomas shady.

 

[MerBearHou]

I enjoyed the season, but not the final.  It's weird -- Christian was not the same baker we'd seen all season -- his nerves must have really gotten to him -- the weird sugar dome, the wrong measuring cup, deciding to bake the questionable cakes anyway and then having to start over, big loss of time and mojo, wonky leaning cakes, not making the chocolate more prominent when it had been emphasized by the bride, decorating in muted tones that were flat out ugly IMO and not wedding at all.  He really blew it. 

 We said the same thing when we saw Clement's cake -- those thick brown branches were too dominant and the biggest one looked like a snake.  Mistake there.  

 I like Luke fine, but he was not my choice to win the whole thing if I'm picking the strongest baker.  I know you're only as good as your latest bake like GBBO, but it wasn't a satisfying final.  That seems to happen to me a lot on these "baking championship" shows -- the one I think is strongest never wins.  

[MsMalin]

Not happy that Luke won. His donuts looked sloppy and the chocolate boxes were awful plus no decorative elements. How can someone win when they do so poorly in the lead up to the final bake?

[CrazyInAlabama]

I think the cakes were engagement cakes, but for either interpretation (wedding or engagement) , the couples only ended up with 2 slices.    It was just for the show, and I'm wondering if the couples' ideas were given to them by the show?    I bet all three couples were connected with the show staff in some way too.    Christian ignoring that the bride wanted chocolate was absurd, little chips of chocolate in the filling between layers, with raspberries in another part of the filling was a big fail.   I couldn't believe he didn't dump the dry ingredients when he realized the measurements were screwed up.   It would have taken very little time to redo the dry ingredients, instead of waiting until the mismeasured cake layers came out of the oven.     I really disliked his brown decorating too.   

Clement's branches were too thick and looked like snakes, plus as another poster said, white centers on the flowers would have helped. 

I think they messed with the time line, I don't think Luke could have done that huge amount of decorating in 15 minutes.    Luke's cake decor was way too elaborate to be done that quickly. 

Edited May 9, 2023 by CrazyInAlabama

[KayVeeTeeVee]

3 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

I think the branches did him in. That one thick branch just overpowered the cake and seriously looked like something it shouldn't look like. I think a bit less would have gotten him the win. I honestly thought it had lovely aspects but it was just "too". 

I loved Clement, but those 150 flowers each needed a white dot in the center, as Duff said.  And most of the branches were too thick.

[libgirl2]

5 minutes ago, KayVeeTeeVee said:

I loved Clement, but those 150 flowers each needed a white dot in the center, as Duff said.  And most of the branches were too thick.

The dots didn't bother me as much but I didn't get the best look at them until it was mentioned. Maybe he would  have been better served with less blossoms, but have the dots added. 

 

[KayVeeTeeVee]

15 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

FFS! Again they were all crooked!

Congrats to Luke. That wedding cake nailed it for him. It was elegant, beautiful and delicious. 

 

  Reveal spoiler

 

 

Have none of them heard of dowels?  I know they are not primarily cake bakers, but come on - eve I know a three-tier cake needs some support.

 

[storyskip]

1 hour ago, KayVeeTeeVee said:

I loved Clement, but those 150 flowers each needed a white dot in the center, as Duff said.  And most of the branches were too thick.

I think if Clement had done the 150 flowers with their white dot in the center and then painted on the branches it would have looked better.  Clement was the one I wanted to win but as soon as I saw that cage of chocolate branches I knew he was done for, it just didn't look good.

[Shenanigan7070]

I wanted Christian to win but was resigned to Clement taking it (and couldn't have really argued if he had). Did not see Luke coming. After he barely skated by on the donuts and whiffed the pre-heat, all I can say is that must have been one hell of a cake.

Quote

 Christian ignoring that the bride wanted chocolate was absurd, little chips of chocolate in the filling between layers, with raspberries in another part of the filling was a big fail.

I though it was some sort of chocolate filling to go with the raspberry jam - wasn't Clement the one who used chocolate chips?

Christian should have tried out for Halloween Baking Championship. I think he would have killed that. (Er, pun intended?)

[mlp]

4 hours ago, Tippi said:

was rooting for Christian, was sure Clement would win, was surprised by Luke in the end.

Me too.  I know the winner is determined solely by the last cake and, therefore, Luke deserved the win but the other two were better all along so it didn't seem quite fair even though I liked Luke.  

I agree with everyone about Clement's branches.  He might have won if he'd made them delicate and made the flowers more life-like.  I liked Christian's cake but not for a wedding.  

[joanne3482]

16 hours ago, laredhead said:

Clement has mentioned several times that he is unfamiliar with many of the things they have been asked to make.  He has said he doesn't make wedding cakes, doughnuts, and a few other things that are common in American bakeries.  I wonder what he bakes?  Eclairs? Tartes?

I googled him. He does a sort of fancy dessert things and teaches baking classes. He does the financiers.

 

[MoonKitty]

I was so looking forward to the finale and was seriously let down. Clement and Christian spent the past 8 weeks creating beautiful and innovative desserts that had the judges (mostly) singing praises. The final should have been their time to let loose with the best of their best and they both booted the opportunity. Luke baked a satisfactory cake and was a likeable guy--I don't begrudge him the win. 

I liked the season overall, didn't adore the love theme but really enjoyed most of the bakers. Underwhelmed by the finale.

[Ohmo]

5 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

I know you're only as good as your latest bake like GBBO, but it wasn't a satisfying final. 

But even that argument (which I don't agree with for this length of a competition) doesn't hold water.  Clement's engagement dessert was light years better than Luke's offering.  The show can't have it both ways.  Viewers can't taste, but we can see.  Over the course of the entire series, Clement earned six tokens.  His work was AMAZING!

Whether Food Network likes it or not, I'd guess that most viewers view SBC (and others) as a cumulative process at least on some level.  Luke couldn't even get INTO the final without the bake-off, and now suddenly he's outskilled BOTH Christian and Clement to take the ENTIRE competition?  Simply put, no!

I had Luke as solidly third.  If Christian would have won, I would have been OK with it.  What FN is trying to sell is that Luke and Jalessa are better than Romy and Clement.  That is absolutely NOT true!  (I want a bake-off between Romy and Clement.)

The network should change the format if the judging is going to be this way.  Make it $1,000 for a pre-heat and $2,000 for a main heat.  Then total prize money before the finale and the top three are in the finals.  I would be fine if Luke won $2K for that cake.  Not $25K or the whole competition.

[Rammchick]

8 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

First of all, that contradicts Duff's (negative) criticism about biting into the donut and suddenly hitting the raspberries. And second of all...it's a donut! How many donuts (especially cake donuts) have you had that had multiple textures, Kardea?

That reminds me -- were the raspberries in Molly's donut fresh or dried?  I thought they were fresh but it sounded like Duff said something about them being dried.

[Ohmo]

4 minutes ago, Rammchick said:

That reminds me -- were the raspberries in Molly's donut fresh or dried?  I thought they were fresh but it sounded like Duff said something about them being dried.

I thought he said they dried---that she should have re-hydrated them or ground them into a powder.

[BryroseA]

I see a lot of consensus that Christian’s cake was “brown” but I loved the muted color scheme and thought it was absolutely gorgeous - that edging line of gold and the sea foam accents were genius, imo. Perfect for a “Boho” wedding cake. 

[bilgistic]

Christian doesn't know what "boho" means.

[mojoween]

If the winner is going to be determined by one cake then the entire competition is meaningless.  Why have ten weeks of show if you only need one?

[Ohmo]

45 minutes ago, mojoween said:

If the winner is going to be determined by one cake then the entire competition is meaningless.  Why have ten weeks of show if you only need one?

That, as well as the fact the network isn't going to get contestants who are the caliber of Clement or Romy any more.  Think about all the high-level artistry both of them did.  Why do it?  It doesn't seem to be rewarded.  If I were Clement, I'd be seriously pissed.  Christian as well.  All three (Romy, Clement, and Christian) took risks throughout their respective seasons.  Didn't matter at all.

Nancy always likes to crow "This is the Spring (or Holiday) Baking Championship."  Well, then JUDGE like it!  It's seriously irritating to see this happen two years in a row!

I really do think this is a Duff, Nancy, Kardea issue.  I also watch Spring Baking Championship Easter and don't recall that show's judges having an issue.  Henderson won this year, and he was strong throughout the competition.  My eyebrows didn't raise when he won.  It made sense given what he did over the course of the six weeks.

[DEL901]

I am sure the prize money is an issue too.  $25,000 sounds like a lot of money but Chopped and Forged in Fire gives $10,000 for a single episode win.   When they do a five game tournament, the prize is $50,000.

It isn’t like Beat Bobby Flay.  There is no prize there but bragging rights.  

[Frost]

Quote

Mix Patterns and Colors With Abandon

I have no idea what "BoHo" is supposed to mean as a "style".  The quote above was similar in several different Google searches.  From this description, Christian's cake does not seem to qualify!

[Ohmo]

3 minutes ago, DEL901 said:

I am sure the prize money is an issue too.  $25,000 sounds like a lot of money but Chopped and Forged in Fire gives $10,000 for a single episode win.   When they do a five game tournament, the prize is $50,000.

It isn’t like Beat Bobby Flay.  There is no prize there but bragging rights.  

I completely think they should raise the prize money for all of the Backing Championships.  It used to be 50K a long time ago.  They should go back to that.  TOC's 100K.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, mojoween said:

If the winner is going to be determined by one cake then the entire competition is meaningless.  Why have ten weeks of show if you only need one?

If people are disappointed in the outcome, that's totally fair, but I don't get this criticism. This came up at the end of the last Holiday Baking Championship, too. The entire competition is not meaningless: you have ten weeks (or however many) of show to eliminate people one by one until there's a final four/three/two. Then, they are judged at the end by whatever criteria there is. Most reality competitions work like this, and always have. The winner is determined by one cake/song/dance/race leg/vote in the final episode, and someone who hasn't come in first all season can absolutely win at the very end, fair and square. If the others had been frontrunners all season but fell short at the end, that's the way it goes. It makes no sense to keep a running "score" all season, because that kills the suspense of who goes home each week.

Again, if people think Christian or Clement should have won over Luke, ok, but the fact that they didn't doesn't indicate some fundamental flaw in the whole format of the show. I'm just stumped as to why this is suddenly an issue the last couple of editions when it's always worked this way.

[Starry-Eyed]

12 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

I'll add another one:

Kardea (re: Molly's donut): this doesn't have different textures, so it's one-note.

First of all, that contradicts Duff's (negative) criticism about biting into the donut and suddenly hitting the raspberries. And second of all...it's a donut! How many donuts (especially cake donuts) have you had that had multiple textures, Kardea?

 Kardea really did not come across well in this episode. She had so many dumb criticisms that made her seem less knowledgeable. The worst was the wood texture comment.

[Ohmo]

1 hour ago, tracyscott76 said:

Again, if people think Christian or Clement should have won over Luke, ok, but the fact that they didn't doesn't indicate some fundamental flaw in the whole format of the show. I'm just stumped as to why this is suddenly an issue the last couple of editions when it's always worked this way.

It's an issue because recent winners (Jaleesa and Luke) have exposed the fact that there's a flaw in the system.  There have been several years when the system has worked fine because those who appeared in the finals have shown over the course of time that they had demonstrated skill in the competition.  I'm thinking Douglas, the winner of HBC from a couple years ago.  He was a skilled pastry instructor and viewers had seen that skill demonstrated over the course of the finals.

Specifically, the past two years have shown that people have been in the finals who were noticeably not as skilled as other competitors over the course of the competition. Less creativity, less execution, and less innovation overall, and those people have won the entire competition.

I agree with those that say the rest of the competition is meaningless.  This year, we saw Clement and Christian make beautiful creations time after time.  Luke made a few, but not to the quality of Christian or Clement over a consistent basis. We watched it happen.

If the network wanted to walk Christian, Clement, and Luke in off the street, have a $25,000 wedding cake competition over the course of five hours---ready set go, that would be one thing.  However, by having a 10-episode competition, the implicit message that FN is sending is "This person is the BEST and MOST-SKILLED of all of these competitors. They have shown that over the course of time and the consistency of their work."

In the past two years, when compared to those around them, Jalessa and Luke managed to win the last challenge with a lower level of skills, and they were considered "champions." When Luke is compared to Clement or Christian, he made a nice wedding cake, but he is not a champion in terms of the skills that Clement and Christian have.  The same is true for Jalessa when it comes to Romy. To declare Luke a champion over Christian and Clement minimizes what we actually saw over ten episodes. You don't need a multi-episode competition if you're not going to reward anything but advancement.

I watch Holiday, Spring, and Easter, and these last two SBCs are the only times I can remember where the championship has been awarded to someone when others have had noticeably superior skills throughout the competition.

Edited May 10, 2023 by Ohmo

[Guest]

40 minutes ago, Ohmo said:

It's an issue because recent winners (Jaleesa and Luke) have exposed the fact that there's a flaw in the system.  There have been several years when the system has worked fine because those who appeared in the finals have shown over the course of time that they had demonstrated skill in the competition.  I'm thinking Douglas, the winner of HBC from a couple years ago.  He was a skilled pastry instructor and viewers had seen that skill demonstrated over the course of the finals.

Specifically, the past two years have shown that people have been in the finals who were noticeably not as skilled as other competitors over the course of the competition. Less creativity, less execution, and less innovation overall, and those people have won the entire competition.

I agree with those that say the rest of the competition is meaningless.  This year, we saw Clement and Christian make beautiful creations time after time.  Luke made a few, but not to the quality of Christian or Clement over a consistent basis. We watched it happen.

If the network wanted to walk Christian, Clement, and Luke in off the street, have a $25,000 wedding cake competition over the course of five hours---ready set go, that would be one thing.  However, by having a 10-episode competition, the implicit message that FN is sending is "This person is the BEST and MOST-SKILLED of all of these competitors. They have shown that over the course of time and the consistency of their work."

In the past two years, when compared to those around them, Jalessa and Luke managed to win the last challenge with a lower level of skills, and they were considered "champions." When Luke is compared to Clement or Christian, he made a nice wedding cake, but he is not a champion in terms of the skills that Clement and Christian have.  The same is true for Jalessa when it comes to Romy. To declare Luke a champion over Christian and Clement minimizes what we actually saw over ten episodes. You don't need a multi-episode competition if you're not going to reward anything but advancement.

I watch Holiday, Spring, and Easter, and these last two SBCs are the only times I can remember where the championship has been awarded to someone when others have had noticeably superior skills throughout the competition.

Then this is just a fundamental difference of opinion in both how these shows should work, and in the gap in skill between Christian/Clement and Luke over the course of the season. Maybe on average they were better than him (though I personally didn't care for much of their "spectacular" work), but I just can't see that as evidence of some massive failure of the show's format.

I guess as someone who's been watching and being disappointed in the outcomes of reality shows for the past 20+ years, I've made peace with the reality of how they work. It's a "what have you done for me lately" system and I think that's the way to go. After the most recent Holiday Baking Championship, someone was upset that Bill didn't make the finale and advocated for a season-long scoring system, but in my opinion that would suck a lot of the fun and excitement out of these shows.

If the Patriots go undefeated and then lose the Superbowl to a team that had lost some of their earlier games, does that mean the outcome isn't fair and the entire season was meaningless, or does it just mean that they got outplayed in that last game and lost fair and square to another team that played well enough to get to the end? To me, it's option B, and the same applies to shows like this. But I won't try to debate any further; like I said, this is a fundamental difference of opinion.

[Irlandesa]

I knew Clement wouldn't win the minute he chose Autumn and Landry.  It's the Spring Baking Championship, not fall!  (autumn=fall...haha?)

Seriously, I'm surprised Nancy didn't at least make that joke.

13 hours ago, Dottie D said:

I was so confused about Christian's cake.  Twice the couple mentioned they wanted a chocolate cake (once in their intro, and again when they were at his station).  How is it that they didn't get a chocolate cake?!  Or maybe I missed something.

I wondered about that too. My jaw dropped when I saw him make a vanilla cake.  I don't know that I would have been thrilled with a Neopolitan filling when I think a chocolate cake with a raspberry/cream cheese filling would have made for a great cake.

2 hours ago, Ohmo said:

That, as well as the fact the network isn't going to get contestants who are the caliber of Clement or Romy any more.  Think about all the high-level artistry both of them did.  Why do it? 

Of course, they'll get competitors of their caliber (although I don't automatically think French-trained pastry chefs are better than other pastry chefs.) Even more than the prize money, the exposure can do wonders for a business or one's desire to open their own business. 

Luke wasn't my favorite.  I would've loved to see Jai do her cakes.  But oh well.  I don't think there's anything wrong with the judging.  This is the way they've always run this competition. The first bake gets the winner an advantage for the second bake which determines who stays and who goes.  They only think about the first bake if there's no clear winner/loser in the second bake.

If they have no business declaring a winner after one bake, then what business do they have eliminating anyone in the first episode?  Or the multiple strong competitors who got booted throughout the season because that day just happened not to be their day? 

There is a show that didn't boot anyone and saved the final prize for the top two strongest competitors through the season to go after. It was called School of Chocolate and it was on Netflix.  Unfortunately, I was one of the few who wanted to watch something like that.